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All Site ContentHamletAct 3Scene 2
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Witching Hour
Cultural Allusion
Act 3,
Scene 2
Lines 361-363

Folklore about the souls of the dead discussed in Act 3, Scene 2 of myshakespeare's Hamlet.

Hamlet

'Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breaks out
Contagion to this world. Now could I drink hot blood,

According to medieval folklore, it was late at night that the souls of the dead arose from their churchyard graves, and that the foggy nighttime air caused disease.