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Are these Britain's MOST HAUNTED places?
HistoryExtra's Lauren Good explores the history behind five of the most haunted places in Britain – from the location that inspired Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' to a Welsh museum with many stories to tell
From Whitby Abbey to Inveraray Castle, here's a rundown of five locations in Britain you probably wouldn't want to venture to unaccompanied at night! Lauren Good explores the spooky legends that haunt these spots, and the real history that inspires them. View Green Video on the source website
Halloween stories: 10 terrifying tales from medieval to modern history
Explore chilling stories told across the centuries, from medieval hauntings to Victorian messages from the dead…
Halloween’s roots lie in the ancient festival Samhain. Celebrated on the evening of 31 October and into 1 November, Celts believed this was when the boundary between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. They would make offerings to their gods around a bonfire, and dress in costumes to confuse the malevolent spirits that might wander the earth. It’s no surprise, therefore, that today we gather in the darkened evenings of autumn to share a ghost story or two – a tradition that has lasted centuries. Read more | What is the history of Halloween? From medieval hauntings to Victorian messages from the dead, explore ten ghost stories from history… Shrieking and groaning at Hinton Ampner The haunting of the Manor House at Hinton Ampner, near Alresford, Hampshire, began simply enough with the inexplicable banging of doors. A groom said he had seen an apparition of its former owner, Lord Stawell. Mary and William Ricketts had purchased the manor in 1765, and soon began to regret it. When William left for a lengthy trip to Jamaica four years later, leaving his wife and three young children, the poltergeist phenomena began to intensify: Mary began to hear footsteps, knocking noises, and the rustle of silk in her bedchamber. By the spring of 1771, mysterious murmurings, groanings, and shrieks plagued the Manor House. William was still abroad. Mary’s brother, Sir John Jervis, came to investigate, but could find no rational cause for the disturbances. The family moved out shortly after, and the house was demolished a few years later. Was it the ghost of Lord Stawell, or perhaps another previous owner, Sir Hugh Stewkeley? A local pauper had told the family that Stewkeley was rumoured to have buried treasure under the floorboards of the dining room. By Professor Owen Davies The Haunting of Frodriver First recorded in the 13th century as part of the Eyrbyggja Saga, and translated by Sir Walter Scott in 1814 in Illustrations of Northern Antiquities. The story begins as a Hebridian woman named Thorgunna arrives in Iceland one winter. A local woman named Thuirda notices the rich treasures that Thorgunna possesses, and presses her to come and stay with her at her home in Froda. Thorgunna refuses to part with any of her precious things, but agrees to stay and work as a servant. Soon Thorgunna falls ill and dies, but leaves behind a warning: her bedding is to be burnt, and most of her effects given to local monks. This, she says, is not out of spite, but as a way to protect the settlement from an evil that is coming. Inevitably, Thurida can't resist taking the rich bedding of Thorgunna for herself, and sure enough the residents of Froda begin to fall victim to a series of grisly accidents, ghostly attacks, and mysterious plagues. After a funeral feast is held, they are beset by a crowd of walking ghouls that refuse to leave, and which gather around the central fire of the main hall each night. But deliverance soon arrives when Kiartan, the son of Thurida, engages a local priest to stage a trial. The ghouls are charged with staying unlawfully in the hall, and eventually their leader declares, somewhat petulantly: “We have here no longer a peaceful dwelling, therefore will we remove.” By George Dobbs Nunnifying Mary Boucher Mary Boucher was a London servant woman employed by a Catholic lady. According to the clergyman John Gee (d1639), the lady hatched a plot with three Jesuits to convert Mary to Catholicism, and so have her ‘Nunnified’. What better way to persuade Mary to convert to the Catholic faith than to convince her that ghosts returned from purgatory? One of the conspirators dressed up in a white sheet and approached Mary as she lay in bed one night. The supposed spirit touched Mary with “a hand cold as earth or iron” and claimed to be her long-deceased godmother: “See that you tell my children what you have seen, and how their mother appeared unto you”. When Mary told her mother about the ghostly visitation, she convinced her daughter that it was nothing but a popish trick. But maybe John Gee, who claimed to have visited Mary to verify the story, was making up his own stories to deflect rumours that he himself was in thrall to the papacy… By Professor Owen Davies The ghost with a message for George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham There was a man who had spent part of his youth in the same parish where Sir George, the father of the Duke of Buckingham, had lived. He cherished fond memories of old Sir George, who had always treated him kindly. By February 1628, the man, who was now in his fifties and renowned for his honesty and discretion, was employed as an officer in the wardrobe of King James VI and I at Windsor Castle. One night, at about midnight, his peaceful rest was disturbed by a distinguished-looking gentleman who suddenly appeared by his bed, pulled aside the heavy curtains and fixed his eyes upon him. “Do you know me?” the visitor asked, but the wardrobe master was too terrified to answer. The spirit asked again whether he remembered him. Of course, he remembered him; it was old Sir George, still wearing the very clothes he used to wear. “You are Sir George,” he stammered out, to which the spirit answered that he was right. The ghost then demanded a service from him: he was to take a message to his son, the Duke