The True Story vs. Myth of Witchcraft. William Godwin
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‘April 4, 1691.’
Here is one of those extraordinary confessions, for which, nowadays, no one can account, except upon the supposition that the poor woman was insane:
‘THE CONFESSION OF ALICE HUSON, 28 OF APRIL 1664 TO MR. TIM. WELLSET, VICAR OF BURTON AGNES (IN HER OWN WORDS) AS IT WAS GIVEN IN TO THE JUDGES AT YORK ASSIZES.53
‘Three Years I have had to do with, and for the Devil: He appeared to me like a Black Man on a Horse upon the Moor; He told me I should never want, if I would follow his ways: He bid me give myself to him, and forsake the Lord; and I promised him I would. He did, upon that, give me five Shillings; and another time he gave me seven Shillings: And for six several times he did so; and Thom. Ratle had 20s. of the Mony I had of him. He appeared like a Black Man upon a Black Horse, with Cloven Feet: and then I fell down, and did Worship upon my Knees, because I promised him I would do so. I have hurt Mrs. Faith Corbet by my Evil Spirit: I did, in my Apprehension, ride her: And, when I was Examined by Mr. Wellset, our Minister, the Devil stood by, and gave me my Answer. I was under the Window like a Cat, when Mrs. Corbet said I was; and Doll Bilby had a hand in this tormenting Mrs. Corbet. Doll Bilby said, Let us make an end of her; and I said it was pity to take away her Life, for we had done her overmuch hurt already. The Devil did appear to me and Doll Bilby both together: Doll Bilby had of the Devil on Thursday or Friday, some Mony: I had, about a Fortnight ago, ten shillings of the Devil at Ratle’s door, about Twi-light, or Day-gate: and I gave two Shillings of this Mony for two Pecks of Barly, Pease and Wheat mix’d, to Will. Parkly. He told me, if I would kill Mrs. Alice Corbet, I should never Want: He twitches me at the Heart, as if it were drawn together with Pincers. I have, I confess, a Witch-pap, which is sucked by the Unclean Spirit: This Sucking lasteth from Supper time, till after Cock Crowing. The Devil did bid me deny to Mr. Wellset that he was sent by me. I had a purpose to practice Witchcraft when I begg’d a piece of Cloth and Black-hood. I confess that I did, by this Evil Spirit, kill Dick Warren; which was done by my wicked Heart, and wicked Eyes: If I had not employ’d this wicked Spirit, I had not hurt him. I lent Lancelot Harrison eight Shillings of the ten Shillings the Devil gave me. I did forsake God, because I promised the Devil to serve him.’
But most incredible of all were the doings of an Irish witch, one Florence Newton of Youghal, who was tried at the Cork Assizes, 1661. One extract, showing her power, must suffice:54
‘John Pyne being likewise sworn and examin’d, said, That about January last, Mary Longdon, being his Servant, was much troubl’d with little Stones that were thrown at her, wherever she went, and that he hath seen them come, as if they were thrown at her, others, as if they dropp’d on her; and that he hath seen very great quantities of them, and that they would, after they had hit her, fall on the Ground, and then vanish, so that none of them could be found. And farther, That the Maid once caught one of them, and he himself another; and one of them, with a Hole in it, she ty’d to her Purse, but it vanish’d in a little time, but the Knot of the Leather that ty’d it, remain’d unalter’d. That, after the Stones had thus haunted her, she fell into most grievous Fits, wherein she was so violently distracted, that four Men would have very much to do to hold her; and that, in the greatest of her Extremities, she would cry out of Gammer Newton for hunting and tormenting of her. That sometimes the Maid would be reading in a Bible, and on the sudden he hath seen the Bible struck out of her Hand into the Middle of the Room, and she, immediately, was cast into a violent Fit. That, in the Fits he hath seen two Bibles, laid on her Breasts, and in the Twinkling of an Eye, they would be cast between the two Beds the Maid lay upon; sometimes thrown into the middle of the Room; and that Nicholas Pyne held the Bible in the Maid’s Hand so fast, that it being suddenly snatch’d away, two of the Leaves were torn. That in many other Fits, the Maid was remov’d strangely, in the Twinkling of an Eye, out of the Bed, sometimes into the Bottom of a Chest with Linnen, and the Linnen not at all disorder’d; sometimes betwixt the two Beds she lay on; sometimes under a Parcell of Wooll, sometimes betwixt his Bed and the Mat of it in another Room; and, once, she was laid on a small Deal Board which lay on the top of an House between two solar55 Beams, where he was forc’d to rear up Ladders to have her fetch’d down. That, in her Fits she hath often vomited up Wooll, Pins, Horse nails, Stubs, Straw, Needles and Moss, with a kind of white Foam or Spittle, and hath had several Pins stuck into her Arms and Hands, that, sometimes, a Man must pull three or four times before he could pull one of them out, and some have stuck between the Flesh and the Skin, where they might be perfectly seen, but not taken out, nor any Place seen where they were put in.’
