My father played spiritism and believed in it. Spiritism was a game where questions were ask of spirits or the dead. A glass was placed on a spiritism board and all the players place their hands so that it touched the glass. Everyone had to be serious when playing spiritism.
There was always someone in the session who led the session. Questions were ask of the dead and answers were given when the glass move on the spiritism board. There were different boards: those with letters, where the answer was a word as the glass moved,
and those where the answer was yes or no, where the glass moved over one of the two words. It was important to end the spiritism game in the right way so that the connection with the dead would not be left open.
Marja-Leena Teittinen (b. 1949), who lives in Juva, remembers hearing stories about magic or making a pact with the devil in her youth:
My home is in Kirstanmäki in the village of Kettula
Our closest neighbor was Heikki Hämäläinen and his family in Korkeakanga. My mother, Mirjam, told me how Heikki told me, quite seriously, that he had seen several times how the devil burned white (fires) on the canvas next to him, always on Good Friday. Heikki Hämäläinen died overseas data around 1955. My mother wondered to me how superstitious people were in Juva, my mother moved to Juva in 1948.
In the winter of 1961, I lived for a few months with Hilma Haikarainen next to the former bus station (the cellar and yard trees are still left from Hilma’s cottage). Hilma was lively and talkative and she told me a lot about her life in Juva. She also told me about a woman who practiced magic.
Another devil story also sticks in my mind
If this woman who practiced magic was on bad terms with someone, she could conjure a cow to milk blood. Or he would sprinkle flour/salt he had cursed on the road, which would cause bad skin symptoms to the person who had touched it.
We had a barn renovated in Kirstanmäki in the late 1950s. “Master” Kukkonen from Teivaa was a carpenter and had the most amazing stories. He told, among other things, case studies represent one of the most valuable and about a man who had sold his soul to the devil and could therefore sit on a dry cloth and fish for perch!
Another devil story also sticks in my mind. In it, the old man had also made a pact with the devil. The gist of the matter was that the old man was not allow to look back to see the devil.
The devil had tempted the old man in many ways, but finally the devil defeated the old man when the devil asked the old man to turn around and look at the old man’s big teeth. Well, then Master Kukkonen said that the old man was never the same after that. After the old man died, the pallbearers had stated that the old man was not in the coffin because it was so light.
Playing cards was consider a sinful activity
because the desire to play could get so carry away that the players could not get their work done. Thus, stories have been collect from different parts of Finland about the devil appearing at. card games, often in the form of a handsome
man. The player who bent down to pick up a card notices to his horror that the handsome stranger has a hoof or a hoof instead of a leg.
In a card game story collected from Juva, the devil has encouraged the game to continue by burning a candle endlessly, the fire never goes out from the candlestick. Sometimes the devil fax database can be of help, despite his busyness, as Juva tells:
In ancient times, an old man from Savo was carrying a load of hay. The load fell over. At the same time, the devil came towards him, walking at a good pace on foot. “You need help too,” said the devil, “but I am in a hurry too. Right now, a man is doing horse trading in the Turku market and I should get into trouble. I will help anyway.” At the same time, he jerked the load up.
The devil could also ride a horse spectacularly in the guise of a handsome man
Juva even knew about the S. manor, whose owner was in league with the devil. Once, the devil arranged for a horse from the steward to ride to a party at the manor, whose guests appeared to be ghosts. The money the driver received turned into shingles and the rider’s name disappeared from the steward’s book.
Stories were also tell about the lords: the lord of the house had to be take into account in daily activities, otherwise he would get angry. According to the story tell in Juva.
the lord of the court of I was particularly demanding of following the rules.
The house had to be kept tidy and there was no need to go to the stables in the evening, because then the lord himself would look after and shoe the horses.
A strong lord, if disturbed, could, for example. throw a late visitor to the stables out of the upper hatch into the yard.
