WEBVTT 1 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:33.799 Welcome to the fifth day of Halloween week. 2 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:36.719 After today, there. 3 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:41.280 Are two more to go. My name is Jacko, and 4 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:44.600 over the years I have had the immense pleasure of 5 00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:48.719 being your master of ceremonies along the way, and I 6 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:55.039 do hope you've enjoyed all the terrifying tales. But today 7 00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:59.240 things will take an even darker turn as we travel 8 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:05.560 into the sixteen hundreds to discuss the ever so famous 9 00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:13.159 Pendle Witch Trials. So let's get into it, shall we. 10 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:17.680 Here are your hosts of Wikied and Grim to present 11 00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:23.319 the fifth day of Halloween Week, Ben and Nicole. 12 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:29.159 He's right, we're getting into the Pendle Witch Trials today. 13 00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:32.599 Hmmm. Oh man, I'm excited for this. 14 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:34.719 Have you heard of this specific witch trial. 15 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:38.079 I can't say that I have now because. 16 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:39.799 We all know like the witch trials and like kind 17 00:01:39.799 --> 00:01:43.040 of what happened and everything. Yeah, and this one, I mean, 18 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:46.280 it's it's pretty much exactly what you expect, but there's 19 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:49.040 a few details surrounding it that's just like, oh man, 20 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:52.840 if only that didn't happen, then everyone would have been 21 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:53.799 fine sort of thing. 22 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:55.799 Oh, one of those it's. 23 00:01:55.640 --> 00:01:58.560 Just like a domino effect that just like it kept 24 00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:00.879 going like bigger and bigger. Domine was falling and it's like, 25 00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:04.159 holy shit, yeah, the straw that broke the camel's back. 26 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:06.680 Kind of thing. Hmm, okay, there you go. 27 00:02:07.079 --> 00:02:12.439 Yeah. So yeah, I hope everyone out there is enjoying 28 00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:17.400 their Halloween festivities. I saw a post today, well yesterday, 29 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:21.680 but I digress. It was can we all just agree 30 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:26.759 that there's two Halloween weekends this year? Oh okay, because 31 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:28.400 Halloween like falls in the middle of the week, so 32 00:02:28.439 --> 00:02:31.719 it's like the weekend before and the weekend after. 33 00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:36.080 Yeah, what is it? It's on a Thursday, actual Halloween. 34 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:39.000 So now you go to check a calendar just be sure. Yeah, Thursday. 35 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:41.560 But I feel like once Thursday hits, is it really 36 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:43.000 going to carry on into the weekend? 37 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:47.199 Oh yeah, okay, definitely. I've seen parties scheduled, like not 38 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:51.400 even just like friends and stuff parties, but like actual events. 39 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:54.120 Yeah yeah, okay, huh yeah that is cool. 40 00:02:54.199 --> 00:02:57.719 Though I think Halloween should be three weeks. I think 41 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:00.560 just the whole month of October could just be Halloween. 42 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:02.280 Well, I think for a lot of people it is 43 00:03:02.360 --> 00:03:04.400 the full month of October. 44 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:07.960 Though, touche touche it is, But for many it's not 45 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:10.319 for many their Christmas shoppings. You know. 46 00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:13.919 Well, yeah, we've talked about that already. I think we 47 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:17.000 have we have Day in your Lane Christmas exactly. 48 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:21.080 But we're here to talk about some witch trials today, 49 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:23.360 not Christmas. So are you ready for this? 50 00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:26.280 I am. I'm going to be very interested in this one. 51 00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:32.199 Well, Buckley, you's seatbelt because here we go. Okay. So, 52 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:36.840 in the early seventeenth century, England was gripped by an 53 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:41.960 extremely massive fear of witchcraft, an anxiety that basically built 54 00:03:41.960 --> 00:03:45.319 into a series of these infamous witch trials all across 55 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:49.039 the country. Among the most notorious were the Pendle witch 56 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:52.319 Trials of sixteen twelve, which unfolded in the remote rural 57 00:03:52.360 --> 00:03:56.759 landscape of Lancashire. This was driven by the superstition, social 58 00:03:56.800 --> 00:03:59.599 tension and harsh legal system at the time, and the 59 00:03:59.639 --> 00:04:04.159 trials resulted in the execution of ten individuals. 