I don't think *witchcraft* and similar acts are passed down from generation to generation, except perhaps culturally!! There are always non-conformists among us, and from time to time, I am one of those, in that I don't go along with the conventional wisdom!!! Especially in my family's politics and religions!!! When I worked in a big bureaucracy, my supervisor would come back from a county meeting and say, this is the way we are going to do it!!! I would think about how that was going to work down to the lower levels of workers, and I would speak up, That is not going to work!!! Her eyebrows would go up, but from time to time, I believe she concurred (but would not say so!!!). If you read about North Carolinians, you will find there were rebellious groups from almost the beginning!!! Perhaps in New England, they would have been persecuted. In the south, most of the time, one could find a kindred spirit or two, and besides, there was plenty of room to move around!!! Think of how many different religions were tolerated in western North Carolina. Church of England folk, those who came from England where they were educated in one of the big universities, were taken aback by the behavior of some of our folks. I think mine in Granville Co. built race tracks instead of churches, in the beginning. That is my personal opinion! E.W.Wallace **************Biggest Grammy Award surprises of all time on AOL Music. (http://music.aol.com/grammys/pictures/never-won-a-grammy?NCID=aolcmp003000000025 48)