Bloodstopping refers to an

American folk ''American Folk'' is a 2017 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by David Heinz. The film stars Joe Purdy, Amber Rubarth, Krisha Fairchild, David Fine, Bruce Beatty and Elizabeth Dennehy. The film was released on J ...

practice once common in the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

and the

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

, Canadian lumbercamps and the northern woods of the United States. It was believed (and still is) that certain persons, known as ''bloodstoppers'', could halt bleeding in humans and animals by

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

means. The most common method was to walk east and recite Ezekiel 16:6. This is referred to as the blood verse. :''And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.''

History

Bloodstopping was used in areas of North American where modern medicine was not reachable. Many of these communities had one or two bloodstoppers in their community. Since they were able to help when doctors were unavailable they became very popular in their community and were well respected. Bloodstopping was used mostly in the Ozarks, in the states Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas. Each bloodstopper used their own technique to fix wounds. The person performing the bloodstopping must have been given the power to do so. The gift was mostly passed down through family (older to younger). It can only be passed down to the opposite sex. It can only be told to three people, with the third person gaining the power. The person performing it does not need to believe in it fully or be sinless since the blood verse is so powerful. Throughout Europe Christianity was becoming the main religion. However those who lived in rural areas were not as quick to convert. They were more fond of polytheistic religions since they had been used to it for so many years. German settlers who ended up in the Appalachians had many folk beliefs about magic. At first they used stars to determine planting cycles and to predict weather. When medical treatment became scarce they turned to other forms of medicine. This is when bloodstopping became a practice.

References

* Dorson, Richard M. (1952). Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers: Folk Tales of Canadians, Lumberjacks and Indians. {{American tall tales American folklore History of medicine