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Vixen Tor
On Vixen Tor there once lived a witch called Vixana who enjoyed bringing down the mists to confuse travellers. Without a sense of direction they would fall into a bog and die. One day a young man walked past and as usual Vixana brought down the fog but on this occasion the traveller didn't fall into a bog. He had previously rescued a pixie from a bog and as a reward was given a ring that when worn gave him invisibility, and the power to see through a mist. Slipping the ring on he crept up behind Vixana and toppled her from her rocks into the boggy mire below.
We visited Vixen Tor recently and climbed all the way around it before finding out that it was the largest outcrop on the moors. From one particular angle it does look like a witch's face and also looks like she has a stone cat with her.
The Witches' Stone
South of Honiton there is a large heathland going towards Putt's Corner where an inn stands. In front of this there is a large stone partially buried known as 'the Witches' Stone'. Legend has it that this stone rolls down the hill each night to cleanse itself in the River Syd before returning to Putt's Corner before dawn. It does this to free itself from any guilt in the dark doings of the witches, who met there in olden times. There is a chance that this stone was used by Ancient Britons as a sacrifice stone but it is more likely that in the Middle Ages the paranoia about witchcraft led to superstitions growing around it. Putt's Corner was a wild and lonely spot with dense forest all around and it is easy to see how, with bright moonlight shining down, a coven of witches could dance around it casting their powerful spells.
One common story on the moors is that of a poor old woman who offered a service to the huntsmen, who paid a silver coin to anyone who could put up a hare for their chase. The woman was infallible and made a comfortable living, producing hares on demand. The only problem was that the hare could never be caught and while this made for good sport it left the pot empty of meat. Son one horseman decided to go all out and catch the hare. After laying in wait all night he managed to shoot off an arrow which hit the hare in the left shoulder. Next day the old woman was found in her cottage nursing an injured shoulder.
