1612年，兰开夏的十个“女巫”，是被一个九岁女孩的证词送上绞架的

In Lancashire, England, there is a hill called Pendle Hill. In 1612, several poor families at the foot of the hill were accused of being witches.

It started over a small matter. A peddler passed by a young girl named Alison, who asked him for a few pins; he refused, and they had a quarrel. Not long after, the peddler suffered a stroke and became lame in the leg. He said it was her curse. Alison herself was terrified and reportedly confessed on the spot.

Later, during interrogation, more and more people were implicated. There were two families in the area, each with an elderly “witch matriarch”—one named Demdike, the other Chattox. The two old women had grudges against each other and accused one another, each dragging in their own relatives and neighbors as they pointed fingers.

The most crucial witness in the trial was Demdike’s granddaughter, Jennet, aged nine. She stood in court and gave details of her mother, brother, and sister gathering on the hill, summoning demons, and killing people. The court placed great weight on her testimony.

Demdike died in prison before her trial. In the end, ten people were hanged at Lancaster, including Jennet’s mother and brother.

No one can prove whether they really cursed people. But in those days, the fate of a poor old woman accused by her neighbors was often like this.

According to records, more than twenty years later, Jennet herself was accused of being a witch and thrown into jail. The nine-year-old girl who had once stood in the witness box grew up to sit in the defendant’s seat.

Lancashire now treats this as a tourist route: there is a “Witches’ Trail,” and people hold commemorative events on the hill.

#Paranormal #网络转载 #英国