of Buckingham, and tell him that “if he did not do somewhat to ingratiate himself to the people, or, at least to be able to abate the extreme malice they had against him, he would be suffered to live a short time.” The ghost, having said its piece, vanished, leaving the man alone in the silent darkness. However, once recovered from the initial shock of the unsettling experience, he managed to persuade himself that it had been nothing more than a bad dream. Turning over, he slept soundly until morning. The next night, the wardrobe master received another visit from Sir George. This time, the spirit seemed rather less friendly than it had been the first time. It asked him if he had done as he was asked, but the man had to admit that he had not. At this, the ghost reprimanded him sharply and warned that he would enjoy no peace of mind, but would always be harassed until he did as he had been asked. The man promised to obey but, upon waking up in the morning, he believed himself once again to have been the victim of a vivid dream. In any case, how could a man of his lowly standing gain access to the duke and, even if he were admitted into his presence, how could he expect the duke to believe his story? Although the man could not shake off a feeling of disquiet, he dismissed the idea of obeying the ghost’s command and going to the duke. A short while later, old Sir George appeared again to the wardrobe master. This time the spirit was clearly very angry with him. The man, trembling with fear, summoned the courage to tell the ghost that he had been putting off obeying his command because he thought it would be too difficult to gain access to the duke since he had no friend who could introduce him. Moreover even if he could secure an audience, he would never be able to make the duke believe who had sent him and why. He feared he would be thought mad, or else he would be seized by the duke’s enemies and made to abuse him, thereby placing himself in very grave danger. The spirit merely replied at it had done before, that the man would never find peace until he did as he had been told; and therefore, he should get on with it. The ghost then assured him that access to the duke was known to be very easy, and that very few had to wait any length of time to see him. In order to give his message credence, the ghost gave him some information that only the duke would know, and that he was to tell no one but the duke, who would then believe everything he had to say. The ghost then repeated its threat before leaving the man alone. This time, the cold light of day brought no comfort for the wardrobe master. Convinced now that the ghostly appearances had been no dream, but were real, he made his way to London and the court. Here, he encountered Sir Ralph Freeman, a lawyer who had married one of Buckingham’s relatives. The man told him, though without going into detail, what had happened to him. Sir Ralph knew the wardrobe master to be a sober and upright man and he was inclined to believe his extraordinary story. The man added that he had much to tell the Lord of Buckingham, but that he required privacy. Sir Ralph promised that he would speak to the duke on his behalf. Sir Ralph was as good as his word and he approached Buckingham who, having been assured that the wardrobe master was a man of good character, agreed to see him. He told Sir Ralph of his plans to go hunting early the next morning and, should the man care to be at Lambeth Bridge by five o’clock in the morning, he would grant him an audience for as long as necessary. On the following day Sir Ralph duly presented the wardrobe master to Buckingham, who received him with all the cordiality for which he was renowned. The two men walked together for an hour, while Sir Ralph kept watch from a distance. Although Sir Ralph could not hear what passed between the duke and the wardrobe master, he noticed that on occasion, Buckingham became greatly agitated. When the man returned, he explained to Sir Ralph that when he mentioned the secret pieces of information that were to gain him credence, the duke’s colour had changed, and Buckingham swore that the wardrobe master could only have known what he did if the devil had told him, for the information was so secret that only he and one other knew them, and the other knew better than to speak of them. Later, Buckingham mounted his horse for the hunt, but he could not enjoy the exercise. Instead, he spent the morning riding aimlessly, lost in worried thoughts. Before the morning was out, the duke went to see his mother, the Countess of Buckingham who lived in Whitehall, and the two of them remained shut up together for two or three hours. Their conversation was agitated to say the least, and the noise of their discourse disturbed those in the rooms adjoining theirs. When Buckingham finally emerged, it was noticed that he was troubled and angry, which appeared strange because mother and son normally got on remarkably well. For her part, Buckingham’s mother was found in tears and overcome by emotion. When, a few months later, the countess was told that her son had been murdered, she showed no surprise, but received the news as if she had anticipated it. Curiously, considering how close she had been to her son, Clarendon asserts that the countess did not express the sorrow that would be expected from a mother at the loss of her favourite son. By Josephine Wilkinson The Bathkeeper From The Dialogi of Gregory the Great, published in the mid-10th century. Translated by EG Gardner in 1911, and published in Medieval Ghost Stories, by Andrew Joynes A priest is visiting a hot spring when he comes across a man he hasn't seen before. The man promptly begins to attend to him, helping him to take off his clothes and shoes, and the priest naturally assumes that he is one of the servants there. The priest then visits the baths several more times, and each time the man appears to him and offers to help him, but doesn't extract any form of payment. Eventually the priest decides that he should give the man a reward. He returns the next time with two Eucharist loaves, and offers