The Pendle Witches

In August 1612, one of the most infamous witch trials in English history concluded at Lancaster Castle. Ten people - mostly women from two feuding families near Pendle Hill - were hanged for witchcraft. Their alleged crimes included murder by magic, consorting with familiars, and creating clay images to kill. Four centuries later, the lonely moorland of Pendle remains haunted by their memory, and visitors report strange encounters with figures in old-fashioned dress, unexplained lights, and an overwhelming sense of tragedy.

The Historical Case

The Accused

Two families were central:

• The Devices (Old Demdike’s family)
• The Whittle/Chattox family
• Poor, marginalized people
• Living on the edge of society
• Accused of malicious magic

The Key Figures

Old Demdike (Elizabeth Southerns)

• Elderly, blind
• Confessed to witchcraft
• Died in prison
• Never stood trial

Old Chattox (Anne Whittle)

• Rival “witch”
• Also confessed
• Hanged August 1612

Alice Nutter

• A respectable widow
• Her involvement mysterious
• Maintained innocence
• Hanged anyway

The Trial

At Lancaster Castle:

• August 18-20, 1612
• Ten found guilty
• All hanged
• Evidence included confession and accusation
• By modern standards, a travesty

The Executions

On August 20, 1612:

• Ten people walked to the gallows
• Outside Lancaster Castle
• Elizabeth Device
• James Device
• Alice Nutter
• Anne Whittle
• And others
• Their bodies buried in unmarked graves

The Hauntings

Pendle Hill

The landscape itself:

• Brooding and atmospheric
• Where the accused lived
• Strange lights reported
• Figures seen at night
• An oppressive feeling

Malkin Tower

The Device family home:

• Where they allegedly met
• Now ruins (location disputed)
• Shadowy figures seen
• Strange sounds heard
• The site of the original accusations

Lancaster Castle

Where they were tried and executed:

• Extremely haunted
• Ghostly figures in period dress
• Sounds of distress
• Cold spots in dungeons
• The condemned return

The Road to the Gallows

The execution route:

• From castle to gallows site
• A procession sometimes seen
• Ghostly figures walking
• On anniversary dates
• Reliving their final journey

Specific Phenomena

The Lights

On Pendle Hill:

• Strange balls of light
• Moving across the moorland
• No natural explanation
• Have been filmed
• Local tradition for centuries

The Figures

Witnesses report:

• Women in old-fashioned dress
• Sometimes alone
• Sometimes in groups
• Near significant locations
• Then vanishing

The Sounds

Heard on the hill:

• Wailing and crying
• Screaming
• Particularly on anniversary
• August around trial dates
• The condemned speak

The Presence

Many visitors feel:

• Watched
• Followed
• Unwelcome
• A heavy atmosphere
• Something waiting

Notable Locations

Newchurch-in-Pendle

The local church:

• Has the “Eye of God” on tower
• Said to ward off witches
• Strange phenomena reported
• Ghostly figures in churchyard
• The accused may have worshipped here

Roughlee Hall

Home of Alice Nutter:

• The most mysterious of the accused
• Her ghost may return here
• Unexplained presences
• Cold spots
• A wronged woman?

Tynedale Farm

Near Malkin Tower site:

• Atmospheric old farm
• Reports of activity
• Where Demdike family lived
• The heart of the accusations
• Something lingers

The Legacy

The Injustice

The Pendle case represents:

• Persecution of the vulnerable
• Fear and superstition
• Neighbor turning on neighbor
• Religious hysteria
• Innocent deaths

The Tourism

Today:

• Witch walks
• Tours of key sites
• Heritage center
• Halloween events
• The witches are remembered

The Memorial

In 2012 (400th anniversary):

• Memorial created
• Names of the hanged
• Recognition of tragedy
• Acknowledgment of injustice
• Long overdue

Investigations

Paranormal Research

Pendle attracts:

• Ghost hunters
• Paranormal teams
• Television documentaries
• Researchers
• Consistent activity reported

The Evidence

Investigators find:

• Unusual EMF readings
• Temperature anomalies
• EVP recordings
• Photographic anomalies
• Something is there

Local Knowledge

Residents know:

• Certain areas to avoid
• Times when activity increases
• Anniversary dates
• The hill has moods
• It’s not always welcoming

The Question

In 1612, ten people were hanged for witchcraft.

They were poor. They were marginalized. They were convenient scapegoats.

Were they witches? Almost certainly not in any supernatural sense. They were cunning folk, perhaps. Herbalists. The weird neighbors that everyone blamed when things went wrong.

They died badly. Accused, condemned, hanged.

And four centuries later, they haven’t left.

The lights still dance on Pendle Hill. Figures in old clothes still walk the paths. At Lancaster Castle, something still screams.

Is it the ghosts of the innocent? The restless dead demanding justice?

Or is there something else up there? Something older than the witch trials? Something that drew accusations of witchcraft to that particular place?

Pendle Hill. Haunted by history. Haunted by injustice.

The witches of Pendle were hanged 400 years ago.

They’re still there.

Still walking the hill.

Still trying to tell their story.

Still waiting for the world to understand what really happened.

Ten died.

None are at rest.

The Pendle Witches.

Innocent or guilty, they paid the ultimate price.

And they’ve been paying it ever since.