The confessions of Temperance Lloyd (or Floyd), Mary Trembles, and Susannah Edwards, who were executed at Exeter, August 25, 1682, are curious, as showing how it is possible for three persons to have similar hallucinations.
‘Temperance Lloyd saith, That about the 30th day of September last past, she met with the Devil in the shape or likeness of a black Man, about the middle of the Afternoon of that day, in a certain Street or Lane in the Town of Biddiford aforesaid, called Higher Gunstone Lane: And then and there he did tempt and sollicite her to go with him to the house of the said Thomas Eastchurch to torment the Body of the said Grace Thomas; which this Examinant, at first, did refuse to do: But, afterwards, by the temptation and perswasion of the Devil in the likeness of a Black Man, as aforesaid, she did go to the house of the said Thomas Eastchurch, and that she went up the stairs after the said black Man; and confesseth that both of them went up into the Chamber where she the said Grace Thomas was, and that there they found one Anne Wakely, the wife of William Wakely of Biddiford, rubbing and stroaking one of the Arms of the said Grace Thomas.
‘And the said Examinant doth further confess that she did then and there pinch with the Nails of her Fingers, the said Grace Thomas in the Shoulders, Arms, Thighs and Legs; and that, afterwards, they came down from the said Grace Thomas her Chamber, into the Street together; and that there this Examinant did see some thing in the form or shape of a Grey or Braget Cat; and saith that the said Cat went into the said Thomas Eastchurch’s shop.
‘The said Examinant, being further demanded whether she went any more unto the said Thomas Eastchurch’s house, saith and confesseth that the day following she came again to the said Thomas Eastchurch’s house, invisible, and was not seen by any person; but there this Examinant did meet with the Braget Cat as aforesaid, and the said Cat did retire and leap back into the said Thomas Eastchurch’s Shop.
‘The said Examinant, being further demanded when she was at the said Thomas Eastchurch’s house, the last time, saith, that she was at the said Mr. Eastchurch’s house upon Friday the 30th day of June last past; and that the Devil, in the shape of the said black Man was there with her: And that they went up again into the said Chamber, where she found the said Grace Thomas lying in her Bed in a very sad condition. Notwithstanding which, she, this Examinant and the said Black Man did torment her again: And saith and confesseth that she, this Examinant had almost drawn her out of her Bed, and that on purpose to put her, the said Grace out of her Life.
‘And further saith, that the black Man (or rather the Devil) did promise this Examinant that no one should discover her.
‘And further confesseth that the said black Man (or rather the Devil) as aforesaid, did suck her Teats, and that she did kneel down to him in the Street, as she was returning to her own house, and after that they had tormented the said Grace Thomas in manner as last above mentioned.
‘Being demanded of what stature the said black Man was, saith, that he was about the length of her Arm: And that his Eyes were very big; and that he hopt or leapt in the way before her, and, afterwards, did suck her again as she was lying down; and that his sucking was with a great pain unto her, and, afterwards vanish’d clear away out of her sight.
‘This Examinant doth further confess, That upon the