them to the man with his gratitude. When the man sees the loaves, he becomes distressed. He explains that he cannot eat holy bread, for he isn't a living man at all, but an apparition of the former overseer of the baths. He entreats the priest to intercede on his behalf so that he might find peace in the afterlife, and when he finishes speaking he vanishes, so that the priest knows for certain he has seen a ghost. The priest offers up prayers, and sure enough the ghostly attendant never returns to him. By George Dobbs The haunting of Susan Lay In 1650 an Essex servant girl named Susan Lay went to her local magistrate in great distress, saying that she was haunted by the ghost of her mistress, Priscilla Beauty, the wife of an alehouse keeper. Lay had given birth to illegitimate children by both Beauty’s husband and her son, William. Both children died in infancy. Priscilla passed away at Easter 1650. Three days after she was buried, Susan – who was then living in the alehouse barn – began to be visited by the pale ghost of her mistress calling to her, “Sue, Sue, Sue”. The anguished Susan thought the spirit of her mistress had come back from the dead to punish her for her sins – “oh this woman will be the destruction of me”, she said. When Susan threatened to commit suicide, William told her, “this is a just judgement of God upon you for if she walks, she walks to you and nobody else.” By Professor Owen Davies Byland Abbey Ghost Stories From fragments in a late 14th-century manuscript, transcribed by MR James in 1920 in Twelve Medieval Ghost Stories There are many ghost stories recorded by the Monk of Byland. One such tale features a man trying to make his way home with a load of beans after his horse meets with an accident. He sees a terrifying apparition of a horse, and after he tries to scare it away it begins to stalk him. The spirit then appears as a glowing ball of light in a cloud of hay. Finally the man confronts the spirit in the name of the lord, and a ghostly figure appears in front of him. The spirit claims that it means the man no harm, and asks to carry his load of beans for him. The man agrees, and the load is carried across a river, before reappearing on his back. After this, the spirit vanishes. In another local story, a spirit accosts two farm labourers, attacking one of them. The man calls on the lord, and the ghost confesses that it was the canon of Newburgh, excommunicated for theft. The labourer digs up a set of spoons stolen by the ghost, and afterwards its spirit rests in peace. Medieval ghost stories, then, often fall into the category of exempla – cautionary tales intended to reinforce Christian values. But they can also show the exchange of cultures happening over a large expanse of time. The events at Frodriver read like a mixture of a Christian exempla with more traditional Nordic notions of the undead, while the events described at Byland in Yorkshire feature the kind of aggressive, physical apparitions that Vikings were fond of describing. MR James – perhaps the most influential modern writer of ghost stories – was also an important medieval scholar who rediscovered many of these stories. He revived features of medieval folklore in his tales, including ghosts that transform into objects, and dangers that lurk in everyday settings. So perhaps our own ghosts are closer to the medieval than we might think… By George Dobbs A ghostly tenancy dispute In February 1834 four men applied to the Bristol magistrates to nullify the tenancy agreement they had signed because their rooms were haunted. One of the men said he saw the ghosts of two women, one wearing mourning clothes. Another’s daughter claimed she also saw the ghost of a woman with light hair and grey eyes, who wore a cap with lace strings. She felt a draft of air as the ghostly woman passed by her bed. As well as these visions, all four tenants complained of a strange blue light appearing in their rooms. The magistrate tried to convince them that there were no such things as ghosts. But the men refused to believe it, with one of them citing the Reverend John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, as an authority on their reality. Alas, the law could do nothing for the haunted tenants. By Professor Owen Davies A ghost appears to Charles I This account can be found in John Mastin’s The History and Antiquities of Naseby, published in 1792. In June 1645, shortly before the battle of Naseby, Charles I with an army of less than 5,000 foot and a similar number of horse, mustered his men at nearby Daventry to prepare for the battle that would be fought the following day. The battle would see Charles I’s royalists face Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army for the first time, and is seen by many as a key battle in the English Civil Wars. Shortly after everyone had settled down for the night, a tremendous clamour was heard coming from the king’s chamber. When his servants rushed in to see what had caused it, they found Charles sitting up in bed looking very agitated, but nothing could be found that would account for the noise they had heard. Charles, his voice shaking, said he had seen an apparition of Lord Strafford, whom he had executed four years before. After reproaching the king for his cruelty, Strafford had told him he had come to return good for evil. The spirit continued, saying in no uncertain terms that Charles must not fight the parliamentary army that was at that time quartered at Northampton, because he would never be able to conquer it by arms. The following day, Charles announced that he had changed his mind and would not go to battle after all but instead would march northwards. He knew the parliamentary forces were sparser in the north and, with the help of the discontented Scots, he might fare better. However, the king’s nephew, the courageous Prince Rupert, berated Charles so that he resolved to go ahead with the battle notwithstanding the ghostly warning. That night, Charles’s sleep was disturbed again by the ghost of Lord Strafford. This time, the spirit was angry that Charles appeared to have ignored his