Greetings,
On this day in 1645, the Suffolk town of Bury St Edmunds held the largest witch trial in English history. For those of you who’ve read my novella, Raven Hill, you might recall that it’s set around that area. In fact, an early chapter is set in a fictional pub in Bury St Edmunds.
All that aside, back on 27th August 1645, Bury St Edmunds, a bloody public execution took place. Eighteen alleged witches — sixteen women and two men — were hanged on the charge of witchcraft. I need to find out why two men were executed, as witchcraft was primarily a girl thing. Perhaps they were cunning folk. England was embroiled in a civil war at the time, so likely emotions were running high.
freelance career out of touring the land and hunting down accused witches. What I want to know is why didn’t the Sisters rise up against him? Strength lies in numbers. Sisters gotta resist. A judicious hex or three might have unseated the blighter from his horse.
That’s exactly what happened to Vincent Price in the 1968 movie, Witchfinder General, who starred as Matthew Hopkins. On the very first day of filming, he fell off his horse and the director, Michael Reeves, refused to visit him, hoping Price would take that resentment out on making his character fiercer.
Witchfinder General is a great film, and though the story is not specifically about the Bury St Edmunds witch trial, it is set in Suffolk. I recommend checking it out, and Vincent Price regarded his performance in it as the finest in his horror movie career.