Devil; Witchcraft -- Great Britain; Witchcraft -- United States
‘This morning as she came to the fier, she sawe a great blacke dogge,
with a monstrous taile, and a long chaine, Open mouth, comming apace
towardes her, and, running by her left side, cast her on her face hard by
the fier, houlding her tounge for halfe an hower, but leauinge at libertie
her eyes and handes. A litle after, a bigge blacke catt, staringe
fearfully at her, came runinge by her left side, and threwe her backward,
taking from her the use both of her eyes and handes, which with
yesking[18] were euer losed. About halfe hower after that fit, it came
like a bige mouse, and lept upon her left knee, cast her backward, took
away her tongue, eyes, and sences, that she lay as dead, and when she came
to any feeling, it put up her bellye as before. These visions and fites
ordinarely troubled her for 6 weeks every day, on the daytime, as is said;
and commonly everi night (as she thought) it sat on her head, very heavi,
laying (as it seemed to her) 4 great fingers on her browes, that she was
not able to open her eies. Often times she cried to her mother that she
should sit from off her Head, asking who it was that held her soe
straight, and, though she could not ster her head, hir kerchefe was pulled
off her head commonly, she, notwithstanding, lying still as a stocke from
9 to 3 in the morning, about which time it departed. In departing, it
somtimes gaue her a great thumpe, on the hinder parte of her head, that it
was verye sore for 2 dayes after.
‘Sixe times within those 6 weekes, the sperit would not suffer her to eate
or drincke; it tooke awaye, also, her stomake. If she offered to drincke
(at the earnest motion of others) it cast her and the drincke downe
together. At other tymes shee did eate greedily, slossinge up her meate
like a greedy dogge, or hogge, that her mother and her friendes were
ashamed of her. Styll shee was hungrye and cryed for more, saying shee had
nothing, though she spared no kinde of meate: all was fish that cam to
nett. After abundance of meate her belly semed neuer the fuller, that she
marueiled which waye it went.
‘The 10 of februari, it pulled her, as she thought, in an hundred peeces.
Ther came out of her mouth such a stincking smoke and breath, that shee
could not endure it her selfe. Her voyce and crying were quite altered,
and so continued till night. But her breath stank soe yll a day and a
nyght after, that her neighboures could not endure to come neare her.
‘Often, her sences were taken away, and she made as styfe as iron, and oft
as dead, euen breathlesse: somtymes it made a loud noyse in her bellye,
like that in the bellye of a great troting horse.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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