Agnes Waterhouse

Agnes Waterhouse (also known as Mother Waterhouse) was the first person in England to receive the death sentence for witchcraft from a secular court.

She stood trial alongside two other women, her daughter Joan Waterhouse and Elizabeth Francis. This trail marked the first of the Chelmsford witch trials, that took place in Essex in the late 16th century.

Agnes was accused of consorting with Satan in the form of a white spotted cat. The cat was given to her by Elizabeth Francis, who also instructed her on how to care for him in order to gain things she desired. Agnes was said to have first used the cat, who she openly called Satan, to seek revenge on neighbours she had disputes with. This usually took the form of killing their livestock. Example of this mentioned at the trial include killing some pigs belonging to a Farther Kersey, and drowning a cow belonging to a Widow Gooday. She confessed to rewarding Satan for his help by feeding him chicken and drops of her blood.

She also faced the very serious accusation of causing death through the use of witchcraft. She was said to have called on Satan for help ridding her of a neighbour and his wife with whom she had had a disagreement. She was also accused of having Satan dispatch with her own husband.

As well as taking the form of a cat, Satan was said to have later taken the form of a toad at Agnes's request. When Joan gave evidence she said that he had come to her in the form of a black dog.

Agnes also testified that Satan had foretold she would meet a death of burning or hanging.

Although Joan Waterhouse confessed to calling on Satan to help her scare a neighbour she had fallen out with, and being aware of her mothers use of him, she was found not guilty. Elizabeth Francis confessed to being the original owner of Satan and was found guilty of practising witchcraft, she received a sentence of one year imprisonment. However, in 1579 she was brought back to court on further charges, for these she was found guilty and sentenced to death.

Agnes was found guilty and sentenced to death. On they day that she was due to be hung she made a further confession. Shortly before going to gallows she told how she had tried to kill another neighbour, Wardol. She said she had sent Satan to kill him but Satan had returned to her and said he was unable to do so. When she asked Satan why he told her that it was due to Wardol's strength of faith in God. Agnes went to meet her death repenting and calling on God for forgiveness.

Cornish Cunning Folk

Cunning men and cunning woman form part of Cornwall’s rich history of mythology and folklore. They were known as skilled seers and those of high reputation were in high demand. People would seek them out in order to help find lost items and heal illnesses. They were in high demand during the 'Witch Trials' that swept most of Europe, despite being magical practitioners themselves. As much as witches were painted as evil beings seeking to cause harm and chaos, cunning folk were seen as the positive side of magical practices. Often if someone believed they had become a target of a witch, they're first port of call would be to a cunning man or cunning woman. They were also employed by the authorities to help find witches and other criminals.


The type of magic practised by cunning folk often consisted of charms and amulets. One of the best known being Charm Bags which were small sewn bags containing written charms or magical powders. There is also Stroking Stones, that were special charmed stones that were used for healing. Of course there is a long list of artefacts connected with cunning folk, ranging from Snail Beads to Cauldrons and everything in between. There are a few good sources of further information of these online.


There have been some very well known cunning folk throughout history, arguably the best known being Granny Boswell. She was born in 1813 (though some believe this date is incorrect) in Ireland, but spent most of her adult life in Helston, where she lived with her husband Ephraim. She was well know for her foresight and the magical skills she acquired through her Romany heritage. She was also known as a troublemaker. During some elections a car was being used to ferry voters to the local polling station. As it was driving down the street an elderly and somewhat drunk Granny Boswell wandered into the road. The driver beeped the horn and loudly shouted at her to get out of the way. She didn't take kindly to this and stood in the middle of the road cursing the car and throwing verbal abuse at the driver. When she finished her rant she stepped out of the road and the car pulled away. The car made it only a few yards before coming to a halt, the car that had been running perfectly minutes before was found to have a very badly damaged engine and had to be towed away.

