Meanwhile, an urgent summons arrives from Crispin's former love, Ph London, 1392. Are corpses stalking the graveyard at night, disturbing graves, and dragging coffins? When a fearful Father Bulthius begs Crispin Guest for his help, he agrees to investigate with his apprentice, Jack Tucker, intrigued by the horrific tales. Strange mischief is afoot at St Modwen's Church. Want the latest Essex news direct to your inbox? Sign up here.London, 1392. You can also buy her latest book, The Twelve Even Stranger Days of Christmas, here on Amazon. Syd has a number of books of varying ghost and horror stories including her famous Essex Witch Museum Mysteries which you can find out about here. "The Essex witch hunts are a significant chapter of our lives." These women need to be remembered - so far they have been written out of history. "We need to learn our lessons from the past and be aware of what happens. Syd added: "We only know the women who made it to trial, we don't know the ones who were accused or died in some of the other tests or in prison. It feels like a miscarriage of justice and a warning about what happens when you let intolerance and scaremongering go unchecked."
"They often were on their own, didn't have family, and I feel for them. "When I was doing the research for witch-hunt, when you read some of the testimonies, Elizabeth Clark may have had dementia and she was so sleep-deprived she was hallucinating," she said. The more reading Syd did, the more she felt for the women and realised the importance of sharing the history. If they sank, the "holy water" had accepted them (but they would drown) or if they floated, they were a witch and were rejected by the holiness.Īnother spot was a "witches' mark" of the spot, pimple, mole or piles which if it didn't bleed meant they were inhuman - however, there is proof some knives had "fake handles" in order to to dupe the women as witches. If a flea or mouse was seen coming into the room, Syd said, it was seen as "a familiar".Īnother technique was the "swimming test" where a woman would be tied from "right to left toe" and placed into a body of water. Ursula Kemp was imprisoned in The Cage before being hanged as a witch in 1582 (Image: Home Domus 360) Ursula was taken and thrown into a cage in St Osyth before being hanged.īut her story doesn't end there - in 1921, someone discovered her bones in their garden - with iron rivets driven into the knees and elbows, a common method to stop suspected witches from rising from their graves. They knew there was divine power but that had to be by a priest so if you had a peasant woman who was not ordained - it wasn't God, it must be the devil you are getting your power from." "People started feeling better but the idea that this peasant woman had nobles coming to see her meant the noble men were upset," she said. Ursula reportedly persuaded Mr Darcy with a "spell" made from sage and St John's Wart and Ale to help people feel better - which, due to the genuine health benefits of those herbs - it did. It's one of the many ways that you can read the news that matters to you from EssexLive. All you have to do is to click here and type in your email address. We choose the most important stories of the day to include in the newsletter, including crime, court news, long reads, traffic and travel, food and drink articles and more.
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The twice-daily update will deliver the top news and features to your inbox every morning and evening. If you're looking for a way to stay up-to-date with the latest breaking news from around Essex, the EssexLive newsletter is a good place to start. "She did convince him she was a witch with a spell she did that was pretty barmy." "Mr Brian Darcy tied her to a chair and said if you convince me you are a witch, I will let you go. "The child was born but two months later fell out the crib and broke its leg and this was seen as witchcraft from Ursula because she was refused the job of midwifery. "The charge came against her when she wanted to be the midwife of someone's birth but she was already engaged to someone else. "Her witchfinder was actually Mr Darcy who tried to get her prosecuted for witchcraft. "Ursula was actually a midwife and a healer," Syd said. Syd's fascination with witches began as a child, where she found herself more interested in the magical, flying witches of fairy-tales than the princesses who "laid around waiting for Prince Charming."Īfter finding out about Sarah Moore in Old Leigh, the 51-year-old dived into the history of "witches" in Essex including Ursula Kemp, who is believed to be the first villager of 14 women accused of witchcraft in St Osyth is 1582. Syd Moore, 51, from Leigh-on-Sea is an author