in
scandinavian folklore, a carrier was a being that witches would utilize to steal
wool or
milk. much like an
animal familiar from british
witchcraft mythos, the carrier would perform mischievous tasks for its "
mother" without fail. however, there was one major difference: a carrier was not a gift from
the devil but rather something the woman had to make herself.
one way to make a carrier was to steal a
dead man's rib "on
Whitsun morning, soon after he has been buried," and then wrap it in wool or yarn. some legends say that the wool had to be plucked from between the shoulders of a widow's
sheep. after wrapping the rib, the woman would place the object
between her breasts.
next she would go to
communion three times to receive
bread and wine, which she would secretly dribble onto the carrier. the
first time wine was dribbled, the carrier would remain still. the second time, it would stir. the third time, it would be
so full of life that it would try to "leap out of her bosom."
carriers were supposedly nourished on their mothers' blood. the woman would prick the inside of her thigh, and magically something akin to a
witch's tit would form. the carrier would spend most of its time up the woman's
skirt, feeding. some women, alternately, kept their carriers in barrels or
kegs.
now for the fun part: stealing. typically, women would send out their carriers to suck the milk from neighbors'
cows. the carrier, having a mouth at both ends, was said to stretch itself around the cow to suck two teats at once. when it was full it would come home and sit in the window saying, "Full belly,
Mummy!" or "Churn lid off, Mummy!" The witch would then take the lid off the
butter churn and say, "
Sick it up, dear son!" or "
Spew in the churn, little rogue!" the carrier would then cough up all the milk into the churn.
sometimes the carrier would suck up more milk than it could handle and spit some up on the way home. people have claimed to see this "
carrier's spew" on the
moors. it was actually probably just a yellowish-white fungus.
if
a woman was revealed to be a carrier's mother, she would usually be promptly destroyed along with her
pet. the carrier would be chased into her skirts, which would then be tied up so that
the thing could not escape. both would then be burned.
Scandinavian Folktales, edited by Jacqueline Simpson. good book.