counsel. The ghost assured the king that this was the last time he would be permitted to offer advice and that if Charles continued in his resolve to fight, he would be undone. Charles wrestled with his fears and, finally summoning up his courage, made the firm decision to ignore once again the advice the spirit had given him; he would march into battle at Naseby as planned. The battle proved to be the disaster the ghost had predicted for the royal forces. Moreover, Charles would never again be able to muster an army large enough to defeat the enemy. He was often heard to say that he wished he had “taken the warning and not fought at Naseby.” (Mastin, p.191) Few who heard him understood what Charles meant by this, but he had given express instructions to those in whom he had confided that the affair of the ghost of Lord Strafford was always to remain a closely guarded secret. The story, however, was related to Mastin by a man who claimed to have been a soldier in his majesty’s horse. By Josephine Wilkinson A murder revealed by a ghost? One evening in January 1861, several men and women were gathered at the fireside in the cottage of Joseph Allinson, in Kendal, when terrible knocking sounds emanated from the room above where Joseph’s bedridden, purblind wife lay. The alarmed fireside congregation proceed upstairs to investigate the cause of the mysterious noises. Mrs Allinson revealed to them that she had just been visited by an apparition of a grim, rough-looking man dressed in black. It breathed in her face, causing the bedside candle to burn dim before being extinguished by some unseen hand. The ghost pointed to the floor and in a thick, husky, hollow voice told her that she must dig under the hearthstone in the cellar, and there she would find something buried. The ghost then vanished. Joseph and his friends immediately headed down to the cellar to carry out the spirit’s instructions. On removing the hearth flagstone they found, just below the surface, a quantity of long-buried bones, thought to be human, and a scattering of hops. Were they the remains of a murder victim? Was the ghost that of the murderer, or the murder victim? By Professor Owen Davies
Each year, 31 October is a day to celebrate all things that go bump in the night. But where do our Halloween traditions come from? Lauren Good explores the history, from turnip carving to prayers exchanged for cake…
As autumn unfolds, bringing with it russet leaves and longer nights, many of us prepare for the spookiest night of the year – Halloween. Pumpkins are carved, decorations appear and children (and adults) ready their costumes. But where did these traditions begin? Below, explore the history behind Halloween, from its ancient roots to the origins of a much-loved modern phenomenon, the pumpkin spice latte. When did we start celebrating Halloween? Halloween’s origins can be traced back to the seventh century, when Pope Boniface IV established All Saints’ Day on 13 May, to honour saints who had reached heaven. However, in the eighth century, this feast day was moved to 1 November. Upon this change, the day before it – 31 October – became known as All Hallows’ Eve, or Halloween. The shift in this Christian date from May to November was likely intended to replace the pagan festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in), an ancient Celtic celebration marking the end of the harvest and the onset of winter. “In earlier times [Samhain] referred to one of the four great festivals of the traditional Gaelic year,” explains historian Mark Williams, author of The Celtic Myths That Shape The Way We Think (Thames & Hudson, 2021). “In the landlocked midlands of Ireland it would often have coincided with the first frosts. We do not know exactly how it was celebrated, but gatherings of tribal groups, feasting, and the lighting of bonfires almost certainly played a part.” It was also during this time that the boundary between the living and the dead was believed to be at its thinnest, shown by widespread cultural practices. For instance, throughout the medieval period, people would light a candle at midnight to guide ghosts back to their home, believing that spirits walked the earth. Why do we carve pumpkins? Carving pumpkins is one of Halloween’s most iconic traditions, but the custom originated with a different vegetable entirely – turnips. In 19th and early 20th-century Ireland, people carved turnips to honour the Irish folk tale of a man named Stingy Jack, which originated from the early 1600s. The story goes that he trapped the devil and would only release him on one condition: that he would not go to hell upon his death. However, when Jack discovered that heaven would not allow his soul to enter when the time came, he was doomed to wander the earth for eternity. Legend says that the devil gave Jack a burning coal to light his way, and Jack carved out a turnip to hold it. During the 19th century, when large numbers of Irish people emigrated to the United States of America, they found that native pumpkins were much easier to carve than turnips. And so, the modern jack-o’-lantern was born. Today, these glowing faces are carved to ward off wandering spirits on Halloween night, while also adding a festive flair to the doorsteps of houses wishing to partake in the celebrations. Why are bats symbols of Halloween? During Samhain, bonfires were lit to honour the deities worshipped by the Celts. The heat from these sacred fires attracted bats, leading them to become a symbol associated with the festival. Subsequent folklore then created superstitions surrounding them being warnings of death. Once the celebratory bonfires had burned out, people would relight the fires in their homes from the sacred bonfire outside, to bring protection and warmth over the incoming winter. What is the history of trick-or-treating? The modern practice of trick-or-treating has its roots in various historical celebrations. A key influence was the British tradition of ‘souling’, in which people – usually the poorer in society – would go door-to-door offering prayers for the deceased in exchange for food. From