Witch Hat Incense Cone Burner

Place a smouldering incense cone under this small witch's hat and watch as smoke gently emerges from cut out stars. Great for both Halloween and year-round witchy decor.

The iconic pointed witch hat evolved over centuries from a symbol of everyday fashion and religion into a Halloween staple. It combines the 17th-century tall hats worn by Quaker women, the distinctive caps of medieval female brewers (alewives), and the enforced conical caps of the Spanish Inquisition.

The Quaker Connection: During the mid-1600s, tall black conical hats and bonnets were standard, respectable fashion. However, when female Quaker preachers began touring to share their faith, Puritan authorities viewed them as disruptive. Cartoons and pamphlets of the era began attaching their distinctive hats to the concept of heretics.

The Alewives: In medieval Europe, brewing was primarily a female domain. To stand out in crowded, bustling markets, female home-brewers ("alewives") wore towering, distinct headgear. As the commercial brewing industry shifted to male-dominated guilds, rival brewers and the church demonized independent female brewers, connecting their hats and brews to witchcraft.

Historical Persecution: The shape is similar to the medieval Judenhut (a conical hat Jewish people were forced to wear by the Catholic Church) and the coroza (a pointed hood forced onto heretics during the Spanish Inquisition). Some historians suggest this lingering visual shorthand for marginalized or persecuted groups naturally transferred to witches.