The first thing to remember about this point in English history was it was the time of the English Civil War

Families were against Families, Fathers against Sons, Brother against Brother. Fear ruled the land. Everyone feared everyone else. Bands of Soldiers patrolled the countryside. Houses were searched for fugitives.

Fear and uncertainty held the Country in its vice like grip.

The Purtian beliefs of the Cromwellian forces held great sway with the populous. God was important, as was the fight to defeat evil, in what ever form it came.

Not a great deal is known about Hopkins' early life, but it is thought he was born in Little Wenham, Suffolk, in the 1620s. He was the son of a Purtitian Minister and grew up with a strong sense of God and the Devil, a very strong, reenforced sense of Good and Evil. He trained as a lawyer, but he made little headway, and possibly more importantly little money. It came to Hopkins attention that it was possible that a number of witches were practicing the "black arts" close to his home. His interest in "Witch Hunting" had been aroused - not only that, but there was the possibility of making some money at the same time.

His new career started near Manningtree in Essex in 1644, where he "examined" his first witch at the Thorn Inn, Mistley.

Elizabeth Clarke, was a poor one-legged old hag who Hopkins first imprisoned and then tortured (or “interrogated” as he would have it, as torture was illegal at that time). Hopkins subjected Elizabeth to sleep deprivation, consistent questioning along with the "examinations" for signs that she was a witch. Hopkins, and his cohorts, would look for the "Witches Mark" - some blemish;on the skin that would, when pricked with a rather savage looking needle,not bleed - on the principle Witches didn't bleed. It is believed that Hopkins and his cohorts, not being able to find this spot on Clarke on her exisiting body(and they had tried - by using the needle all over her body) that the missing "Spot" must have been on the missing limb.

As in following cases, Elizabeth buckled under the pain and pressure and confessed to being a witch. She spoke about her familiars (so-called “demonic” animals that were associated with her) and implicated other witches as her accomplices. This was only the start.

By July 1645, 29 people had been condemned to die in trials held in Chelmsford in special courts set up to deal with the witch-finding frenzy. Ten were hanged in Chelmsford and 19 at Seafield Bay.

These Chelmsford trials gained glory and publicity for Hopkins and gave him the means to expand his hunt through Suffolk. He declared himself "Witchfinder General" with an alleged special commission from Parliament to rid the country of witches. Advertising openly, he exploited Puritans hatred of devil worship and the villagers’ fear of witchcraft.

Hopkins succeeded in turning the populous into zealots, looking for "the Evil ones" in ever house, every village. Neighbours with a grude would accuse others of various "signs" of consorting with the Devil - and then Hopkins and his team would come in to "investigate". Gossip and innuendo became the tools of the accusers. 

 In this, he was very successful - most villages found at least one hag rumoured to be a witch.

Sadly, most of the "Witches" were just ordinary Women, usually those who could least defend themselves. They were just different in some form. A lot were old, some were ill.Some talked to themselves - but that was taken , at the time, as talking to some unseen demon.

 "Every old woman with a wrinkled face, a furrowed brow, a hairy lip, a gobber tooth, a squinty eye, a squeaking voice or scolding tongue, having a rugged coat on her back, a skull-cap on her head, a spindle in her hand and a dog or cat by her side, is not only suspect but pronounced for a witch" wrote John Gaule in 'Select Cases of Conscience', his condemnation of Matthew Hopkins.

Many unfortunate women were condemned on little evidence and were hanged after undergoing appalling torture. The "pilnie-winks" (thumb screws) and iron 'caspie-claws' (a form of leg irons heated over a brazier) usually got a confession from the supposed witch.

How to get a confession - the Methods Used

As already stated, one of the main methods Hopkins and his second in command, Jack Stearne, employed was to keep the suspect awake on "surveillance" for days on end, resulting in sleep deprivation. For most of the suspects this would only take two or three days, and they "interrogated" both men and women. By then the suspect could be coaxed into confessing to almost anything. They would be stripped and humiliated, beaten and starved.

Hopkins believed that witches fed their "familiars" (animals that would accompany them in their evil practices - Cats, Crows, Mice and even Spiders) with their own blood. And by keeping the witch under guard he could also ensure that their familiars would not be able to feed from the witch, thereby depriving the witches of their alleged capabilities.

Hopkins also believed that, not only the use of the needles would prove that the Suspect could be found to be a Witch. By the use of a knife with a retractable blade, Hopkins could quickly, and cunningly, "prove" their guilt. The Witch would be "stabbed" with the Knife but then, of course , they would not bleed.

Guilty as accused.

Along with pricking the accused with needles, he bound them till they cramped and made them walk on cold stone floors till their feet bled.