the Victorian period, people were given ‘soul cakes’. In parts of Yorkshire, 31 October was called ‘Cake Night’ for centuries, due to the observation of these traditions and the custom of making cake on this final night of the month. The tradition of ‘guising’, in which people would dress up and perform door-to-door in exchange for food or money, was also prevalent in parts of Scotland and Ireland from at least the 16th century. When Irish and Scottish immigrants later arrived in America, this practice evolved into what we now recognise as trick-or-treating. But what about the ‘trick’ in trick-or-treat? Mischief Night, which occurred on 30 April and later moved to 4 November, was first recorded in 1790 when a headmaster instructed his students to stage a play with the title An Ode to Fun which praises children’s tricks on Mischief Night in most approving terms. “At this time, young men would settle grudges with pranks such as uprooting fences, trampling gardens, and setting livestock loose,” explain folklore specialists Chris and Karen Allen. “In 1865 one William Banks tells us: ‘Boys… used to go about damaging property, believing the law allowed them on this night.’” By the mid-20th century this mischief, combined with more innocent practices, created the modern tradition in which children go door-to-door collecting sweets shouting, “trick or treat”. As this custom became more established, confectionary companies realised that they might be able to use the celebration to their advantage – making small, individually wrapped sweets specifically for the occasion. Therefore, the tradition we know today was born. Why are black cats symbols of Halloween? Black cats have long been considered harbingers of bad luck, a belief dating back to the Middle Ages when they were associated with the devil. The superstition evolved in later centuries into the idea that black cats were witches’ familiars, supernatural creatures that aided their magic by providing disguise. As Halloween centres around the supernatural, black cats have become one of its enduring symbols, representing magic and mystery. Why do we dress up in costume on Halloween? The tradition of wearing costumes on Halloween traces back to the ancient Celts. During Samhain, they believed that spirits roamed the earth and, to avoid being recognised by these malevolent beings, they would wear disguises. By donning costumes, they hoped to confuse the spirits and evade harm. This practice has evolved over the centuries into the playful costume-wearing we see today. Whether dressing as witches, ghosts, or pop culture icons, the tradition of wearing costumes on Halloween remains a key part of the celebration. What is the history of pumpkin spice? Pumpkin spice is now synonymous with the trappings of autumn, but it wasn’t always used to flavour lattes. The first commercial pumpkin spice blend dates back to 1933, with Thompson & Taylor Spice Co being the first on the market. The mix we’re more familiar with today was released in 1934, by McCormick & Company. Aimed to simplify the process of making pumpkin pie, a classic American dessert, this blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice provided an easy – and more economical – solution to gathering individual spices. In 2003, Starbucks popularised pumpkin spice in the form of the now-iconic pumpkin spice latte, while on the hunt for a drink that would be as successful as their peppermint mocha. This seasonal drink quickly became a cultural phenomenon, and soon the flavour expanded into everything, from candles to body lotions, even spam! In 2022, ‘pumpkin spice’ even made it into the dictionary, cementing its place among autumnal traditions.
The Pendle witches: what happened in the infamous Lancashire witch trial?
HistoryExtra Academy history of witchcraft course
In 1612, the hangings of those accused of being the Pendle Witches caused a public sensation. Dr Robert Poole and Charlotte Hodgman visit Lancaster Castle in Lancashire, where one of the most famous, and sensational, witch trials in British history took place, in 1612, and explore the history of the chilling event…
“One voice for 10 dragged this way once by superstition, ignorance. Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” So begins the first verse of Carol Ann Duffy’s 2012 tribute to the so-called Pendle witches – the eight women and two men who were sent to the gallows following one of the most sensational witch trials in British history. What caused the Pendle Witch Trials? The story starts with a young woman named Alison Device, who, in the spring of 1612, was out walking near Nelson, in the borough of Pendle, when she met a pedlar who refused to sell her some pins. What happened next is somewhat confused, but the pedlar appears to have become very frightened and fell down from what we would now recognise as a stroke – numb down one side and unable to speak. The terrified pedlar was taken to a nearby pub and his son was sent for. On his arrival, he found his father a little recovered, but ranting about a black dog who had come to him while he lay paralysed. Convinced that the pedlar’s condition was due to witchcraft, the two men sent for Alison herself, clearly hoping that she could undo the harm she had caused. On her arrival, she apologised to the pedlar, admitted to bewitching him but claimed she was unable to reverse the magic, stating that her grandmother was a witch and that bad things happened around her. Local magistrate Roger Nowell was sent for, and an investigation into witchcraft began. “When Nowell started delving further, events spiralled,” says Dr Robert Poole, guild research fellow at the University of Central Lancashire, and an expert on the case. “A Puritan magistrate, Nowell had his own political and religious reasons for wanting to hunt down witches, along with religious dissenters and papists. He interviewed Alison’s mother, Elizabeth, and grandmother, Old Demdike, before casting his net wider and involving neighbours in his investigations, too. The whole trial snowballed from there. “One thing the investigations threw up was that