witchcraft I don't know if it's real or not I've never met a witch I've met
gypsies I've met Canadians but never a witch yet for much of human history they
were commonly believed in many were killed after being accused of witchcraft
at least a hundred thousand by some accounts in truth it could be in the
Millions either way countless figures of history
have been accused of witchcraft most were just innocent women consumed by a
mob of mass hysteria but some cases are less clear-cut for whatever reason a
handful of people have gone down in history as notorious real witches
without a doubt the most notorious witch of all time was Catherine Montvoisin
emerging from 17th century France she was fortune teller to some of
Europe's most powerful people including members of a French royal family but she
was no myth fortune teller she led a secret network of criminals producing
and selling poison the amount of poison she sought was simply stunning it's
fought at least a thousand people died from it
she was also said to lead a coven of witches performing black mass rituals
during which she would sacrifice babies to Satan for a fee she could also
perform spells placing curses on your enemies serve out her loved ones will
die through this she grew fabulously wealthy but in 1670 it all went wrong in
In that year the Duchess of Orleans died of unknown causes being only 26 many
assumed she was poisoned further investigation uncovered the
poison ring of Catherine Montvoisin without proof she killed the Duchess she
was instead charged with witchcraft tortured and burns to death publicly if
you ever meet someone caslled Agnes she's probably a witch here's an example
it was for year 1590 the King of Scotland had just been to Oslo where he
married a Norwegian princess on the journey back massive storms battered V
Scottish fleet as any good medieval king would he blames witchcraft by the year's
end witch hunts had broken out across Scotland dozens of people were
implicated many were put to death that fate befell Agnes Sampson she was a
well-known healer making use of traditional herbal remedies with a good
record of healing her clients she was accused of using witchcraft to summon
the devil who granted her his magical healing ability denying these charges
she was thrown into a dungeon and tortured for days eventually she gave a
confession that she was indeed a which had long worshipped Satan and had even
made love to him so of course we burned her to death
that's not the kind of confession you can just let go we've all heard of the
Salem witch trials but few know how it all began the first person accused of
witchcraft was called Tituba a Native American her origin is not entirely
known but she was brought to Salem as a slave lawfully owned by Samuel Parris
for years she lived with the Parris family caring for their two young
daughters in time the girls began to experience fits and hallucinations with
no obvious cause V town doctor blamed witchcraft and Tituba was accused of but
witching the girls with magic and so alongside two other women she was put on
trial while the others denied all charges
Tituba admitted using sorcery and being a servant of the devil she admitted
possessing people animals and mythical creatures
she even accused other women of practicing witchcraft including her two
co-defendants strangely she was only sent to jail unlike many following
victims who were put to death her confession birthday moral panic
eventually leading to more than 200 people being accused the Salem witch
trials had begun after a year in jail Tituba was sold to a new master
disappearing from history
an entire generation prior to the Salem witch trials there was a case of
witchcraft in me still young town of Boston the witch in question: Ann Hibbins
wealthy and well-connected her brother-in-law was a future governor of
Massachusetts her husband's was a respected magistrate who condemned
another witch to die in 1648 but in 1654 he died leaving an a widow she was not a
popular woman having sued a group of carpenters several years before
apparently the local community really loved their carpenters because it gave
her quite svey reputation just months after the death of her spouse she was
accused of being a witch and legal proceedings began none of the evidence
against her has survived so we can only speculate on what really happened here
but she was found guilty one way or another
sentenced to a public execution Ann Hibbins was hanged by the neck until
dead ironically the man who replaced her husband was among those who condemned
her to his fate in southern maryland is the small town of Leonardtown with a
population of just 3,000 there is nothing especially unusual about it
apart from its supposedly being haunted by the ghost of a witch according to
local legend it all began in the winter of 1697 it was a particularly harsh
winter the town gripped by a vicious snowstorm blizzards were not unknown to
be community but this one was somehow different colder and longer-lasting than
any in memory driven mad by such conditions witchcraft was blamed the
scapegoats a local woman by the name of mould aya a beautiful young healer she
had long been part of a community but now her knowledge of Medicine was just
cause for denouncing her a witch with fire and pitchfork they drove her
out of town chasing her into the surrounding woodland days later the
storm died down and her corpse was discovered she was found lifeless frozen
to a large rock there's no evidence Mulder even existed but her story has
survived through law they save a stone she died on still
exists but his cursed and just touching it can cause death
many Swedish women were accused of witchcraft but none a more notorious
than Marlene Matt's daughter in 1668 her husband was put to death after he was
caught having sex with a cow that's not even a joke he was executed
for bestiality but he worst was yet to come
at the time Sweden was in the grip of a frenzy
people saw witches everywhere suspecting there was some kind of mass conspiracy
to kidnap children not wanting witches to steal their children people lost
their minds thousands of people were openly accused
of witchcraft and in 1676 it was Marlon's turn parents also accused her
of being a witch claiming she was in regular contact with Satan at her trial
other women accused her of kidnapping their children for the devil they warned
that if Marlon wasn't executed they would kill her themselves this combines
with her daughter's claim led the court to an easy verdict
in 1676 she was burned to death a death so brutal no one was ever again executed
that way in Stockholm yet it said she died without making a sound
owing to the fact witches don't feel pain
as far as historical records are concerned the first which in islands was
called Alice Hitler unusually for a thirteenth century woman she was married
four times outliving each husband a notorious
figure she was known locally as a ruthless moneylender along with her
second husband she was accused of murdering her previous spouse sir when
fat husband passed away and then her next one died also things were looking
grim she even sued her former stepson for
money and found a new husband when that man died his children and those
of her previous marriages accused her of poisoning them in time rumors spread she
murdered them as an offering to the devil who she had secretly worshipped
for decades before long bishops were accusing her of being a witch they
pushed for a formal trial but before that could happen she disappeared some
say she fled the country and escaped but in truth we just don't know
in the mid 1700s there was a Brazilian woman called a Selena did Jesus
virtually nothing about her is known but according to surviving court documents
she was a bitch on finding out her husband was having an affair she put a
curse on him causing him to go sterile now forever unable to have children he
turned her into authorities in the blink of an eye she was found guilty and
sentenced to death burns in public like so many of her accused witches she might
be the only woman ever executed for the crime of removing in man's virility Envy
north of England can be found one of our world's most notorious places
Pendle Hill surrounding this Hill are a number of villages that in the early 1600s came
to be known as a hotbed of witchcraft for years rumors had toll of witches
hiding out in the woodland surrounding that hill secretly gathering to cast
spells and commit murder sir in 1612 authorities finally decided to come down
hard on this alleged witchcraft soon to catch their attention was an old woman
called Elizabeth servants known to locals as old dem dyke
she was a half-blind 80 year old beggar who lived in a cave with her daughter
and granddaughter there long been rejected by society the daughter having
some kind of genetic disorder leaving her face disfigured and Vedran child
being mischievous now of a witch-hunt gripping the community they seems an
obvious case under questioning they admitted being witches and to selling
their soul to the devil they admitted putting curses on people just for
insulting them and to bewitching a local child people don't often bring this up
but the Bible tells of a powerful ancient witch it was the Old Testament
during the reign of sole king of Israel as King Saul outlawed three orders of
magic Wizards soothsayers and witches but during his reign the Israelite's were
under threat of attack by their greatest enemy the Philistines facing warfare so
lost confidence himself and sought out the advice of a
witch having driven most away it took him a long time to find one but
eventually Saul encountered the Witch of Endor at his request she summoned a
ghost for him that early prophet Samuel to his horror Samuel chastised him for
conspiring with a witch and predicted military disaster at the hands of the
Philistines