EAST ANGLIAN LORE: going to the river was a euphenism used by witches for the Toad Bone Ritual. It involved killing the Natterjack Toad with pins in a box, having the skin and organ putrefy and vanish over time, leaving the bones. The witch took the bones in a rag to the river at Midnight and waded in the water with the skeleton. Allegedly, the bones float in the water, start to separate and one floats upstream while the others go downstream. That bone is the witche's Amulet and protector. Screams are heard during the floating of the bones, which allegedly make the weak hearted go insane. Note the simularity to the Mandrake Root Ritual...