Superstition. Cunning. Manipulation. Murder. On 20 March 1809, Mary Bateman was executed in York for the murder of Rebecca, wife to William Perigo. Although the last, this was likely not the first murder to Mary’s name, ‘The Yorkshire Witch’ leaving a trail of theft, poisoning and deceit behind her as she took her place at …
The trial of Jane Wenham for witchcraft in 1712 was one of the last in England before the passing of the 1736 Witchcraft Act meant witchcraft was no longer a crime punishable by law. As anyone following here at The Witch, The Weird, and The Wonderful will know by now, Jane and her story have …
Back in October I had the pleasure of watching two performances of Jane Wenham: The Witch of Walkern at The West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. A new play by Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Out of Joint Theatre, and directed by Ria Parry, Wenham is inspired by the momentous events that took place in 1712 in the Hertfordshire …
Witch Hunts for Today: Jane Wenham: The Witch of Walkern Read More »
There are very few books that would have me up until gone midnight, huddled in the cramped bathroom of a London Travel lodge. Savage Magic by Lloyd Shepherd, however, is one of them. [NB I’m not weird – the other half was out gathering beer to review for his blog, the kids were asleep and you have …
