Long Lost Friend

Pow-Wows; or, Long Lost Friend is a book by John George Hohman published in 1820. Hohman was a Pennsylvania Dutch healer; the book is a collection of home- and folk-remedies, as well as spells and talismans. It is a translation of a German original, Der Lange Verborgene Freund, oder, Getreuer und Christlicher Unterricht fur Jedermann, Enthaltend: Wunderbare und Probmassige Mittel und Kunste, Sowohl fur die Menschen als Das Vieh ("The Long Hidden Friend, or, True and Christian Instructions for Everyone. Comprising Wonderful and Well Tested Remedies and Arts, for Men as well as for Livestock.") The folk magic tradition called "pow-wowing" takes its name from the title of later editions of this book.

Folklorist and novelist Manly Wade Wellman referred to the book and the traditions it embodies (one of which being that if the book is carried on one's person it will act as a shield against bad fortune), especially in his "Silver John" stories such as Who Fears the Devil?.

The book gained some notoriety when it was found in the possession of John Blymire, a Pennsylvania man who was charged with murdering a neighbor whom he believed to have put a curse on him.

The contents of the book are varied. They include such matters as:

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