"Witch tape"?

[MissMurder]

Not sure if this is the right place for this question but didn't know where else to put it. Does anyone know why you see clumps of unravelled cassette tape lying around, especially by roads? My friend (a Christian) told me once that it is known as "witch tape" because apparently it is put there by witches in order to cast some sort of spell (hence me putting this in the History/Myths category) but I'm not sure I believe this. Any ideas?

[jno]

another possibility - much less likely - is that they snarl up in car tape decks and angry drivers throw them ouf of the window with their one free hand.

[RATTER15]

jno, I think you hit the nail right on the head, ive done it myself, yeah I know, im bad!!

[~Vulpine~]

I saw a clump of tape on my road t'other day - followed it up and it ran the entire length of the main road, and along the way I found the mangled plastic tape itself, plus the cover.

Seems that one particularly deserved a slow death...

...Mind you, I have heard Latin chanting at night, and there are quite a few black cats around here...

[Simeon]

What is spooky though is that the amount of tape on the roads has not reduced but I don't anybody who listens to tapes anymore.

[Octavius]

It is space debris from old Ford Cortina's which were projected into space in the late 1970's. The body and mechanical parts end up somewhere in Asia, and we, typically get the casette deck entrails.

If you collect enough of it though, you may find a very rare copy of Now That's What I Call Music No.1 on casette format - very rare indeed.

[Jay_Jay]

It's all an experiment to re-introduce tape-based recording technology. Instead of passing tape over a magnetic head, thus recording electronic impulses to produce a recording, the driver is invited to pass the tape and shout through a cardboard megaphone.

[Whickerman]

I'm a Wiccan, and most traditional spells come from a pre-cassette time... (wouldn't rule out 8Track mind)

jno is right though, and we've all done it.

[Octavius]

Jay_jay is not far off the mark. If you take a length of the tape and squeze it gently between your thumb and index finger and then pull the length of tape slowly through with the other hand, you get a screeching sound which is not too dissimilar to anything by Mariah Carey. Some people think it is alien communication, but it really is a Mariah Carey recording.

[gary baldy]

Funnily enough i'm looking through my front window and there is a big clump of un reeled video tape in the middle of the road.
Was that left by a big witch do you think and cassette tapes are left by junior witches?

To 'answer' the question - i have never heard anything so ridiculous in my whole life!

[B00]

Whislt we on the subject of roadside debris- why do you always spot at least one boot or shoe on the motorway....where has that come from....and more importantly....where's its partner?

[MissMurder]

Ok, well sorry for asking a "ridiculous" question...but I was just curious.

[gary baldy]

It wasnt a ridiculous question - i would just say your friend is being ridiculous.

[Whickerman]

Boo - I can answer that one re the shoes... I recently set off for work and on that day had to bring work shoes(hard toes). Anyway, it was early, and I'm not a morning person, and left them on the car roof whilst I put the rest of my stuff in teh car. Then I sat in and drove off. You can guess the rest - I forgot they were there and later that evening found one on the road outside my drive and one a full mile away. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside to know I'm not the only one...!

[Cetti]

Every question sincerely asked is welcome on AB MissMurder, so don't take any notice of that extremely rude reply.

I must admit I've never encountered clumps of tape and there are areas near me that are quite 'active' for witches. Any chance your friend could tell you a bit more as I'm now very curious?

[Foxybox]

To answer to point about no one using tapes anymore; The car seems to be the last bastion of the cassette tape. I know a lot of people who drive old bangers that only have cassette players. Most of them have half their CD collection recorded onto tape just for driving.

[MissMurder]

I'll ask her next time I see her. It was years ago she told me - I just saw some of this tape a couple of days ago and it reminded me.
Incidentally I still use cassettes in my car...

[freak_unique]

I never knew anything about relating tape to witches etc, whenever i saw any unreeled tape I just automatically thought it must be kids messing around? though thats gunna get me thinking whenever i see any unravelled tape again :O!

[Aura]

Why waste our time putting tape in clumps to cast spells? We live by the 3-fold law which means what ever you give out comes back three times.

I expect someone dumped it there as they couldn't be bothered to get to a dustbin.

[baa_means_no]

cassette tape? whats that? i don't even use cds anymore! i like my mp3 player

[farmer84]

I heard that rumor too, again from an avid christian, her friend was so disturbed to find this 'curse' on her car she rang her up crying!!! anyhew, I dont believe this nonsense, and as an artist I thought this might be a fun little experiment, so I have been collecting these curses and have started re-spooling them. I shall let you know the verdict when I get one! Or you can come and see the exhibition for yourself!