europe3

Testing and Torture

Once one is identified as a witch, they would have to go through a test to prove that they were a witch. Every town and city had slight variations on
their ways to test a witch. Almost always the test used there were no ways of passing them to prove their innocence. One test would simply to
strip the suspect naked and then inspect them for marks, or witches "teats" which could be anything from a freckle or mole to a flea bite. Many
times after the women was striped of her clothing to be inspected she was raped before being tortured. One of the most common ways of testing,
especially in 17th century England, was the "trial by water." This type of test has been in documented use since 1750 BC in the Code of
Hammurabi. They would be thrown into the water and if they floated she was a witch, and if she sank she was innocent. It wasn't common for them
to drown, and in that case she would have a proper burial. This test was even royally approved by King James I thinking that that the water would
"reject those who had shaken of the sacred water of baptism."

A witch had to first confess to witchcraft in order for them to be executed. If they wouldn't confess they would be tortured until they did so. Some
Inquisitors were more vicious than others. One of those feared individuals were Germany's Heinrich Kramer and Jakob Sprenger who wrote a tome
called Malleus Maleficarum or "Hammer of Witches." It described everything from guidelines for trials to conducting torture and questioning
witnesses. In their book they also blamed women for being the corruption to men calling them "lustful, false, vain, vindictive, mean-minded and
weak-willed." People have blamed women steaming from the bible story from when Eve offered Adam the apple in Eden. Even though many men
died being convicted witches, the vast majority were women. Almost all of the engravings depicting witches were all evil female witches.

All the instruments before they were used for torture were blessed by a priest. Any kind of inconceivable, horribly painful ways of interrogation were
used. Among these types were the thumbscrews, whip, leg vises, rack, strappado, ice water, insomnia, scalding water with lime, sulfur dipped
feathers, just to name a few.

The End

Even though there were people that knew this was wrong, they would not dare speak out in fear of being punished and ridiculed, they could even
be accused of being a witch themselves. One man that did speak out was named Hermann Loher who was a man of the German court. He had to
move because his family was being harassed and prosecuted for him simply opposing the trials. After moving to another country he published a
book, Most Pressing Humble Complaint of the Pious Innocents. In this book he goes into great detail of how one judge conducted a witch trial.
This following quote is from one of the judges rant to an cowering (innocent) woman, "you apostate, you witch, you dumb dog! Confess your sin of
witchery, reveal the names of your accomplices! You filthy whore, you devil's wanton, you sackcloth-maker, you dumb toad! Speak and confess in
God's name! Swallow the holy salt! Drink the holy water! Tell who it was that taught you witchcraft, and whom you saw and recognized at the
witches' sabbat. Then you will not be tortured any more but have eternal life." Loher wrote on behalf of himself that "the early Christian martyrs
were falsely accused of grievous crimes; but in our day, Christian witches are far more unjustly accused of mortal sins that they have not
committed- and that they could not possibly commit."

There was a minor and a major outbreak in New England. There was a minor outbreak in Connecticut in 1651, where 4 witches were hung. The
major outbreak in the New World was in the town of Salem Massachusetts where in 1692 twenty people were killed. There were other states in
New England that did hang witches but they didn't have nearly as many as Salem. A total of 37 peole were hung in New England, 2 killed by
Virginia, and 2 by Maryland. But all of America's executions combined are nothing in compairison to those killed in Europe.

The end of terror in Scandinavia was in 1669, where 85 elderly woman were burnt at the stake because a few children said they saw them flying to
sabbats. The last convicted witch was killed in 1682 in England. Father louis Debaraz was burned alive in 1745 in the stake and was the last
executed person in France for witchcraft. The last German, Anna Maria Schwagal, was executed in 1775 in Swabia. After this there were no more
documented executions for witchcraft.