Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft

Iceland's witch persecutions ran mainly in the seventeenth century and differed from the European pattern in one clear respect: of the people burned, all but one were men, and the accusations centred on the use of written staves and runic signs rather than the pacts and sabbaths alleged elsewhere. The museum at Holmavik sets this out with reproductions of the staves from surviving grimoires and the court records of the cases. Its most notorious exhibit is a reconstruction of nabrok, the trousers made from a dead man's skin that folklore claimed would draw money - an object described in the sources and never actually found.

What to look for

• Trials that burned men - all but one of the executed in Iceland were male.
• Staves rather than sabbaths - written signs at the centre of the charges.
• Court records and grimoire copies - the documentary basis.
• The nabrok reconstruction - built from folklore descriptions, not a find.

When to go

May to September for full hours; reduced in winter. One to two hours.

What to expect

The museum is small and the subject grim; the nabrok reconstruction disturbs some visitors. Some displays lean into showmanship. Holmavik is a long way round the Westfjords road. Facilities are a cafe and the village.

Nearby

Djupavik is north along Strandir; Reykholar and the fjords are west.

Key facts