The Lowestoft Witches

In 1662 Bury St. Edmunds became another backdrop to the Witch Trials that were sweeping Europe. However, this story does not start in Bury St. Edmunds, it starts in Lowestoft, a thriving fishing town on the east coast of England. It was also the home of Amy Denny and Rose Cullender, know today as ‘The Lowestoft Witches’.

Amy Denny was first accused by Samuel Pacy, who claimed she had cursed his daughters after a dispute about buying fish. It began with his daughter Deborah being seized by fits for a number of weeks. Samuel sought medical help from his neighbour, Dr Feavor, he said that he could find no natural causes for her illness. Not long after this Samuel’s other daughter Elizabeth also became similarly afflicted.

Upon the evidence being formally presented Amy Denny was thrown into stocks, but the Pacy sister's torment did not end there.

Rose Cullender had been the subject of local rumours for a while, with lots of locals believing she was a witch. She soon became implicated along with Amy. Both Deborah and Elizabeth claimed that they had been seen visions of the women whilst suffering fits, seizures and loss of senses. Samuel had the girls move to their aunt’s house, hoping the extra distance would weaken the affects. It did not. Whilst there the symptoms continued, including vomiting pins and on occasion nails. Elizabeth gave an account of how the specter of Amy Denny visited her and implored her to drown herself.

The Pacy’s neighbours soon started alleging that similar fates had befallen their children following a dispute with Rose, and the case against the two women grew. After days of witness accounts and experiments being conducted on both the women and their victims, a jury took half an hour to find them both guilty. They were hanged the next day.

This trial played and important role in the history of the persecution of witches for a couple of reasons. The first of which being the publication of ‘A Tryal of Witches, at the Assizes held at Bury St. Edmonds for the County of Suffolk; on the Tenth day of March 1664’. Despite it’s rather inaccurate title - (the trial took actually took place in 1662) - this makes this trial one of the best documented on record.


This leads to the second reason why this case was so important. ‘A Tryal of Witches, at the Assizes…’, was later used as a reference for specter manipulation during the famed Salem Witch Trials.

The Witch of Youghal

The 'Witch of Youghal', was a woman by the name of Florence Newton. She found herself on trial at Cork Assizes on the 11th September 1661, where she stood accused of bewitching a young servant girl, and later of using witchcraft to kill a man.

The case stands out as there were very few witch trials in Ireland. In fact, up until this trial there had not been one recorded in Ireland for 83 years, the previous one being in Kilkenny in 1578.

The first accusation came from Mary Longdon, who worked as a servant for John Pyne. Mary said that Florence had called at John's house near Christmas 1660 begging for food. When she was turned away she threw curses at him. Later on Mary met Florence on the street outside where she kissed her. From that moment on Mary was plagued by sickness and fits. Mary said that whilst she was having fits she would go into a trance and see Florence's face. She also claimed that she would vomit things such as wool, straw, pins and nails. Mary also claims to have been haunted by a poltergeist following that ill fated meeting with Florence. John Pyne was called as a witness at the trial. He confirmed that on numerous occasions he had seen small stones hurled at Mary, seemingly out of nowhere.

Florence was also accused of using witchcraft to cause the death of David Jones. His widow said that Florence had met David in prison and kissed his hand. After that David became incredibly ill, dying shortly after screaming Florence's name on his deathbed.

Florence's trial ended in dramatic fashion. According to accounts as recorded by Joseph Glanvill, and later quoted by John Seymour in 'Irish Witchcraft and Demonlogy'. Whilst Mary Longdon was there to testify Florence raised up her manacled hands, looked at Mary at shouted “Now she is down”. At this point Mary collapsed shrieking, shaking and began biting herself.

However, the tale of The Witch of Youghal ends as somewhat of a mystery. Due to missing court records, no one knows what verdict was recorded. After her courtroom attack on Mary Longdon, most people have drawn the conclusion that she was found guilty and subsequently executed. But maybe, just maybe, the court records suddenly cut off for a reason. Could Florence have used her powers to bewitch herself free and live to curse another day? That, I'm afraid, is a question you will have to answer for yourself.