Iron in Folklore - Cold Iron

Cold iron is a poetic and archaic term for iron, referring to the fact that it feels cold to the touch. In modern usage the term has been most associated with folkloric beliefs that iron, like silver, could ward off ghosts, fairies, witches, and/or other allegedly malevolent supernatural creatures.

Francis Grose's 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue defines cold iron as "A sword, or any other weapon for cutting or stabbing." This usage often appears as "cold steel" in modern parlance.

"Cold iron" is sometimes asserted to repel, contain, or harm ghosts, fairies, witches, and/or other malevolent supernatural creatures. This belief continued into later superstitions in a number of forms:

• Nailing an iron horseshoe to a door was said to repel evil spirits or later, to bring good luck.
• Surrounding a cemetery with an iron fence was thought to contain the souls of the dead.
• Burying an iron knife under the entrance to one's home was alleged to keep witches from entering.

In his novel Redgauntlet, the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott wrote, "Your wife's a witch, man; you should nail a horse-shoe on your chamber-door."

Rudyard Kipling's poem "Cold Iron", found in his 1910 collection of stories Rewards and Fairies, used the term poetically to mean "weapon".