60 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:07.479 Yeah wow, yeah. 61 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:09.800 So it was back up, just ever so slightly before 62 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:12.080 we get into the actual year of these events. It's 63 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:16.040 the early sixteen hundreds in England and it's following the 64 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:19.279 Elizabeth era and the ascension of King James. The first 65 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:23.480 brought a really heightened fear of witchcraft into England. He's 66 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:26.680 a new monarch, and he had a notorious fascination with 67 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:30.399 the occult, which I honestly can't blame him. It is 68 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:33.199 fascinating to all help. But I think for him it 69 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:36.399 was more so like a fear of the occult along 70 00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:39.480 with the fascination, so he was really diving into it, 71 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:42.439 and he was also like fearful of what it could do. 72 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:45.240 Like almost maybe an unhealthy obsession too. 73 00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:48.959 Definitely, Yeah, even like a strong superstition where it's like 74 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:51.399 because people are like, don't walk under ladders, don't like 75 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:54.680 black cat cross your path, people who are superstitious. There, 76 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:57.360 it's almost like a borderline fear of it an obsession 77 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:00.720 with him, like you say, so, that's definitely kind of 78 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:01.319 where he was. 79 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:04.920 So I keep opening umbrellas in the studio to dry 80 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:07.120 them out, which I'm thinking, maybe I need to stop 81 00:05:07.160 --> 00:05:08.879 doing that because my luck's been shit lately. 82 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:12.439 Yeah, your photography studio is just going to be cursed now, wow, 83 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:15.879 good job. But James himself had actually even wrote a 84 00:05:15.879 --> 00:05:20.079 book called Demonology in fifteen ninety seven that expressed his 85 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:23.120 personal views on the dangers of witches and outlined methods 86 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:28.759 for identifying them and prosecuting them. His writings would amplify 87 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:32.560 already existing superstitions among civilians, turning what was once just 88 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:37.240 kind of a local fear into like a malevolent, terrorizing 89 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:39.759 kind of blanket across the nation. 90 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:44.160 Which isn't good because I mean, how is this like 91 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:47.040 was his writings and stuff all backed up, you know? 92 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:48.120 And oh definitely not. 93 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:50.160 No, No, that's not good. 94 00:05:50.600 --> 00:05:52.879 No, it definitely no. It's just basically him like making 95 00:05:52.920 --> 00:05:55.000 stuff up talking to a priest all that priest said this, 96 00:05:55.120 --> 00:05:56.920 Oh you know what I saw someone who said this, 97 00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:58.600 and just making shit up as he goes. 98 00:05:58.720 --> 00:05:59.519 Oh dang. 99 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:03.439 I'm sure some of it has some facts behind it. 100 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:06.000 You know, there's actual like because there is quote unquote 101 00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:09.720 like witchcraft out there right There's there's charms or protecting 102 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:11.959 spells are like you know, burning stage or you can 103 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:14.319 do sater those sorts of things like in that those 104 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:18.519 are rooted very much so in culture. So those are 105 00:06:18.839 --> 00:06:21.839 factual things what they actually do. I mean, science and 106 00:06:22.839 --> 00:06:26.199 history can debate, but I'm sure there's some of that 107 00:06:26.240 --> 00:06:29.439 in the book, but he's probably like if you see 108 00:06:29.480 --> 00:06:32.439 a woman and she can do math, which. 109 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:36.720 Like you know what I mean, as an example. Yeah, yeah, gosh, 110 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:40.319 so so just like fearing everybody out there. 111 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:42.759 Hey, pretty much. Now, I do want to put air 112 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:46.240 quotes around around what I said. I've not read his books, 113 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:48.480 I do not intend to read his books, but I 114 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:52.480 can imagine that's along the lines of what it would contain. Yeah. 115 00:06:52.519 --> 00:06:54.920 So there was a religious reform movement that was called 116 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:59.360 the Protestant Reformation. It was still influencing daily life at 117 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:03.720 this time, and as religious leaders denounce practices they saw 118 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:10.759 like as pagan basically, the rift between Catholicism and Protestantism 119 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:15.480 basically just continued, having just these tears between society essentially, 120 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:19.319 and this allowed accusations of witchcraft to serve as a 121 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:24.160 convenient way to target specific individuals, which, unfortunately were particularly 122 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:28.759 those who were socially marginalized, often poor, elderly, and those 123 00:07:28.839 --> 00:07:30.319 otherwise vulnerable. 