A Detection of Damnable Driftes
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| Image is in the public domain the original copy is house at the British Library. A Detection of Damnable Driftes, Practized by Three Witches Arrainged at Chelmifforde [Chelmsford] in Essex, at the Late Assizes There Holden, Which Were Executed in Aprill, 1579 Elizabeth Fraunces, of Hatfield Peverel, was by all accounts a fairly notorious witch, having been to court twice before this trial. In her previous confessions, she admitted to possessing a familiar that took the shape of a white cat unhelpfully called Satan. She also confessed to stealing sleep and killing one Andrew Byles, who would not marry her after getting her pregnant. The cat told her what herbs to drink to abort the pregnancy. Elizabeth also confessed to killing her six-month-old daughter and making her second husband lame. She was imprisoned and pilloried. During her third and final trial, Elizabeth confessed to bewitching her neighbour Alice Poole because she refused her some yeast. Elizabeth employed a spirit to bewitch her that took the shape of a “little rugged dogge”. She was a spinster by this time. Before being put to death, Elizabeth named other local witches; it was common for women to incriminate others; it took suspicion away from themselves. |
