WEBVTT - S05 Episode 14 Extra: Thou Shalt Get Kings

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<v Speaker 1>Please be advised that this episode contains disturbing and graphic

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<v Speaker 1>scenes of torture. Parental discretion is advised. Welcome to Unexplained

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<v Speaker 1>Extra with Me Richard McClane Smith, where for the weeks

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<v Speaker 1>in between episodes we look at stories and ideas that,

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<v Speaker 1>for one reason or other, didn't make it into the

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<v Speaker 1>previous show. In last week's episode, The Devil's Kiss, we

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<v Speaker 1>ventured out into the depths of the Lancashire countryside in

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<v Speaker 1>the northwest of England, to the sprawling country estate of

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<v Speaker 1>Cluworth Hall. During an especially turbulent period of British history.

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<v Speaker 1>It was there that, in fifteen ninety seven, seven individuals

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<v Speaker 1>were said to have become possessed by demonic spirits, with

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<v Speaker 1>the blame for their ailment being firmly placed at the

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<v Speaker 1>feet of a man named Edmund Hartley, a local conjurer

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<v Speaker 1>who was accused of inviting the devil into the bodies

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<v Speaker 1>of the afflicted. Ostensibly, Hartley's crime was the practice of maleficium,

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<v Speaker 1>an act of witchcraft performed with the intention of causing

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<v Speaker 1>damage or injury. However, to the courts and by extension,

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<v Speaker 1>the ruling powers of the time, Hartley's real crime was

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<v Speaker 1>not so much that he'd endangered or harmed anyone, but

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<v Speaker 1>simply that he'd supposedly entered into a covenant with the

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<v Speaker 1>devil in order to do so. This act, argued the court,

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<v Speaker 1>was a deliberate rejection of Christianity and, more specifically, for

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<v Speaker 1>the time, Protestantism, thereby establishing Hartley as a heretic. Notions

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<v Speaker 1>of witchcraft and sorcery had been around for millennia, however,

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<v Speaker 1>it wasn't really until Heinrich Kramer's fourteen eighty six book

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<v Speaker 1>Mallius Maleficarum, meaning in English the Hammer of Witches, that

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<v Speaker 1>a framework was suggested for how its practice pertained to Christianity.

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<v Speaker 1>Though it was rejected by a number of Christian scholars

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<v Speaker 1>at the time, Kramer's book essentially established the idea that

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<v Speaker 1>witchcraft was almost always committed with help from the devil,

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<v Speaker 1>and was therefore an inherently heretical act. This book was

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<v Speaker 1>adopted with great fervor by many European powers and contributed

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<v Speaker 1>hugely to the brutal persecution of perceived witchcraft that would

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<v Speaker 1>sweep the continent over the next three centuries. This persecution

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<v Speaker 1>of supposed witches therefore was very much a political act,

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<v Speaker 1>encouraged as a way to promote Christianity and the authority

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<v Speaker 1>of the Church, which at the time was one of

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<v Speaker 1>the key frameworks in which the ruling powers operated and

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<v Speaker 1>asserted control. To be a witch essentially was to be

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<v Speaker 1>someone operating outside the desired status quo. Despite the overtly

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<v Speaker 1>political connotations of this assault on perceived witchcraft and those

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<v Speaker 1>arbitrarily deemed witches, most of whom were women, for reasons

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<v Speaker 1>we'll get far deeper into on a later episode, I

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<v Speaker 1>should stress that for most Europeans at the time, the

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<v Speaker 1>fear of the power of witches was very much real.

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<v Speaker 1>Such beliefs in illusory threats are never more dangerous than

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<v Speaker 1>when held by individuals who can also wield significant power.

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<v Speaker 1>For the British Isles, there was one individual, more than most,

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<v Speaker 1>whose fear of witchcraft during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

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<v Speaker 1>is thought to have almost single handedly contributed to the

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<v Speaker 1>torture and death of thousands of innocent people. And it

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<v Speaker 1>all began one stormy night back in fifteen eighty nine.

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<v Speaker 1>In September fifteen eighty nine, Princess Anne of Denmark departed

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<v Speaker 1>Copenhagen on board a ship bound for Scotland, when soon

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<v Speaker 1>after her vessel was hit by severe and unexpect acted storms.

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<v Speaker 1>Unable to continue, the fleet was forced to take shelter

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<v Speaker 1>on the south coast of Norway, from where the Queen

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<v Speaker 1>and her entourage eventually made their way to Oslow to

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<v Speaker 1>hold up. The princess had recently been married by proxy

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<v Speaker 1>to King James the sixth of Scotland and had been

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<v Speaker 1>due to arrive there that month to formally complete their union.