124 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:36.399 Oh yeah, oh no, I don't like this at all. 125 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:39.720 So the small rural communities near Pendle Heel Hill in 126 00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:44.480 Lancashire were particularly susceptible to the power of superstition at 127 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:48.879 the time. So these communities were largely poor and very isolated, 128 00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:52.680 with residents relying traditionally on folk magic and herbal remedies 129 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:55.959 to survive. It's literally their way of life because they 130 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:58.879 don't have access to the bigger cities where I mean 131 00:07:58.920 --> 00:08:01.680 it is the sixteen hundreds. I'm gonna put doctors in quotes. 132 00:08:02.040 --> 00:08:05.519 But they just have themselves, the herbs that grow around here, 133 00:08:05.560 --> 00:08:08.000 and just what's been carried on through the ages. Right, 134 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:12.360 So these sort of practices were often misunderstood and views 135 00:08:12.439 --> 00:08:15.240 as evidence of wicked influences. 136 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:17.000 Oh my goodness. 137 00:08:17.319 --> 00:08:19.160 Yeah, these people are just living their life, trying to 138 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:20.399 survive and do what they need to do. 139 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:24.639 And it's like hmmm, and then some person is putting 140 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:27.600 like making it have a watchful eye on them. Basically 141 00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:29.879 just definitely. 142 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:31.680 Now there's a little bit more to it than that 143 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:33.759 when we get into the actual story, but we're we're 144 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:36.240 getting there, so don't you worry now. At the time, 145 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:39.679 Lancashire was one of England's poor and more isolated areas, 146 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:43.200 as I said, with few opportunities for work and advancement, 147 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:46.360 with limited access to doctors formal education, people in the 148 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:49.320 area just had these, like I said, things passed down. 149 00:08:49.799 --> 00:08:55.480 These customs were often often included charms, herbal mixtures, practicing 150 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:59.759 rituals to guard against illness or bad luck and natural disasters, 151 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:04.000 even but outsiders increasingly saw these practices as superstitious and 152 00:09:04.200 --> 00:09:09.279 suspicious and dangerous. Now Nestled within Lancashire's landscape was Pendall Hill. 153 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:12.919 It was known for its eerie shrouded slopes with expansive 154 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:16.639 views and like gorgeous landscape. Honestly, the hill itself has 155 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:19.559 long held a sort of mystical allure around it, and 156 00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:23.480 early seventeenth century Pendall Hill and its surrounding villages were small. 157 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:25.679 They were tight knit communities where everyone kind of knew 158 00:09:25.720 --> 00:09:29.480 each other's business sort of thing. And of course, in 159 00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:33.080 Pendall Hill and these villages, the belief in witchcraft was 160 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:36.600 a normal part of life for them because, as I mentioned, 161 00:09:36.679 --> 00:09:40.399 that's how they survived with these remedies, with these you know, 162 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:42.799 it seems like there's a storm on the wind, or 163 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:45.200 maybe we're on a drought, we need crops, these sort 164 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:47.159 of things, and they put out these charms or these 165 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:50.320 things out into the universe, and this witchcraft, if you will, 166 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:53.559 to kind of protect them and keep these things alive. 