The World Bewitch'd

Witch finders moved from town to town, searching out likely suspects. These men were paid per witch, leading to overzealous persecution. The most notorious was Mathew Hopkins, who, in 1645-46, “sent to the gallows more witches than all the other witch hunters of England” had in the previous 150 years. Hopkins is credited with the hanging of several hundred witches before his reputation waned.

England forbade torture, so witch finders used other cruel means, including pricking, swimming, and walking. Prickers stuck pins and knives into skin blemishes; those that proved insensitive to pain were thought to be devil marks, clear evidence of witchcraft. Physical examination might also reveal a third teat used to suckle a witch’s familiar. Swimming was also used, whereby a suspect’s thumbs and big toes were bound together crosswise and she was thrown into the water. Those who sank were considered innocent; those who floated were thought guilty, as the water “rejected” witches. Starved and sleep-deprived, suspects could be walked for days until they confessed.