However, a favourite confessional torture of Hopkins was the infamous "swimming" test. The suspect's limbs would be bound together and they would be lowered into pond water by ropes. Hopkins saw the principle as being simple - if they sank and drowned, they were innocent and would go to heaven. If they floated, they would be tried as a witch. This devious method was simple and effective. The idea was based on the belief that as a witch rejected the water of baptism, so the element of water would reject them in turn, and they would float. Hopkins, however, wanted to increase the spectacle and make it even crueller. He bound his victims in a most painful way so they were bent double with their arms crossed between their legs and their thumbs were tied to their big toes.

If you "survived" the test (thus of course proving you were a Witch) the now guilty where Hung until they were dead. Not only that but some where then beheaded in the misplaced belief that without the head, the Witch could not then return to haunt them in death.

Even for these "innocent witches", burials were cruel. A reminder of Hopkins' reign of terror was discovered in St Osyth in 1921. Two female skeletons were found in a garden, pinned into unmarked graves and with iron rivets driven through their joints. This was to ensure a witch could not return from the grave.

In the end Hopkins was responsible for over 300 executions.

Witch Hunting for Profit

Very quickly, Hopkins and Stearne had made Witch Hunting a very profitable business - it has been calculated that the team netted nearly a £1000, which was a handsome sum in those days.

Witch Hunting was not only profitable for Hopkins and his team.

Local justices, clergymen and other notable inhabitants, believing they were performing some sort of public service, accepted the rewards that the government of the time afforded them. But it wasn't long before the local country people began to suspect that Hopkins' personal financial greed had motivated his actions. Hopkins, of course, denied these accusations, citing that, although Stearne and he put themselves at risk with their work, they were welcomed and given "thanks and recompense".

THE END !!

It is thought that greed and zeal overcame Hopkins. By the end of 1646, a vicar, John Gaule, was so shocked by the torture inflicted on those accused, that he wrote a book called "Select Cases of Conscience Touching Witches and Witchcraft". Public opinion was begining to turn against the Witch Finder.

Although much of his life is well-recorded, Hopkins' demise is a mystery.
There are, according to accounts, two possible means of death for the Witch Finder General.

The more fanciful account was that Hopkins died in the same way he had condemned so many others. The account, by a 19th-century writer named William Andrews, argues that Hopkins was accused of being a witch , and was subject to the Swimming test himself. Accussed of stealing a book containing the names of all the English Witches by the use of witchcraft , Hopkins declared his-self innocent. But an angry crowd forced him to undergo the "swimming" trial. Some accounts say he drowned, while others say he floated and was condemned and hanged. However, no records of his trial exist.

The more likely? .

In an account given by his faithful lieutenant, John Stearne, it is noted that Hopkins died of consumption in Mistley. He was buried on 12th August 1647(Strangely enough, when asked, this is the cause of death confirmed by Most Haunted's psychic Medium - Derek Accorah)

With no one person to carry on the cause, the number of witch trials dropped dramatically after Hopkin's death. The Civil war ended and, with it, much of the paranoia. There was not much interest in witchcraft from the new government, despite the views of some who still believed that witchcraft was a threat in England.

Jane Wenham was the last known accused witch to be tried in England in 1731. She was acquitted.

The English Witchcraft Act of 1735 banned prosecution for witchcraft.

There is still one more night of this Most Haunted Live series, and I believe, if I remember correctly, they are going to Mistley, where the infamous Hopkins is buried.

To be honest, this series of programs has been more historical that ghostly, as some of its predecessors have been.

I did feel sorry for Matthew Smith on Friday night. Below is a copy of Matthew's biography off the most haunted site

Dr Matthew Smith

DMatthew SmithDr Matthew Smith, a psychologist, has been researching the paranormal for the past ten years. He is particularly interested in exploring alternative explanations for people's apparently paranormal experiences.

"Lots of people report seeing ghosts and having other strange experiences in supposedly haunted houses. I want to find out what causes these experiences. Are ghosts visions of the dead? Or do we just 'see' what we expect to see?"

The reason for the support?
Matthew, doing his job as I see it, had been investigating a very stunning "Poltergeist Spoon throwing" incident from a previous Most Haunted Live in Stratford (In search of the spiritual /Ghosts of Shakespearian Stratford). Having played a recorded trailer of his visit to the location involved Matthew , to some derision from other people on the program, tried to explain how he thought a "Spoon" had been thrown. In a logical manner, straight forward manner, he had concluded that it was POSSIBLE that the "supernatural" spoon could have been thrown by a more "earthly" agent.

Boy was he slated by the team that night.

I was so incensed that I almost complained to the program - ALMOST. But, as it turned out, Matthew had quite a few supporters, many with the same sort of feelings on the situation that I have. The Communications Center reported that they had recieved many calls from like minded individuals - all in support of Matthew.

I am not sure that there are "Ghosts" per-ce. But I think there is something, but I also believe it is right that people like Matthew Smith question what we see. We can take things on face value too quickly, without thinking about possible alternatives.

You keep use on the straight and narrow Matthew. You make sure we look for the alternatives

Good on yea.

Cheers

 Dave