167 00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:56.559 Well, I mean, gosh, that couldn't hurt, right, That's what 168 00:09:56.600 --> 00:09:57.279 they believed in. 169 00:09:57.440 --> 00:09:59.440 Yeah, well not only that they just made sense of 170 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:02.080 their surrounding because they're so isolated, right, so they just 171 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:06.000 did what they had, what God gave them sort of things, 172 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:09.480 ye say, right exactly. It became like this area of 173 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:13.279 Pendle Hill became a very symbolic area. It became a 174 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:16.799 symbol of conflict between traditional rural beliefs and growing influences 175 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:18.960 of authorities who wanted to control or punish those who 176 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:22.879 didn't conform. So you have the old ways that are 177 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:26.240 very rooted here still and the new ways trying to 178 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:29.080 come in. And it became like that, that balancing point, 179 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:35.919 that final stand almost at the heart of Pendell the 180 00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:39.519 Pendal Witch trial, Sorry, were two families, the Demdikes and 181 00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:44.919 the Chathokses. There was quite a rivalry and suspicion and 182 00:10:45.240 --> 00:10:49.879 superstition between these two families. So the matriarchs, Elizabeth Southern's 183 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:53.759 Old Demdike and Ann Wittle Old chat Talks, were both 184 00:10:53.840 --> 00:10:57.639 respected as wise women who practice folk magic. They had 185 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:01.200 reputations for using charms and irmal remedy skills that were 186 00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:04.200 sought out by locals when they needed them. Right, but 187 00:11:04.279 --> 00:11:07.000 at the time when folk practice were increasingly labeled as 188 00:11:07.080 --> 00:11:10.600 dangerous or witchcraft. These abilities put them under intense scrutiny. 189 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:15.320 So old Demdike then in her eighties, which in the 190 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:16.559 sixteen hundred, it's like. 191 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:19.759 Yeah, dang, that's like a good life, like good. 192 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:22.480 Long life, no kidding, which I can only imagine would 193 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:26.240 fuel her being a witch sort of thing, not even 194 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:29.440 like in a negative way, but like before they're under 195 00:11:29.480 --> 00:11:31.559 the microscope. Think of like the locals and everything who 196 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:33.759 were seeking out someone to do a good luck charm 197 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:35.799 or something. Yeah, talk to the eighty year old witch 198 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:37.720 up the fucking hill, right, you know what I mean? 199 00:11:39.240 --> 00:11:41.320 But she had a long standing reputation in Pendle for 200 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:44.559 her knowledge of charms and curses as well. Her daughter 201 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:48.240 Elizabeth Device and her granddaughter Alison Device were believed to 202 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:51.519 carry out her practices inheriting both her knowledge and the 203 00:11:51.559 --> 00:11:54.440 stigma that came along with it. Now the chat Talks 204 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:58.120 is meanwhile, we're often seen as rivals with old chat 205 00:11:58.200 --> 00:12:02.000 Talks as recognized for her super supernatural abilities. The family 206 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:04.440 had been at odds for years back and forth between 207 00:12:04.440 --> 00:12:08.720 these two right, with accusations of theft, jealousy, and occasional 208 00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:14.320 curses keeping tensions extremely high. These conflicts would reach a 209 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:18.279 breaking point when Alison Device, one of the Demdike's, allegedly 210 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:23.279 cursed a peddler. So, as the story goes in March 211 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:26.279 nine of sixteen sorry, I used to going back this 212 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:30.200 far in time. Sixteen twelve, Alison Device, the granddaughter of 213 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:34.679 Old Demdike, crossed paths with a local peddler named John 214 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:39.759 Law along a road in column now, Alison, impoverished and desperate, 215 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:42.919 she asked John for a few pins, was a small 216 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:45.840 but valuable item which is often associated with folk magic 217 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:49.759 and used in healing. He, however, refused to give them 218 00:12:49.799 --> 00:12:58.120 to her. She, in frustration, allegedly cursed him, and shortly thereafter, John, 219 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:02.080 while still on the road, was struck by something and 220 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:05.559 collapsed with a sudden paralysis on the side of his body. 221 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:07.799 Oh man, okay. 222 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:11.559 Now, in hindsight with modern medicine, paralysis in the side 223 00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:12.679 of the body sounds. 224 00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:13.919 Much like a stroke. Yeah. 225 00:13:14.279 --> 00:13:16.559 But even still, whether it's a stroke or something that 226 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:19.039 we can explain away today doesn't mean it's not influenced 227 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:21.679 by a curse. Right, She could have forced that stroke 228 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:22.159 upon him. 229 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:25.000 If this magic is real, well yeah, and then I feel, 230 00:13:25.480 --> 00:13:27.879 I mean, like so many of them back then, believed 231 00:13:27.879 --> 00:13:29.440 in this right so exactly. 