The tale of the Witches’ Stone

All the witches of the area would gather round this stone on Walpurgis night. The witches, with their hooked noses and four long teeth, wore brightly coloured skirts and would fly through the air on their fiery broomsticks. As they danced around a large bonfire, they would murmur their spells and confer over their plans for the coming year. If anyone was caught listening, they were torn apart by the witches and eaten by birds of prey.

Once a shepherd in a nearby forest was caught in a violent thunderstorm and decided to spend the night under a bush. Suddenly he awoke, hearing a loud rumbling and screaming. He looked to where the Witches’ Stone stood and saw a coven of witches, first arguing, then peaceable. He also heard the witches agreeing to meet again the next night. The curious shepherd thus returned the following evening to the Witches’ Stone. For safety, he took with him a consecrated cross and kept his distance from the witches. They however saw him and immediately decided to capture him. Unabashed, he took the blessed cross from his pocket and ran towards the witches. Frightened, they disappeared into the clouds, from which immediately came a heavy downpour over the whole area. The shepherd fled and sought refuge in a barn.

The sacristan and curate of Radein/Redagno were at that moment on their way to the church to sound the weather bell. They could not however get there on account of the violent storm. The local people were greatly alarmed as the storm wreaked great damage. The following morning the two men were found sitting exhausted on the cemetery wall, surrounded by devastation: the nightmare was however over.