According to European witch-hunting beliefs between the 16th and 18th centuries, individuals accused of witchcraft were thought to possess unusual physical signs known as “witch’s marks.” These marks were interpreted as bodily evidence of a contract with the devil or as ports of connection with demonic entities. The marks allegedly took several forms: supernumerary nipples (used for feeding familiars), oddly shaped moles, skin tags, birthmarks, or areas of insensibility to pain. In many cases, these features were entirely natural anatomical variations that were reinterpreted through the lens of witchcraft hysteria.

The search for witch’s marks played a central role in interrogations and examinations. Professional “witch-prickers” or self-appointed inquisitors used pins or needles to test areas of the body for pain response, assuming that a true witch’s mark would not bleed or feel pain. Some accounts claimed that the marks could shift location to avoid detection, adding an elusive and mystical element that justified repeated and invasive searches.

The examination for witch’s marks often required full nudity and invasive scrutiny, especially of private areas. Such procedures were not only humiliating but often traumatic and served to reinforce broader patterns of control over women’s bodies in early modern Europe.