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<v Speaker 1>Alarmed by news of the princess's troubles, King James promptly

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<v Speaker 1>set sail for Denmark, but was also forced back by

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<v Speaker 1>furious storms. It wasn't until October twenty second, almost a

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<v Speaker 1>month later, that he was finally able to depart, arriving

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<v Speaker 1>in Oslo in mid November. Unsure about risking an immediate

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<v Speaker 1>return journey, the couple decided to complete their marriage in

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<v Speaker 1>Oslow instead, where they remained for a few months before

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<v Speaker 1>attempting the return journey to Scotland in April the following year.

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<v Speaker 1>No sooner had they set sail, however, they were once

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<v Speaker 1>again hammered by a mighty tempest that seemed to rise

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<v Speaker 1>up from nowhere, forcing them back to Norway. Two weeks later,

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<v Speaker 1>they finally made it to Scotland, with Anne, formerly crowned

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<v Speaker 1>in May. The couples soon settled into their new life

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<v Speaker 1>together at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. Back in Denmark, however,

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<v Speaker 1>strange things were beginning to stir. After the embarrassment of

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<v Speaker 1>the initial failed trip to Scotland, the Admiral of the fleet,

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<v Speaker 1>Peder Monk, accused the Minister of Finance, Christophe Falkendorff, of

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<v Speaker 1>failing to provide him with the ship suitably equipped for

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<v Speaker 1>the weather. Eager to absolve himself of responsibility, Falkendorff quickly

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<v Speaker 1>set about trying to build a case as to why

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<v Speaker 1>he couldn't possibly be to blame, and soon alighted on

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<v Speaker 1>the perfect explanation. Clearly, he argued, it had all been

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<v Speaker 1>fault of witches with Catholic sympathies desperate to disrupt the

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<v Speaker 1>union between Anne and the Protestant King James. He knew

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<v Speaker 1>this because one of the witches involved had told him.

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<v Speaker 1>In early May fifteen ninety Anna Coldings had been arrested

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<v Speaker 1>for witchcraft and was languishing in a Copenhagen prison awaiting

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<v Speaker 1>her execution, Folkendorf suggested to the Mayor of Copenhagen that

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<v Speaker 1>he quiz her too about any possible involvement with disrupting

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<v Speaker 1>the princess's fleet, and after some not so gentle persuasion,

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<v Speaker 1>Coldings finally admitted to it, saying that she and some

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<v Speaker 1>other women gathered at the home of fellow witch Karen

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<v Speaker 1>Viver were together they cast a spell on Anne and

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<v Speaker 1>James's ships. The spell, she said, had released a series

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<v Speaker 1>of tiny demons from out of barrels on board the vessels,

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<v Speaker 1>who then climbed up the rigging and concocted a storm

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<v Speaker 1>above their very heads. Colding's additional confession did nothing to

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<v Speaker 1>alter her plight, and in July she was burned at

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<v Speaker 1>the stake. In September, two of those she named in

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<v Speaker 1>her confession to Wolkendorf were also burned alive a few

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<v Speaker 1>weeks later. The news arrived in Scotland. In November fifteen ninety,

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<v Speaker 1>David Seaton, the deputy bailiff of Tranant, a town about

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<v Speaker 1>ten miles to the east of Edinburgh, began hearing unusual

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<v Speaker 1>stories about his servant, Gillis Duncan. It was said that

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<v Speaker 1>she often used magical charms to cure friends and family

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<v Speaker 1>if they became sick. After spying on her one night,

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<v Speaker 1>Seton witnessed her taking a late night's stroll alone, which

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<v Speaker 1>she considered deeply suspicious. Convinced she'd been communing with the devil,

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<v Speaker 1>Seaton confronted her about it a few days later, and

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<v Speaker 1>when she denied it, he had her arrested. One morning,

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<v Speaker 1>Duncan was wrenched out of her cell and rigorously stripped,

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<v Speaker 1>whereby a mark was found on the front of her

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<v Speaker 1>throat that Seaton claimed was the mark of the devil.

