Eye-Biters
Eye-biters was a term used in Ireland during the late 16th century to describe individuals—most often accused witches—believed to cause blindness in cattle through the power of the Evil Eye. The belief arose during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, when a widespread epidemic illness affected livestock, rendering many animals partially or completely blind.
In a society heavily dependent on cattle for survival, wealth, and social status, the sudden loss of animal sight was catastrophic. Lacking medical or veterinary explanations, communities turned to supernatural causation. Witches were accused of “biting” or striking the eyes of cattle through a glance, curse, or unconscious malevolent influence. These accused individuals became known as eye-biters.
Eye-biting was not always understood as deliberate witchcraft. In many accounts, it was considered an involuntary or unconscious form of the Evil Eye, where a person’s innate spiritual imbalance, envy, or latent power caused harm without conscious intent. This belief aligns with broader European and Mediterranean traditions in which the Evil Eye could operate unintentionally, particularly through strong emotions such as jealousy or resentment.
Despite this nuance, accusations often led to severe consequences. Many alleged eye-biters were arrested, tried in local or ecclesiastical courts, and in some cases executed. Trials frequently relied on folklore, testimony from neighbours, and the timing of misfortune rather than physical evidence. Women, the elderly, and social outsiders were disproportionately targeted.
From a historical perspective, modern scholars suggest the cattle blindness was likely caused by infectious disease, nutritional deficiency, or environmental factors. Nevertheless, the eye-biter phenomenon illustrates how fear, superstition, and economic vulnerability converged in early modern Ireland, transforming unexplained illness into proof of occult crime.
Today, eye-biters are studied as part of the wider history of witchcraft persecution and Evil Eye traditions, offering insight into how involuntary supernatural harm was conceptualised—and punished—in pre-scientific societies.
The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley – Copyright © 1989, 1999, 2008 by Visionary Living, Inc.