BBC News, Norfolk
Neil SpenceAn increased interest in the history of witchcraft and witch hunters is linked to the increase in political intolerance and polarization, according to a historian.
The history of women persecuted by Matthew Hopkins, who proclaimed himself “Witchfinder General” In the 17th century, we were informed of ghost trails and heritage plates in the cities of eastern England.
Professor Marion Gibson of Exeter University, an expert in witchcraft history, said that there had been a peak in interest for the subject, which she connected to contemporary events.
“People are interested in stories of persecution because we live at the time when the accusations are launched,” she said.
“Things are very polarized. Some politicians have even started using the word” witch hunt ” – we hear this a lot in the media – and I think that all is intimate for the real witch hunters of the past.”
Professor Gibson said Hopkins, who was born in Great Wenham, Suffolk, and died later at his home in Manningtree, Essex, was “a fascinating creature”.
“From 1645 to 1647, at his death, this very young man, in the middle of the twenties, was unleashed through Essex, East Anglia and in the midlands, accusing people of witchcraft,” she said.
“As he finished, around 200 people in this region were executed.
“Hundreds of others have been accused and had their lives ruined and (were) thrown into prison.”
Ghost visits featuring witch stories run in cities, notably Norwich, Colethester, Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
Nicky Proctor is the host of the King’s Lynn original ghost tour, which covers the stories, myths and legends of the ghosts of the port of Norfolk in 26 stops.
One of the weekly tours, designed during the locking of the cocovio-19 pandemic, it generally welcomes 10 to 20 people wishing to know more on the dark side of the city.
“People say:” I was not going to come because ghosts are not really my thing “but they are really happy that they have done so because there are so many history on the tour too,” she said.
A stop during his tour is the “House Heart” on Tuesday market, where the story of Mary Smith is told.
According to Ms. Proctor, Ms. Smith was the wife of a Govemaker who was still in admiration in front of other women who seemed to do much better than to sell their products on the market.
“One day, the devil appeared before her, promising that if she renounces God, she would receive the power of the devil,” she said.
“She could curse people. It did by cursing a sailor who had struck her son. Her fingers began to rot and had to be amputated.”
Another alleged victim was a widow that Mary accused of having stolen a hen, she said.
“The woman had to be taken to take her bed by the illness and the neighbors claimed to have seen her levitate from the bed.
“Mary was condemned like a witch. She was burned on the pyre and at the death point, her heart jumped from her chest and was sleeping under the place where the mysterious forces sculpted a heart in a diamond on the wall.”
Professor Gibson said: “You have to think about the reason why people tell these stories, and this woman and others may really think that she had the power to curse her neighbors.
“So I think that in some cases, we are dealing with people who have strong magic beliefs and who could have thought that the ability to cursed.
“In other cases, we are probably dealing with very innocent ordinary people who have been accused because they would have looked at someone funny, or that the community simply did not love them.”