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<v Speaker 1>Duncan was then placed in a chair and asked again

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<v Speaker 1>if she'd ever communed with Satan. When she once again

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<v Speaker 1>insisted that she hadn't, the tips of her fingers were

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<v Speaker 1>placed one by one into an iron vice and crushed repeatedly,

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<v Speaker 1>but still she would not confess. Then a rope was

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<v Speaker 1>placed around her head and pulled tort with her head,

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<v Speaker 1>then wrenched back and forth in excruciating twists. Duncan finally

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<v Speaker 1>confessed it was all true. She said all her cures

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<v Speaker 1>and workings had been done with the help of the devil.

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<v Speaker 1>Despite her confession, Duncan spent the next three months being

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<v Speaker 1>repeatedly tortured for her apparent crimes, during which time, most

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<v Speaker 1>likely in the hope of a reprieve, she accused eight

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<v Speaker 1>other individuals of practicing witchcraft. Believing he now had a

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<v Speaker 1>witch epidemic on his hands, Deputy Bailiff Seaton had all

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<v Speaker 1>of the accused arrested and thrown in jail with Duncan.

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<v Speaker 1>With King James already alarmed by the stories filtering through

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<v Speaker 1>from Denmark regarding the apparent witch plot to sink his

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<v Speaker 1>and Anne's fleet, when news broke of the arrested witches

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<v Speaker 1>only ten miles from his home, he began to wander

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<v Speaker 1>if they might also be involved. He started by calling

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<v Speaker 1>for Agnes Sampson, the oldest of the accused. Sampson was

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<v Speaker 1>brought to the Royal court and asked directly by James

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<v Speaker 1>if she was a witch. Sampson denied it, however, and

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<v Speaker 1>was promptly thrown back into jail. Soon after all, Sampson's

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<v Speaker 1>body hair was unceremoniously sha, after which the devil's mark

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<v Speaker 1>was said to have been found on her genitals. She

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<v Speaker 1>was then fastened to the wall of her cell by

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<v Speaker 1>a witch's bridle an iron headpiece comprised of four sharp

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<v Speaker 1>prongs that were forced into her mouth, two pressing against

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<v Speaker 1>her cheeks and two against her tongue, then kept awake

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<v Speaker 1>for days on end. After prolonged sessions of head wrenching

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<v Speaker 1>and the thumbscrew, she too eventually confessed and confirmed all

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<v Speaker 1>the others as witches as well, and they had all

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<v Speaker 1>participated in an effort to murder the king. Next, James

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<v Speaker 1>called for Agnes Thompson. Unlike Agnes Sampson and Gillis Duncan,

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<v Speaker 1>Agnes Thompson wasted no time in offering her confession. It

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<v Speaker 1>was back on all hallows for the previous year that

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<v Speaker 1>she and two hundred other witches from all across the

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<v Speaker 1>local area gathered by the ocean at north Berwick, a

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<v Speaker 1>coastal town twenty miles to the east of Edinburgh. There

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<v Speaker 1>the witches had danced and sang all night, drinking gallons

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<v Speaker 1>and gallons of wine, before all flying off together in

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<v Speaker 1>large sieves to the kirk of north Berwick, where the

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<v Speaker 1>devil was waiting for them. As they continued to dance

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<v Speaker 1>and sing, with Gillis Duncan leading the procession playing a

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<v Speaker 1>jew's harp. The devil beckoned them inside, where he then

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<v Speaker 1>lay down over the pulpit with his backside in the air.

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<v Speaker 1>One by one, the witches took it in turns to

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<v Speaker 1>kiss the devil on the buttocks as a sign of devotion,

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<v Speaker 1>as he loudly declared to them all that King James

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<v Speaker 1>the sixth was the greatest enemy he ever had, and

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<v Speaker 1>must be stopped at all costs. On the orders of

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<v Speaker 1>the devil, said, she tried at first to assassinate the

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<v Speaker 1>king with the venom of a black toad, but failed

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<v Speaker 1>in her efforts. Then, having heard who was en route

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<v Speaker 1>from Denmark, she called for her witch companions to join

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<v Speaker 1>her at the port town of Leith, where the King's

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<v Speaker 1>fleet were heading. Taking pieces of a dead man, she

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<v Speaker 1>tied them to a cat and flung them into the

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<v Speaker 1>sea as her compatriots chanted spells into the wind, whereupon

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<v Speaker 1>a violent tempest was cast out across the waters, so

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<v Speaker 1>devastating it even sunk a nearby ship that was carrying

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<v Speaker 1>jewels for the king. Satisfied with her account, the King

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<v Speaker 1>had Thompson thrown back in jail, Intrigued that only one

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<v Speaker 1>man was said to have taken part among the two

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<v Speaker 1>hundred witches. James then called for him to be brought

