People have used iron and silver to ward off paranormal entities for centuries. Why do these metals keep paranormal beings and entities away? Do they always work to protect you?

Let’s find out.

Iron and Paranormal Entities

People have used iron to protect against witches, evil spirits and faeries. No one has conclusively proven that ‘cold iron’ protects you: It’s really historic folklore that tells us about its protection abilities.

Usually, you need iron ore or cast iron. Other versions of iron don’t have the purity required to work against paranormal beings. You normally need to place iron by doors and windows, like the horseshoe above the main entrance, to keep the bad guys away. In other cases, you can take an iron amulet and put it under the steps of the main entrance to your house. Notice, the recurring theme: It goes on, or near, a main entrance. It could be the front door, back door or large windows. If it’s big enough for you to walk through it, then it’s easy for a spirit to come through it.

There are a few other protective uses for iron. Place iron hooks, a scythe or shears by a barn entrance to protect your livestock. To protect an infant, folklore tells us to put iron scissors next to the crib to keep faeries away. You can also carry iron nails in your pocket to protect yourself while traveling.

To attract a spirit, some hunters have used iron chains as a trigger object per Anglo-Saxon legend (remember them from history class?).

So, I’ve waited to talk about this next bit of info: Iron doesn’t keep ghosts away. There are many instances where a house has had iron above its main entrance and it’s still very haunted. And, that’s a good thing for us ghost hunters!

Silver and Paranormal Entities

Silver is a curious metal. Much like iron, we know it works well against paranormal and mystical beings, but we don’t know why. Some claim that silver is linked to the moon, which powers the Otherworld of spirits and the paranormal. I don’t necessarily buy that explanation. I think it may deal with the purity of the metal and its ability to enhance everyone’s psychic strength.

So, silver has been known to drive away many types of paranormal critters and enchantments:

• vampires
• werewolves
• boogeymen
• hexes
• witches

It also keeps the undead at bay. Many coffins had silver nails hammered into them to keep the newly dead from rising. From what I’ve read in many occult books, silver is better than iron when it comes to protecting your home. You can place an amulet or jewelry near a main entrance and it will keep the spirits away.

And, just like iron, silver doesn’t work against ghosts.

Jacob Rice

Jacob ‘Jake’ Rice has always loved ghosts and scary stories. When he’s not being a tech nerd for work, he’s the gadget guy on the team. He hunts ghosts, spirits and other paranormal entities in Seattle and the Puget Sound area.