232 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:35.480 So news of John's mysterious affliction quickly spread across Pendel Hill. 233 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:39.279 It also spread much farther as well, which fueled suspicions 234 00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:41.960 of witchcraft in the area and put a target on 235 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:47.559 these people. Alison was eventually confronted by local authorities. Oh yeah, 236 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:53.399 and she reportedly confessed to cursing John under intense scrutiny 237 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:58.080 and pressure. It didn't end there, though, She also implicated 238 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:01.320 her grandmother, Old Demdike, and they're family members of the 239 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:05.720 chat Tawks family. Allison's confession was all it took to 240 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:09.200 spread suspicion over her family and even her rivals. Oh no, 241 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:13.039 it was only the start of the floodgates of accusations 242 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:16.279 that would soon sweep up the family, neighbors and rivals alike. 243 00:14:17.639 --> 00:14:21.000 So after she admitted to cursing John, local magistrate Roger 244 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:26.799 Nowell launched a full investigation, interviewing villagers, family members, you 245 00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:29.679 name it, everyone to uncover what he believed would be 246 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:32.679 a network of witches operating in the area. 247 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:35.600 So it's not even necessarily that this is like a 248 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:39.080 crime per se, but it's a crime I guess that 249 00:14:38.120 --> 00:14:44.600 they're doing witchcraft, right, Like cursing someone isn't necessarily a crime, 250 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:48.240 but it's just showing that they're witches, which is not okay. 251 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:50.799 Well that time, if you're going to curse someone, you're 252 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:52.759 basically going to be a witch, which is a crime. 253 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:56.440 So cursing someone therefore is a crime technically, okay, or 254 00:14:56.519 --> 00:14:57.279 crime adjacent. 255 00:14:57.600 --> 00:14:59.679 It's just I don't know. It's just so interesting listening 256 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:02.480 because this shit would just like not really fly today 257 00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:05.039 because could you imagine be like I cursed that person, 258 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:06.679 They'd be like, okay, cool. 259 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:10.679 Yeah, you're crazy. Fuck you, good luck with your curses. 260 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:11.080 You know. 261 00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:13.759 I don't know why I put on a bus next 262 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:14.960 and thought, oh. 263 00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:15.360 You really did. 264 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:17.080 I was like, okay, we're going there. 265 00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:20.639 I mean maybe it's because of like you know, like actually, no, 266 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:21.919 I don't know where I was going with us, because 267 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:23.639 there's some witch trials down in Salem, which isn't too 268 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:25.279 far from Boston. I think that maybe that's why I 269 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:25.600 did that. 270 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:26.360 That's why you did that. 271 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:32.000 Yeah, anyways, I digress. Now. The accusations spread quickly. Noel's 272 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:34.840 investigation led to the arrests of both the dam Dykes 273 00:15:34.919 --> 00:15:38.399 and the Chatthawk's family, along with other villages as well, 274 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:41.639 villagers as well, sorry, villagers that were rumored to be 275 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:44.200 involved in witchcraft, because as I mentioned, he's going around 276 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:47.039 talking to different villagers, different family members, He's talking to 277 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:50.360 everyone in the area. And these are people who, as 278 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:53.000 I mentioned at the very beginning, and know every detail 279 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:55.679 about each other. They're all up in each other's business, right, 280 00:15:55.720 --> 00:15:57.720 So all it takes is for two people to maybe 281 00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:00.200 argue over something earlier and someone like shake their fish 282 00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:04.159 curse you, wow, you said the wrong thing two weeks ago. 283 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:06.240 If one person's going to pass this on to the 284 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:09.120 local authorities, and now you're implicated as a witch as well. 285 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:12.240 Yeah yeah, roomed, I guess. 