Mother Redcap

Mother Redcap

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

Generic name for an old woman who might or might not be a hedge witch, healer, or cunning woman. Red was often associated with witches. In Ireland it was believed that witches donned red caps before leaving on their broomsticks for the sabbat. At the Salem witch trials, Bridget Bishop was convicted largely on the evidence that she favored a "red paragon bodice."