witchcraft accusations in the community went back 20 years. It seems Old Demdike and her ‘rival’, Old Chattox, had been used by their neighbours for years to perform magic as a means of curing sick cattle, and even to resolve family feuds. The women were clearly utilised by their neighbours – all of whom seem to have believed in magic – but it was only when Nowell started investigating for his own reasons that we see accusations of witchcraft and trials. “The floodgates of accusations opened and neighbour started to incriminate neighbour (although the families themselves stayed loyal to each other initially) and before long over a dozen alleged witches from the Pendle area were arrested and sent to Lancaster Castle.” <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2016/01/dreamstime_m_39448097-84a9243.jpg" width="2105" height="1425" alt="The gatehouse of Lancaster Castle" title="The formidable gatehouse of Lancaster Castle would gave greeted the Pendle witches when they arrived in 1612. The group, who had travelled some 50 miles on foot, were then thrown into a dark, damp cell and left for months. (Dreamstime)" /> On their arrival, the alleged witches were held in a cell deep below the well tower. The building – also known as the Witches’ tower – still stands, and visitors can peer through the iron-barred door, down the dark, stone stairs that lead to the cell below. The small, bare room, with damp walls and metal rings in the floor, has hardly any natural light and is virtually unchanged in 400 years. The accused were held there for several months while they awaited trial. One of the prisoners, Old Demdike, died – most likely in the cell – before being called to the stand. Although not currently accessible to the public, just a peek down into the darkness is enough for most visitors to imagine the appalling conditions these men and women were confined in. Largely ignored by their gaolers, living in filth and squalor with little comprehension of what was happening to them, it is little wonder that many began to ‘see’ the black dogs, devils and spirits they later confessed to having encountered. Lancaster Castle: the location of the Pendle Witch Trials Lancaster Castle, where the alleged witches were tried at the August assizes of 1612, must have been a formidable sight to the men and women who had travelled to Lancaster on foot from the remote village of Pendle, some 50 miles away. Dating back to the Roman period, the castle has held prisoners for much of its long history – serving as a female penitentiary and debtors’ prison in the 19th century, as well as incarcerating religious and political prisoners, such as Quaker founder George Fox, and Catholic recusants of the 17th century. Until 2011, the castle also housed modern-day prisoners, as HMP Lancaster, and is still a working crown court. From its hilltop location overlooking the town, the 15th-century gatehouse towers above all who walk into its dark interior. Its thick, stone walls, impressive battlements and portcullis would have offered little comfort to the weary group of men and women who arrived for trial just over 400 years ago. (Visitors to Pendle can take the ‘Walking With Witches Trail’, which follows their route across the Ribble Valley, to Lancaster Castle.) “The trial of the so-called Lancashire witches was England’s biggest peacetime witch trial,” says Poole. “But for me, one of the most remarkable things about the Pendle witch trial is that it sprang from such small beginnings.” What happened in the Pendle Witch Trials? “The Lancashire trial was essentially a show trial,” comments Poole. “A call for other witches to be tried had been sent out across the county over the summer – perhaps to demonstrate the true extent of the menace of witchcraft in Lancashire – and a total of 19 witches appeared before the judges at the August assizes. “But the trial itself – like others of the day – was far from fair and none of those on trial had counsel to defend themselves. All of the accused had given written testimonies which were read out in court as their evidence. These men and women had to sit and listen to their words being selectively quoted against them.” The trial began on 18 August, beginning with Old Chattox, who was accused of the murder of Robert Nutter some 18 years previously. The trial accounts, written by clerk of the court Thomas Potts, tell of the devil visiting in the form of a black dog; of flying ponies and of curses that could not be undone. It remains the best-documented account of an English witch trial, despite the evident bias of its author, who was writing for an audience willing to believe in the existence of such evil. “What we see with the events in Lancaster is a witch hunt rather than a genuine trial,” says Poole. “Today, the castle is a symbol of royal authority, with the arms of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster displayed on its walls. But Lancashire in the early 17th century was regarded as one of the dark corners of the land. It had never been properly evangelised by the new Church of England, and Roman Catholic style beliefs and superstitions persisted. It was seen as a place of Jesuits and illegal underground Catholics. The Protestant authorities in Lancashire were embarrassed by this. “It is against this backdrop that Roger Nowell began his investigations in early 1612. The staunchly Protestant James VI and I had been on the throne of England for nine years and had a strong belief in witchcraft and magic. What better way to impress the king and put Lancashire on the map as somewhere that was engaging fully in the persecution of witches, than to stage a huge show trial using the most up-to-date witch-hunting techniques?” Another fascinating aspect of the trial is that most of the accusations of witchcraft came from children. James and Jennet Device saw their mother, grandmother and sister taken into custody, and concocted a story about witchcraft in the family. In a bid to avoid being accused themselves, the pair ‘confessed’ to a number of matters relating to witchcraft in the family. Nine-year-old Jennet, however, went