SHOE

During significant renovations to 15 Hillsborough St, Charlottetown, two discoveries were made. The first was that the house, built prior to 1850 in the Maritime Vernacular Cottage Style, revealed a log-framed structure. Perhaps more interesting was what was hidden in the wall of the cottage - a single well-worn shoe! 

Concealing shoes within a house was a common tradition, dating back to 16th century Europe. Historically, the shoes of women and children, usually made of leather and traditionally thoroughly worn, were typically hidden in chimneys, fireplaces, under floorboards, in attics, and in door and window frames in buildings as a charm to ward off evil spirits.

Archaeologist call concealed objects such as this "spiritual middens". There are several theories for why shoes specifically were chosen to hide. Some favourites include a connection between footwear and fertility - shoes served as charms to encourage childbearing but the best one is that witches were thought to be attracted to the human scent present on footwear. Drawn by the enticing smell of shoes, the witches became trapped in the shoe.