Habetrot (Habitrot, Habtrot and Habbitrot) is a figure in folklore of the Border counties of Northern England and Lowland Scotland, associated with spinning and the spinning wheel.
[1][2][3] Habetrot appears in a Selkirkshire folktale which is a variant of the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index tale type ATU 501, "The Three Old Spinning Women".
[2][3] She is an old, deformed woman who lives underground with a group of other spinsters, all disfigured by their work (some have splayed feet or flat thumbs).
Similar tales appear in countries such as Germany (such as The Three Spinners) and Norway (The Three Aunts).
[3] According to the folklore of the borders, it was considered unlucky to step upon "unchristened ground" (the graves of stillborn or unbaptised children) and any who did were said to catch "grave-merels" (or "grave-scab") an illness that causes difficulty of breathing and trembling limbs as well as the burning of the skin as if touched by a hot iron.