a step further, and incriminated her older brother, James, who was arrested and tried alongside his mother and sister, Alison. “Ultimately Jennet’s accusations and the confessions of the alleged witches themselves saw 10 of those accused sentenced to hang, with another placed in the pillory,” says Poole. “Many of the witches blamed wicked spirits for tempting them into revenge when they had been ill-treated – believing that this would exonerate them. But what most would not have known is that the witchcraft act had changed in 1604, making it illegal to have anything to do with any wicked or evil spirits. No matter how justified their actions may have been, by admitting to having even encountered evil spirits, the accused had effectively placed their heads in the noose.” Who was executed in the Pendle Witch Trials? On 20 August 1612, eight women and two men were led by cart to a location near what is now Williamson Park. Poignantly, with what was probably their first view of the sea, over Morecambe Bay, they were hanged. “The events surrounding the Lancashire witch trials have traditionally been treated as an outbreak of witchcraft in 1612, but what we are actually seeing are long-standing accusations, which haven’t been prosecuted until a political and religious reason was found,” says Poole. “The trial accounts, published in 1613 as The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster, were dedicated to Sir Thomas Knyvet, who played a key role in thwarting the gunpowder plot in 1605. The claim in Lancashire was that a group of witches were planning to release the imprisoned witches by blowing up Lancaster Castle. This was Lancashire’s own gunpowder plot, ‘foiled’ by good Protestant men who were using James VI and I’s own techniques to rid the county of evil.” Witch trials in Britain: 5 more places to explore Brandeston village, Suffolk Where a witchfinder general instilled fear During the Civil War, witch-hunting gained momentum again, and self-appointed ‘witchfinder generals’ sprang up. The most notorious of these was Matthew Hopkins, who was responsible for one fifth of the total number of executions in England over the period. One target was John Lowes, vicar of Brandeston, who was ‘swum’ in the moat at Framlingham Castle and hanged in 1642. The castle is still open. Exeter Castle, Devon Where English witches died England’s last executions for witchcraft took place in 1682 at Exeter Castle. Three women from Bideford were accused of using witchcraft against Grace Barnes, who subsequently became ill. Little of the original castle remains but a plaque near the gatehouse names Temperance Floyd, Mary Trembles and Susanna Edwards as the last to be executed in England for witchcraft. Dornoch, Sutherland Where a witch was burned The last execution for witchcraft in Britain took place in Dornoch in 1722, although the exact execution date is unknown. Janet Horne was supposedly stripped, covered in tar and paraded through Dornoch in a barrel before being burned. A ‘Witch’s Stone’ south of the town’s square is said to mark the site where Horne was burned. Sible Hedingham, Essex Where a witch was ‘swum’ The last recorded case of ‘swimming’ a witch (a popular way of trying witches after the repeal of the witchcraft statutes in 1736) took place in Sible Hedingham in 1863. The accused, a man named Dummy, was tied up and thrown into the brook (which still flows through the village) as an ‘ordeal by water’. He later died of shock and pneumonia. Tring, Hertfordshire Where local justice was administered In 1751, Ruth Osborne and her husband, John, were accused of witchcraft, dragged from their place of shelter in Tring Church and publicly ducked. Ruth later died; her inquest was held at the Half Moon pub, which still exists, as does the church. Historical advisor Robert Poole is the author of The Wonderful Discovery of Witches in the County of Lancaster (Carnegie Publishing, 2011) This article was first published in the August 2015 issue of BBC History Magazine Discover more learning from week three of the HistoryExtra Academy history of witchcraft course HistoryExtra Academy video lecture: witch trials, with Professor Marion Gibson – watching time 20 mins Rough injustice: what really happened at a witch trial? – reading time 6 mins The war on witches – reading time 12 mins Podcast series: Salem: Investigating the witch trials – 9 episodes Witches in the dock: 10 of Britain’s most infamous witch trials – reading time 10 mins Video: Malcolm Gaskill on The Ruin of All Witches – watching time 1 hour When the devil stalked Salem: the story of the Salem witch trials – reading time 11 mins
Halloween monsters: everything you wanted to know
Everything you wanted to know about history (podcast series)
In part two of our spooky Halloween special, Professor Owen Davies tackles listener questions on the evolving mythology of our most popular Halloween monsters
How did witches transition from terrifying old crones to symbols of female empowerment? Was Count Dracula inspired by a real person? And why do ghosts wear white sheets? To explore the long history of all things that go bump in the night, Professor Owen Davies tackles listener questions with Ellie Cawthorne, on the unearthly history and evolving mythology of our most popular Halloween monsters – from forgotten monsters of the past, to the first photograph of a ghost.
Halloween traditions: everything you wanted to know
In part one of our Halloween special, Professor Owen Davies tackles listener questions on the haunted historical festivities surrounding 31 October
How did a Catholic religious celebration transform into a spooky, supernatural festivity? Why were turnips and swedes replaced by pumpkins? And what happened on ‘mischief night’? Speaking with Ellie Cawthorne, Professor Owen Davies uncovers the historical origins of popular traditions surrounding 31 October – from the malicious and downright dangerous beginnings of trick or treating to the ethereal inspirations for Jack-o’-lanterns.
Browse our archive of petrifying podcasts, from medieval ghost stories to the Salem witch trials...
