Devil; Witchcraft -- Great Britain; Witchcraft -- United States
‘And this Examinant saith that shee sent her said Imp _Sparrow_, to kill
the childe of one _George Parby_ of _Much-Holland_ aforesaid, which child
the said Imp did presently kill; and that the offence this Examinant took
against the said _George Parby_ to kill his said childe, was, because the
wife of the said _Parby_ denyed to give this Examinant a pint of Milke;
and this Examinant further saith that shee sent her said Imp _Sparrow_ to
the house of _Samuel Ray_, which, in a very short time did kill the wife
of the said _Samuel_; and that the cause of this Examinant’s malice
against the said woman was, because shee refused to pay to this Examinant
two pence which she challenged to be due to her; And that, afterwards, her
said Imp _Sparrow_ killed the said Childe of the said _Samuel Ray_: and
this Examinant confesseth, that as soon as shee had received the said four
Imps from her said mother, the said Imps spake to this Examinant, and told
her, shee must deny God and Christ, which this Examinant did then assent
unto.’
In ‘The Witches of Huntingdon, their Examinations and Confessions,’ etc.,
London, 1646, we have eight cases of witchcraft which were tried at
different times early in 1646. Among these eight, two were men; but there
is no record of the fate of any of them. They are the same old story, the
one with the most originality being that of Jane Willis, of Keiston, in
the county of Huntingdon.
‘This Examinate saith, as she was making of her bedde in her Chamber,
there appeared in the shape of a man in blacke cloaths, and blackish
cloaths about six weeks past, and bid her good morrow, and shee asked what
his name was, and he said his name was _Blackeman_, and asked her if she
were poore, and she said I:[47] then he told her he would send one
_Grissell_ and _Greedigut_ to her, that shall do anything for her: Shee
looking upon him, saw hee had ugly feete, and then she was very fearfull
of him, for that sometimes he would seem to be tall, and sometimes lesse,
and suddenly vanished away.
‘And being demanded whether he lay with her, shee said hee would have lain
with her, but shee would not suffer him: and after _Blackeman_ was
departed from her, within three or 4 dayes, _Grissell_ and _Greedigut_
came to her, in the shape of dogges, with great brisles of hogges haire
upon their backs, and said to her they were come from _Blackeman_ to do
what she would command them, and did aske her if shee did want any thing,
and they would fetch it: and shee said she lacked nothing. Then they
prayed her to give them some victuals, and she said she was poore and had
none to give them; and so they departed: Yet she confessed that
_Blackeman_, _Grissel_ and _Greedigut_ divers times came to her
afterwards, and brought her two or three shillings at a time, and more
saith not.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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