Confessions of the wicked soul

Witches-the name itself is reminiscent of all that is not pagan...though not true...sorcery was aimed to do better with Mother Earth but then there is a dark side to everything...If we turn back the pages of English Legal History, we will find that The Pendle Witches or Lancashire Witches were infamously famous...In the year 1612, at Lancaster Gaol, in the English county of Lancashire, ten men and women were hanged for the crime of witchcraft.

The Pendle Witches, as they became known, were believed to have been responsible for the murder by witchcraft of seventeen people in and around the Forest of Pendle.

There were in total thirteen Pendle Witches: Alizon Device, Elizabeth Device, James Device, Anne Whittle, alias Chattox, Anne Redferne, Alice Nutter, Katherine Hewitt, John Bulcock, Jane Bulcock & Isobel Robey were the ten hanged at Lancaster gaol.

Elizabeth Southerns, alias Demdike, died in Lancaster Gaol awaiting trial, but was nevertheless considered to be a witch on the basis of evidence already given. Jennet Preston, who lived just over the Lancashire border, was tried in Yorkshire and hanged at York in 1612. Finally, Magaret Pearson was found guilty of witchcraft at Lancaster, but not murder, and received a sentance of one years imprisonment.

Felony and murders seemed to be at a culminating point with these wizards..These Pendle Witches were accused of selling their souls to familiar spirits or messengers of Satan who would appear in a human or animal form. As a token for the souls, these witches recieved the power ti kill and slaughter anyone they pleased.So much is known about the Pendle Witches because the proceedings of the Lancashire trial where recorded by the clerk of the court Thomas Potts and published in the book: The Wonderful Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster.

The majority of the evidence came from the confessions of just four of the accused: Alizon Device, her brother James Device, their grandmother Demdike, and their enemy Chattox.
Demdike tells how she sold her soul to a spirit named 'Tibb'.

"The said elizabeth southerns confesseth, and sayth; that about twentie yeares past, as she was comming homeward from begging, there met her this examinate neere unto a stonepit in gouldshey, in the sayd forrest of pendle, a spirit or devil in the shape of a boy, the one half of his coate blacke, and the other browne, who bade this examinate stay, saying to her, that if she would give him her soule, she should have any thing that she would request. Whereupon this examinate demanded his name? And the spirit answered, his name was tibb: and so this examinate in hope of such gain as was promised by the sayd devill or tibb, was contented to give her soule to the said spirit: and for the space of five or sixe yeares next after, the sayd spirit or devill appeared at sundry times unto her this examinate about day-light gate, always bidding her stay, and asking her this examinate what she would have or do. To whom this examinate replyed, nay nothing: for she this examinate said, she wanted nothing yet."

Read many more interesting case histories at: http://www.pendlewitches.co.uk