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hands of Paul so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away
from his body to the sick and disease left him and the evil spirits
came out of him.” Just as power becomes identified with material
objects such as talismans or amulets in folk magic, prayer cloths
represent a form of mediated grace. According to Griffith:
The evangelists would take a handkerchief and pray fervently
over it, maybe pray so hard that they would be sweating.
They’d wipe the sweat of their brows onto the handkerchief,
and then send it off to someone as a sacramental object of
divine grace and prayer. This handkerchief itself was thought
to be a vehicle of these prayers. We think of prayer itself in
the Protestant tradition as being above materiality. But these
objects themselves were thought to be saturated with a kind of
power through these signs of intensive prayer.
Since the power itself resides in the cloth, it does not matter if the
recipient is a believer or non-believer.
The use of prayer stones and madstones also cross the
boundary between folk magic and religion. Both of these objects
are used by folk magic practitioners for the purpose of healing.
Prayer stones consist of a white or clear pebble and a black pebble
gathered from living (running) water. The stones are prayed
over and then given to the afflicted person to place under his/her
pillow. The black stone wards off evil, while the white stone aids
in healing. If the illness is psychological the white stone will
cause the afflicted person to dream of the needed answers. If the
affliction is caused by the Devil or a demon, then the white stone
will begin to turn dark. Again, the power is within the stones and it
is not necessary for the afflicted person to be a believer.
Madstones are rare substances used to treat snakebites and
bites from rabid “mad” animals. They have a long history and can
be found in many cultures. 87 Although many substances have been
used as madstones, the one most often associated with Appalachia
is the bezoar or calcified hair ball found in a deer’s stomach. The
process includes the stone being placed on the bite and then soaked
in milk or water. When the milk or water turns green, the poison
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