Devil follow corpse, cat follow devil, warts follow cat

The incantation "Devil follow corpse, cat follow devil, warts follow cat" is a folk charm for curing warts, described by Huckleberry Finn to Tom Sawyer as part of the elaborate system of superstitions that govern the boys' world in St. Petersburg. It represents one of several competing wart-removal methods the boys debate, and its structure—a chain of command from devil to corpse to cat to warts—reveals the logic of sympathetic magic that underlies their beliefs.

Definition and Appearance

The charm is introduced by Huckleberry Finn when Tom Sawyer asks him what dead cats are good for. Huck explains that to cure warts, one must take a dead cat and go to a graveyard around midnight, shortly after the burial of a wicked person. At midnight, devils will come—invisible, but audible as wind or voices—to carry away the corpse. The practitioner then throws the dead cat after them and recites the incantation: "Devil follow corpse, cat follow devil, warts follow cat, I'm done with ye!" Huck asserts that this method will "fetch ANY wart."

Use and Operation

The charm operates on a principle of transference: the devils take the corpse, the cat follows the devils, and the warts follow the cat, thereby leaving the sufferer's body. The ritual requires precise timing—midnight—and a specific location: a graveyard where a wicked person has been buried. The practitioner must also possess a dead cat, which Huck has acquired by trading a blue ticket and a bladder from the slaughterhouse. Tom, who has his own preferred method using spunk-water, is skeptical but intrigued, and he asks Huck when he plans to try the charm, eventually requesting to accompany him.

Connections and Consequences

The charm is part of a broader network of folk remedies and superstitions that the boys exchange and test. Tom immediately counters Huck's method with his own spunk-water ritual, which requires going alone to the middle of the woods at midnight, backing up against a stump, and reciting a different rhyme. Huck, in turn, dismisses spunk-water and cites Bob Tanner's failed attempt as proof of its inefficacy. The boys also discuss a bean-based wart cure. These competing charms reflect a juvenile culture of empirical testing: Tom notes that Bob Tanner is "the wartiest boy in this town" precisely because he used the wrong method. The incantation's authority derives from oral tradition—Huck learned it from "old Mother Hopkins," whom the boys believe to be a witch. This belief is reinforced by Huck's claim that his father, Pap, was witched by her, a story that includes a broken arm as supernatural punishment.

Significance

The charm exemplifies the central role of superstition in the boys' worldview, a theme the author explicitly acknowledges in the preface, noting that "the odd superstitions touched upon were all prevalent among children and slaves in the West at the period of this story." The incantation's chain structure—devil, corpse, cat, warts—demonstrates a logical, if fantastical, causal system that gives the boys a sense of control over their bodies and environment. The ritual also serves as a social bond: Tom's request to join Huck in the graveyard that night leads directly to their witnessing the murder of Doctor Robinson, the central traumatic event of the novel. The charm thus functions not only as a piece of folk medicine but as a narrative catalyst, drawing the boys into a world of adult violence and moral consequence from which their superstitions offer no protection.