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THE PENDLE WITCH TRIALS
James I believed in witches and the dark arts. In 1603 he wrote a book ‘Daemononlogie’ in it he instructs the reader to condemn, inform on and prosecute all supporters and practitioners of witchcraft. When James came to the throne, this fear became personified in the common people and a law was passed in 1612 that each Justice of the Peace in Lancashire should write up a list of all those who refused to attend church or take Holy Communion. That was a criminal offense. So when we look at the Pendle ‘witches’ we have to look at them at the point in time in which they were accused. Firstly…
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Exorcisms
Exorcism (from the Greek word, exorkismos meaning binding by oath) is the act of driving out, or warding off, demons, or evil spirits, from persons, places, or things, which are believed to be possessed or infested by them, or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice; the means employed for this purpose, especially the solemn and authoritative adjuration of the demon, in the name of God, or any of the higher power in which he is subject. The practice is ancient and part of the belief system of many cultures and religions. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the person performing the exorcism, it can be done…
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Margery Jourdemayne
We would probably never have heard the name of Margery Jourdemayne if she had not been associated with members of the Royal Court – namely Humphrey Duke of Gloucester and his Duchess Eleanor Cobham, Roger Bolingbroke, Thomas Southwell and John Home (Hum or Hume). Margery, dubbed ‘the Witch of the Eye next Westminster’, was the wife of a Yeoman, born before 1415. Her maiden name is unknown. She had developed a reputation as a local ‘wise woman’ and purveyor of magical ‘lotions and potions’. It was this reputation that led to her services being sought by people of all social standings. Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, was the youngest son of…
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Vampires
Vampires are the stuff of myth and legend – the undead, coming out at night from their graves to suck the blood of the living to maintain their own health and vitality. The idea of vampires goes as far back as the Ancient Greeks and Romans but the vampire as we know it stems from 18th Century Europe and the modern vampire is rooted in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, precursor the an entire genre which is still popular today. Vampires are fictional characters, with their origins in attempts to explain aspects of disease and death that couldn’t be understood at the time. Or are they? Julia Caples (born 1968) from Pennsylvania…
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Hauntings, Part 3: The Stanley Hotel
Did you ever see or read “The Shining”? It tells the story of the Overlook Hotel located in the Colorado Rockies and the family that stays there to act as caretakers during the winter off season. It is a ghost story and I’ll admit a rather terrifying one (though in my opinion the book is way scarier than the movie), but the ultimate themes of the book are abuse, alcoholism, and madness. The book itself was a result of Stephen King visiting a place in Colorado called the Stanley Hotel and the Overlook is primarily based on that. The Stanley Hotel is allegedly quite haunted, though the ghosts at the…
