Churches can be sites of divination, haunted locations, and important community hubs. Yet in Wallsend, Holy Cross Church is notorious for a tale of witches and heroic derring-do. The ruin might not look like it now, but appearances can be deceptive. It’s not just a chapel. Throw in a midnight ritual, grotesque women, a desecrated […]
witches
Royal Witches: 15th Century Women Fall Foul of Political Shenanigans
When you think of witchcraft in earlier centuries, you probably think of stereotypically wizened women, huddled around cauldrons or casting curses. You probably wouldn’t immediately think of royal witches. Yet within the space of a single century, there were four women in England’s royal family that fell prey to witchcraft accusations. Whether they actually practiced […]
Shapeshifting Witches: From Witch to Hare and Back Again
Perhaps one of the most iconic scenes in Disney’s 1963 classic The Sword & the Stone is the magical duel. Merlin and Madam Mim start having a magical duel, with each changing form to try to best the other. Mim cheats, and Merlin finally defeats her, though this sequence is more inspired by the novel […]
Shady Meg: The Burning Witch of King’s Lynn
Unlike the witch who started the Legendary Witches series on this blog (Wookey Hole), the ‘witch’ in this story really existed. Yet a legend is attached to her that makes her worthy of investigation. We’ll need to head to King’s Lynn in Norfolk in the 1570s and 1580s. There’s a building in the northwest corner […]
Meg of Meldon: Northumberland’s Famous Witch
Tales of legendary witches often focus on their awesome powers, their familiars, or their fearsome reputation. Northumberland’s most famous witch, Meg of Meldon, has but one of those. But better than that, she was a real person. Meg of Meldon is Northumberland’s most famous witch. But was she really a witch, or just a hard-hearted […]
Mother Red Cap: The Infamous Witch of Camden Town
We’ve already discussed here on the blog the strange link between beer and witchcraft. But the link becomes even more apparent through the tale of Camden’s Mother Red Cap. The short version of the story is that Mother Red Cap lived in a small cottage in Camden Town. The spot where the house stood was […]