286 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:18.720 Yeah, there's nothing you can do. So where am I here? Okay? 287 00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:22.759 So each interrogation brought more accusations, with suspects revealing details 288 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:26.320 about charms, curses and suppose deals with the devils, and 289 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:29.000 this is where all that like you know, talking stuff 290 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:31.639 and back and forth and all that comes in. So 291 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:34.759 under pressure, the accused named others as well. So when 292 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:37.879 they get accused, they also name someone else, and people 293 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:39.679 being arrested quite a bit. 294 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:42.320 So yeah, this is just going down a complete rabbit 295 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:43.799 hole of shit exactly. 296 00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:46.600 And remember these are small villages too, so it's not 297 00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:49.039 like the population is high here. I would imagine, like, 298 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:51.320 I don't even think the population would have broke a hundred. 299 00:16:51.840 --> 00:16:52.919 It's like, that's my guess. 300 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:54.240 This is kind of sad. Like. 301 00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:57.279 Yeah, So, by the end of the investigation, twelve people 302 00:16:57.320 --> 00:17:00.639 were accused of witchcraft and ten would go to trial. 303 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:05.440 The alleged crimes included cursing livestock, causing illness, and even 304 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:07.599 to the far extent of murder. 305 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:09.799 Oh wow, Okay. 306 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:13.200 What started as a single accusation quickly spiraled into a 307 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:16.799 full blown witch hunt, with the fear and distrust taking 308 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:20.200 over the entire community because they were pointing fingers all 309 00:17:20.279 --> 00:17:20.920 at each other. 310 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:26.440 Yeah, it's too bad. I don't know. You almost think, oh, 311 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:30.279 this little community could have, you know, almost like protected 312 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:33.920 themselves in a way. I probably still would have gotten 313 00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:37.119 out and stuff. But like if they had just I 314 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:39.000 don't know, but I mean, they all would have had 315 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:41.599 it been on the same page and talking and exactly 316 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:44.640 and stuff and had this like already planned if this 317 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:45.519 ever came down. 318 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:48.160 And the thing is too if you if you're being 319 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:52.039 sitting here like interviewed by the magistrate and you button up. 320 00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:55.160 You're not being honest, you're not talking. They're probably gonna 321 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:58.480 accuse you of aft. Well you're not talking, you don't 322 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:01.640 want to give details clearly or hiding something like yeah, 323 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:03.319 who knows what they're going to do at that time 324 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:04.359 that day and age right. 325 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:06.559 M hm, and like they were being convinced that they 326 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:10.279 were doing something wrong and so yeah. 327 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:12.880 Exactly so. And I'm sure there's lots of things like 328 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:15.519 I don't think charms would have been abnormal in the area. 329 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:17.319 So if the magistrate's knocking on your door and they 330 00:18:17.319 --> 00:18:19.680 see a charm right there and be like, oh, what's this? Oh, 331 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:21.599 it will tell me who gave that to you and 332 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:23.319 you will be safe, like, you know, tell me where 333 00:18:23.319 --> 00:18:26.039 you got that from. Yeah, and then you spill the beans. 334 00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:30.119 So the trial of Pendle Witches took place in August 335 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:34.720 of sixteen twelve at the Lancaster I Sees Church or 336 00:18:34.759 --> 00:18:38.000 Sorry Court. It's a court known for giving out harsh punishments, 337 00:18:38.039 --> 00:18:40.359 which is hey, the perfect place for witch trial right. 