After this incident, strange things would happen in the house and my aunt would yell and scream, according to her, warding off the evil that had come to get her.
Shiny, electrically conductive, and oh-so-useful, silver has been valued since ancient times and has a reputation for purity and warding off evil, whether in the form of werewolves or warts.
They're really warding off the evil spirits, which is the intention of the dance, to get rid of all the evil things that have happened in the year before and to welcome boldly the new year.
What sounds like your little brother's description of something scary, super monster wolf is actually sort of scare crow, except of warding off birds, this thing in Japan is meant to scare off deer and wild boar.
" Oh, it's a Gurdyroot, " she said, stuffing the cat litter and the toadstool back into her bag. " You can keep it if you like, I've got a few of them. They're really excellent for warding off Gulping Plimpies."