10 Bizarre Methods That People Used To Hunt Witches
In the 16th and 17th centuries, witch-hunt frenzies spread across Europe and the British colonies of North America. Witches were tried in a court of law, but that hardly implied due process: the authorities devised bizarre tests to prove that people were in league with the Devil. Alleged witches were scratched until they bled, crushed under heavy stones, and weighed to “prove” they had no souls. Read on for ten of the wackiest witches’ tests — but remember failing one of these could, and often did, result in death…
1. Witch cakes
Unless you’re unlucky enough to be on a restricted diet, cake is scrumptious and always has been. Well, it usually is, but there was an exception. The cake served during the proceeds of a witch trial was about as far from lovely as you could get. The list of ingredients for what was known as witch cake was positively repulsive.
Fed to the familiar
To make a witch cake you mixed some rye meal and a portion of ashes, adding a sample of urine from the alleged victim of the witch on trial. Then this delicacy was fed to the witch’s familiar, their pet dog. If the animal suffered the same illness as the human victim, witchcraft was certain. What’s more, the dog was expected to point out the guilty witch, presumably with its paw.
2. Trial by water
One accepted way to reveal a witch was to fling them into a river or pond. The accused would be stripped down to their underwear and bound hand and foot. Then they’d be hurled into the water. If they sank like a stone, they were clearly innocent. On the other hand, if they floated, that was sure proof that they were guilty of witchcraft.
Double jeopardy
Of course, there’s an obvious problem with this method of flushing out witches. An alleged witch could prove their innocence by sinking to the bottom of the river or lake. But if they did so, their chances of living on were severely compromised by the likelihood that they’d drown. On the other hand, if the accused floated and didn’t drown, they were obviously guilty as charged. So they would probably be executed. Talk about double jeopardy!
