Flying Witches

The most common element other than broomsticks was some sort of magical product, like a powder or ointment. It was believed that right before a journey, a witch would strip naked and rub their body from head to toe in some sort of potion they concocted for the power of flight. In 1525, a Dominican friar named Bartolomeo Spina documented some of these ointments of flights in a book. One woman in Italy claimed that she had been riding home on the back of a demon.