338 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:44.519 The case was led by Sir James Altham, a strict 339 00:18:44.599 --> 00:18:49.200 judge with a firm stance against witchcraft, so. 340 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:50.920 Not bias at all, not at all. 341 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:54.759 The odds are always stacking up in these of course, right. Yeah, 342 00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:57.440 So the accused face serious charges, as I mentioned, things 343 00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:01.359 even upwards as far as murder, and they were seen 344 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:05.079 as major threats to both society and the crown. Specifically, 345 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:08.640 the courtroom was filled with villagers, magistrates, and officials, all 346 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:12.400 gathered to witness what would occur. So those who were 347 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:15.400 accused were mostly poor, unable to read or write, and 348 00:19:15.400 --> 00:19:17.960 they didn't even have lawyers to help them. They faced 349 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:21.400 a trial where they had little chance to defend themselves, 350 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:24.480 let alone even have a chance of getting out of there. 351 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:27.319 That's so sad, I know. 352 00:19:28.319 --> 00:19:32.440 So claims of spectral evidence, which is where people reported 353 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:39.200 seeing supernatural events, were accepted without question, including stories about gatherings, curses, 354 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:42.400 and dealings with the devil. So I saw this person 355 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:45.440 speaking with the devil directly. They took that as facts 356 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:48.839 in the courtroom. Yeah, that's what they did. They're like, 357 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:51.960 I saw this person, I don't know, there was an 358 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:54.880 aura around them on the full moon, and I saw 359 00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:58.759 them out in the middle of the night. Like that 360 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:01.200 sort of shit was just take in his fact. Someone 361 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:03.680 could just spill whatever the fuck they wanted and it 362 00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:04.720 was taken as fact. 363 00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:06.839 I know, because you almost wonder if all of it, 364 00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:09.039 you know, if some of it. I'm sure some of 365 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:11.359 the stuff that came out was like made up. Oh, 366 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:15.000 I'm sure majority of it was, especially with like rival 367 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:18.480 rivalries going on in the in the town or village 368 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:19.000 or whatever. 369 00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:23.279 Right, exactly, I lost my place here? Where are we? 370 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:27.039 I do not know we are? Oh, I'm just going 371 00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:28.440 to tell you what we just talked about. 372 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:32.960 So the authorities also relied heavily on claims of quote 373 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:37.160 witch marks, which remarks physical marks on the accused which 374 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:39.559 were believed to show the pre the pact that they 375 00:20:39.559 --> 00:20:42.400 have with the devil. The only problem is these witch 376 00:20:42.440 --> 00:20:45.720 marks were not consistent and always the same, so they 377 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:47.960 could be as harmless as a birthmark or a scar 378 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:52.559 that each individual possessed on their body. So the court 379 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:53.960 would look at them be like, you have a scar 380 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:56.720 in your wrist, that's your pack with the devil. You 381 00:20:56.799 --> 00:20:59.160 got a birthmark on your shoulder, that's your pact with 382 00:20:59.200 --> 00:20:59.559 the devil. 383 00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:02.480 Early just shit that you were born with, yep. 384 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:06.000 Or it's like I got this scar farming two years ago. Yeah, 385 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:08.599 when you made a pact with the devil, you heathen, 386 00:21:09.079 --> 00:21:12.039 like you know, like they're just literally making it up. 387 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:13.799 And this is the sort of stuff that probably would 388 00:21:13.799 --> 00:21:15.839 have been written in that book by King James the first. 389 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:18.240 This sort of shit. The mark of the pact that 390 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:20.200 the devil can be hidden in any ways, and different 391 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:23.319 from person to person, as their packs all change, search 392 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:25.799 their bodies to find a mark. It is most guaranteed 393 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:27.480 that is the pact. I just made that up, but 394 00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:29.759 I'm sure it says something along live to that, you know. 395 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:33.160 So some of these people honestly were just doomed from 396 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:35.799 the start, really like there's like nothing they could even do. 397 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:39.640 No chance. Now, these marks, as I mentioned, could be harmless, 398 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:43.640 but they were always seen as proof of guilt. Other 399 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:48.000 evidence include descriptions of witches, familiars, or spirit animal companions. 400 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:50.759 So if you had a pet or something, yeah, that's 401 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:52.240