does a mandrake really scream when you pull it out of the ground?

2 Comments

1. Orlando57 says:

   3. September 2009 at 19:36

   no the shape of the root make s theat olde wives tail last i dug roots for the money in NC ginseng and black cohash and this ,mayapple for other uses i skinned bark from trees and traded it for cash fron the sasparillas and cherry trees
2. bradymsu says:

   3. September 2009 at 19:36

   In legend it is alleged that when the plant is pulled from the ground, it shrieks in pain. Supposedly, this shriek is able to madden, deafen or even kill an unprotected human; the occult literature includes complex directions for harvesting a mandrake root in relative safety. For example Josephus (c. 37 AD/CE Jerusalem – c. 100) gives the following directions for pulling it up:

   A furrow must be dug around the root until its lower part is exposed, then a dog is tied to it, after which the person tying the dog must get away. The dog then endeavours to follow him, and so easily pulls up the root, but dies suddenly instead of his master. After this the root can be handled without fear.