Black Book - A Finnish witch book discovered in 1862

Almost everyone has heard stories about witches who, while stirring a cauldron, recited spells and exorcisms from mystical magic manuals and grimoires. Very few people know that these manuals actually exist, and even fewer know that one has been found in Finland.

Cashier Tuomas Taittonen (1817–1915) moved to Perho in the summer of 1862 to manage vein drying works. Very soon he found out that 70-year-old "village madman" Juha Kellokoski lived next door, who was the biggest witch and healer in the area. According to rumors, Kellokoski had learned from Aaprami Pöyrynen's Mustakirja, which the old man kept in a coffin.

Taittonen was lured by Kellokoski's maid to steal that mystical opus, but the theft was discovered and led to a fiery confrontation with Kellokoski. In the end, Taittonen was able to settle the dispute by paying one marka for the book.

Taittonen sent the book to the Suomalainen Kirjalisuuden Seura through an acquaintance, but it was lost on the way and was only found 46 years later when a student donated it to the society in 1908, where it is kept in the archive of the greatest rarities.