George Dobbs presents three chilling stories from the Middle Ages, from the burning bedding to a ghostly horse…
Be it a horror movie or an MR James classic, there is something strangely appealing about scaring yourself silly with a good old-fashioned ghost story. But we are so familiar with the conventions of what makes a spooky tale that it's easy to forget ghosts haven't always been represented as they are now. In fact, the medieval conventions of what constituted a ghost story can seem quite odd to a modern reader, as can the apparitions that haunt them. Here are some examples of creepy tales that enthralled readers in England more than 600 years ago... The Haunting of Frodriver First recorded in the 13th century as part of the Eyrbyggja Saga, and translated by Sir Walter Scott in 1814 in Illustrations of Northern Antiquities The story begins as a Hebridian woman named Thorgunna arrives in Iceland one winter. A local woman named Thuirda notices the rich treasures that Thorgunna possesses, and presses her to come and stay with her at her home in Froda. Thorgunna refuses to part with any of her precious things, but agrees to stay and work as a servant. Soon Thorgunna falls ill and dies, but leaves behind a warning: her bedding is to be burnt, and most of her effects given to local monks. This, she says, is not out of spite, but as a way to protect the settlement from an evil that is coming. Inevitably, Thurida can't resist taking the rich bedding of Thorgunna for herself, and sure enough the residents of Froda begin to fall victim to a series of grisly accidents, ghostly attacks, and mysterious plagues. After a funeral feast is held, they are beset by a crowd of walking ghouls that refuse to leave, and which gather around the central fire of the main hall each night. But deliverance soon arrives when Kiartan, the son of Thurida, engages a local priest to stage a trial. The ghouls are charged with staying unlawfully in the hall, and eventually their leader declares, somewhat petulantly: “We have here no longer a peaceful dwelling, therefore will we remove.” Read more about the history of halloween: 5 historic hauntings A brief history of witches by Suzannah Lipscomb/ The Bathkeeper From The Dialogi of Gregory the Great, published in the mid-10th century. Translated by EG Gardner in 1911, and published in Medieval Ghost Stories, by Andrew Joynes A priest is visiting a hot spring when he comes across a man he hasn't seen before. The man promptly begins to attend to him, helping him to take off his clothes and shoes, and the priest naturally assumes that he is one of the servants there. The priest then visits the baths several more times, and each time the man appears to him and offers to help him, but doesn't extract any form of payment. Eventually the priest decides that he should give the man a reward. He returns the next time with two Eucharist loaves, and offers them to the man with his gratitude. When the man sees the loaves, he becomes distressed. He explains that he cannot eat holy bread, for he isn't a living man at all, but an apparition of the former overseer of the baths. He entreats the priest to intercede on his behalf so that he might find peace in the afterlife, and when he finishes speaking he vanishes, so that the priest knows for certain he has seen a ghost. The priest offers up prayers, and sure enough the ghostly attendant never returns to him. Byland Abbey Ghost Stories From fragments in a late 14th-century manuscript, transcribed by MR James in 1920 in Twelve Medieval Ghost Stories There are many ghost stories recorded by the Monk of Byland. One such tale features a man trying to make his way home with a load of beans after his horse meets with an accident. He sees a terrifying apparition of a horse, and after he tries to scare it away it begins to stalk him. The spirit then appears as a glowing ball of light in a cloud of hay. Finally the man confronts the spirit in the name of the lord, and a ghostly figure appears in front of him. The spirit claims that it means the man no harm, and asks to carry his load of beans for him. The man agrees, and the load is carried across a river, before reappearing on his back. After this, the spirit vanishes. In another local story, a spirit accosts two farm labourers, attacking one of them. The man calls on the lord, and the ghost confesses that it was the canon of Newburgh, excommunicated for theft. The labourer digs up a set of spoons stolen by the ghost, and afterwards its spirit rests in peace. Medieval ghost stories, then, often fall into the category of exempla – cautionary tales intended to reinforce Christian values. But they can also show the exchange of cultures happening over a large expanse of time. The events at Frodriver read like a mixture of a Christian exempla with more traditional Nordic notions of the undead, while the events described at Byland in Yorkshire feature the kind of aggressive, physical apparitions that Vikings were fond of describing. MR James – perhaps the most influential modern writer of ghost stories – was also an important medieval scholar who rediscovered many of these stories. He revived features of medieval folklore in his tales, including ghosts that transform into objects, and dangers that lurk in everyday settings. So perhaps our own ghosts are closer to the medieval than we might think… George Dobbs is a freelance writer who specialises in literature and history, and H Somerset is the author of Rat Abbey: Three Ghost Stories This article was first published on HistoryExtra in October 2016
Dan Jones shares a ghost story from the Middle Ages and explains what it might tell us about medieval attitudes to the afterlife
Historian Dan Jones’s new book, The Tale of the Tailor and the Three Dead Kings, reimagines a medieval ghost story for modern audiences. He explains to Dave Musgrove what it tells us about attitudes to the afterlife in the Middle Ages. Dan Jones is the author of The Tale of the Tailor and the Three Dead Kings: A medieval ghost story (Head of Zeus, 2021). Buy now on Bookshop.org Buy now on Amazon Buy now on Waterstones
Which historic character should you choose for your Halloween costume?
Why resurrect that tired old ghost costume when you have all of history to choose from?
View Riddle on the source website How did you do? Share your result on social media to see how your knowledge compares with other HistoryExtra readers! Want to improve your knowledge? You can read more about the history of Halloween, Halloween's origins, its links with the Celtic festival of Samhain, and a slew of Halloween ghost stories. Want another quiz? Here's one entirely about Halloween or visit our trivia hub for more history quizzes.