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<v Speaker 1>to the palace. The man was John Cunningham, a local

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<v Speaker 1>schoolmaster from nearby Preston Pans. When Cunningham refused to confess,

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<v Speaker 1>they called for the boot, an instrument constructed of four

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<v Speaker 1>pieces of wood crudely nailed together, which was then placed

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<v Speaker 1>tightly around his leg. A wedge of wood was then

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<v Speaker 1>placed between the boards and hammered repeatedly, crushing the leg

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<v Speaker 1>inside until Cunningham could not take anymore, and he too confessed, Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>it was all true. He said he had also danced

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<v Speaker 1>and sang with the devil in North Berwick, and was

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<v Speaker 1>even tasked with the responsibility for recording the oaths of

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<v Speaker 1>all the other witches who'd participated that night. Cunningham was

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<v Speaker 1>thrown back in jail, where he renounced his ways, vowing

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<v Speaker 1>to be a good Christian from that day forward. A

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<v Speaker 1>few weeks later, he managed to escape and flee back

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<v Speaker 1>to Preston Pans. His break for freedom was short lived, however,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was a decision he would soon come to regret.

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<v Speaker 1>After being found in Preston Pans and re arrested, Cunningham

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<v Speaker 1>was brought back to the King convinced that he'd used

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<v Speaker 1>his time away to commune with Satan, James asked him

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<v Speaker 1>once more to confess, but Cunningham refused. Very well, said

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<v Speaker 1>the King. After being put back in his cell, Cunningham

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<v Speaker 1>was visited once again by the King's torturers. First, his

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<v Speaker 1>nails were crushed and split apart before being wrenched off

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<v Speaker 1>one by one with pincers, but he would not confess. Next,

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<v Speaker 1>under what was left of each nail, two needles were

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<v Speaker 1>thrust into his fingers up to their heads, but still

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<v Speaker 1>he would not confess, and so once again they called

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<v Speaker 1>for the boot. With the contraption in place and a

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<v Speaker 1>wedge jammed between the boards, the hammer was brought down.

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<v Speaker 1>Cunningham screamed in agony. Then again the hammer came down

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<v Speaker 1>and Cunningham screamed once more, but still he would not confess.

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<v Speaker 1>The wedge was hammered so many times it is written

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<v Speaker 1>that the bones and flesh was so crushed that the

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<v Speaker 1>blood and marrow spouted forth in great abundance, whereby his

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<v Speaker 1>legs were made unserviceable forever. Despite issuing no confession, Cunningham

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<v Speaker 1>was convicted of treason and witchcraft, and in January fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>ninety one, was placed in a cart and strangled as

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<v Speaker 1>required by law for the crime of treason, before being

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<v Speaker 1>thrown onto a fire at Castle Hill in Edinburgh, the

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<v Speaker 1>required punishment for practicing witchcraft. Over a hundred women were

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<v Speaker 1>investigated for their supposed involvement in the apparent plot to

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<v Speaker 1>sink King James's ship, and though it isn't known exactly

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<v Speaker 1>how many were executed as a result, Agnes Sampson was

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<v Speaker 1>burned at the stake, and most likely Gillis Duncan too.

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<v Speaker 1>In fifteen ninety seven, having been utterly convinced of the

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<v Speaker 1>danger of witches at what became known as the North

0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:23.280
<v Speaker 1>Berwick Trials, King James published his now infamous dissertation Demonology.

0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:27.760
<v Speaker 1>In it, the King outlined his understanding of the history

0:16:27.760 --> 0:16:31.000
<v Speaker 1>and practice of witchcraft, as well as his reasons as

0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:34.600
<v Speaker 1>to why the persecution of witches was entirely justified in

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<v Speaker 1>a Christian society. In what many believed to be a

0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:43.040
<v Speaker 1>direct consequence of King James's obsession with witches, over the

0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:47.320
<v Speaker 1>next eighty odd years, a series of witch panics gripped Scotland,

0:16:47.400 --> 0:16:50.320
<v Speaker 1>England and Wales, with as many as three and a

0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:54.840
<v Speaker 1>half thousand, mostly women estimated to have been killed as

0:16:54.840 --> 0:17:03.840
<v Speaker 1>a result. If you enjoy Unexplained and would like to

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<v Speaker 1>All donations, no matter how large or small, are greatly appreciated. Unexplained,

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<v Speaker 1>the book and audiobook, featuring ten stories that have never

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<v Speaker 1>the show's music, are produced by me Richard McClain smith.

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