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The Healing Powers of The Bezoar Stone: What is a Mad Stone?

bezoar stone, a mad stone
Image Credit:
Courtesy of the National Museum of Health and Medicine, Arme
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Have you ever heard of a bezoar stone or a mad stone? This home remedy was used for centuries to heal, although it’s not a common practice today.

A mad stone (aka a bezoar stone) is used to draw poison out of bites and wounds. It works by absorbing the poison bit by bit, curing the bites by detoxifying them completely.

  • Mad stones can be found in the stomach or intestines of cud-chewing animals.
  • Depending on the animal, the stone may be more potent and valuable; for example, the stone of a brown deer is said to be inferior to that of a white deer.
  • Mad stones are not to be bought or sold; such interaction may negate their healing powers.

Naturally, the effectiveness of mad stones has long been in dispute. Can cosmic healing powers really reside in the intestine of a cow? There is only one way to know for sure …

a mad stone also known as a bezoar stone
Courtesy of the National Museum of Health and Medicine

Please Pass the Bezoar Stone

Want to try a mad stone? The challenge is getting a hold of one—since they can’t be purchased for money. We advise traveling to the home of a stone’s owner.

If you have experience with mad stones, please share your story or your stone in the box below.

Natural Remedies

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann is the Executive Digital Editor of Almanac.com, the digital home of The Old Farmer’s Almanac. She leads digital editorial strategy and publishing across a wide range of Almanac sub...

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Marilyn Van Pelt</span> Fri, 01/21/2022 - 18:02
My great grandfather was sent in search of a mad stone when his younger brother went after a rabid puppy under a schoolhouse and was bitten. He never found a mad stone to help his brother who died a terrible death.
<span>Jerry Chambers</span> Tue, 12/08/2020 - 19:28
In the 1930s my dad was bitten by a dog and he had rabies my grandparents took him to some in the Virginia mountains who had a Mad stone somehow he was cured and never had anymore symptoms of rabies
<span>Joe Roberts</span> Sun, 04/12/2020 - 07:30
I have seen "Mad Stones," and they come from the stomach of cud chewing animals. Also known as a "Bezoar." They are known to have healing properties for poisons. When I was a kid, my aunt and her friend were picking peas and were both bitten by the same rattlesnake. An old woman next door heard the screams and when she heard "snakebite," she ran inside and came back out with a leather pouch and put them in her car and drove them 20 miles to the emergency room. On the way, she used a "Mad Stone" taken from the stomach of a white deer on both bites and drew the poison out and neither of the women had to have the antidote injection.
<span>Melvin Thomas</span> Sun, 10/27/2019 - 13:57
My grandfather said when he was a kid he was bitten by a Rabid dog his dad took him to One of the Stars that had a madstone he said that it came from the stomach of a white deer he said they soaked it in milk Nd that it stuck to his wound then fell off then they put back in milk till the milk turned blue then they put back on wound and continued until it hit sticking to the bite my mom doesn’t know how old he was only that he was a kid early 1900s
<span>Deborah Merriman</span> Mon, 09/02/2019 - 16:54
Just learned of this today from my Aunt. Healing in the hills
<span>C. R. Frost</span> Sun, 09/01/2019 - 18:35
I had actually never heard of a mad stone until I saw an episode of Death Valley Days on STARZ Western's channel, which let me to search the Internet and I found this article. I'll definitely be looking for one in every deer hunt from now on! FYI: Death Valley Days, Season 9, Episode 18. First aired on Wednesday, January 18, 1961.
<span>Rajean</span> Mon, 06/10/2024 - 06:45
I just watched this episode and had to look it up. Very interesting.
<span>Bob</span> Thu, 09/05/2019 - 10:39
FYI, I have just learned from a hunter here in Montana that the mad stones of Bison are considerably larger than those of deer. All the best, Bob
<span>Ron Taylor</span> Sat, 08/20/2016 - 20:18
Uncle Charlie had an older brother named Samuel Clyde Taylor who was red headed and called Red Taylor. I met him at Smith’s Grocery store in the fork of highways 221 and 49 in Laurens County, SC one day in 1964. Uncle Clyde told me that he had a horrible tooth ache. When I asked him why he did not get it pulled, he said the sign was in the head. He followed the zodiac signs in the Farmer’s Almanac and said he had to wait until the sign was in the foot. He believed a pulled tooth would bleed too much if the sign was in the head. He suffered with the tooth for several more months and when the sign moved to the foot, he had it pulled.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 08/24/2016 - 12:53

Another great tale, Ron! We are delighted to see that people continue to practice traditional ways, in choosing the "best day" (see here for more: http://www.almanac.com/bestdays/timetable) and the best method, exemplified by your tale of the mad stone, below. Thanks for sharing!