Is Pendle Hill, Lancashire, one of Britain’s most haunted sites?
Pendle Hill
Is Pendle Hill haunted? No, it’s propaply not. There have been sightings but none are such that we can exclude explanations other than supernatural causation. Speaking about hauntings and ghosts and such always comes down to what you want to believe. In this article, I will lay out some of the historical facts and how they relate to the very few anecdotal evidence that exist around Pendle Hill.
The background to the Witch trials
On a cold spring morning in the year 1612, a pedlar was walking on the road from Colne to Trawden Forest. This particular road is in England, Lancashire, some 20 miles west of Leeds. Back in the 1600s, this was a poor and dangerous part of the country, with bandits and thieves never too far away. The pedlar surely was watching his steps carefully as he wandered on with his merchandise on his back.
At a certain point, he spotted a young woman, dressed in ragged clothes, and with a friendly but soiled face. But John Law, as the pedlar’s Christian name was, didn’t slow down his pace. The girl asked him for some pins, but John still didn’t take any notice of her.
The curse that led up to the Pendle Witch trials.
We cannot say for sure how the two person’s interaction was. Maybe John was offensive, or maybe he was just a bit too friendly. Maybe the young woman was too perky and forward, or maybe she did try to steal the pins after all. What we do know though, is that the outcome of that meeting was to become one of the most famous witch trials in the history of Britain. And 8 women and 2 men would be executed by hanging before the year had ended.
The woman threw a curse at John, and he fell to the ground. He managed to stagger to an Inn close by, and there he lay down.
Alizon Device
This is the name of the cursing woman and the reason why we know that she cursed John in the first place, is because she confessed. As soon as she got news of the pedlar’s condition, she was overwhelmed with remorse. She came to visit John, to beg him for forgiveness. And there the story could have ended.
But fate wouldn’t have such a simple conclusion.
John’s son, Abraham, denounced the occurrence to the newly appointed local magistrate, Roger Nowell. This was a very ambitious, and zealous clerk, and he immediately summoned Alizon, her mother Elizabeth, and her brother James. And anybody who knows anything about the methods that were used to obtain confessions from witches during the witch-hunts in Europe knows where we are going from here.
The bad timing for the witches of Pendle Hill.
Three circumstances are important.
- King James l was an eager witch-hunter. He strongly promoted hunting down enemies of the church, and he had written the famous witch-hunting-tutorial Daemonologie a few years earlier.
- With the reign of King James, after decades of conflicts, the protestants had finally defeated the Catholic church in Britain. At least at a political level. And Catholics were regarded as suspiciously close to witchcraft already because of their strange and dark rites. The territory around Pendle Hill had many prominent Catholic families.
- We already talked about Roger Nowell. His role in this story was probably decisive.
The Trial
So, the accused started throwing testimonies, and allegations around. First on each other and then, when asked, on people outside the family. And that list obviously contained the enemies of the family and others that were particularly disagreeable… Such as Anne Whittle, the matriarch of the Chattox-family, and her daughter Anne Redfern.
The Chattox were something of competitors to the Device family on the cunning-folk market.
For the poor, going to a doctor, or getting help from a solicitor was out of the question. If something went wrong, be it health-, legal-, or other practical matters, you just had to fix it yourself, or with help from friends and family. If that wasn’t enough, you could turn to someone knowledgeable in herbs, medicine, and spells. These women, because they were almost always women, lived right on the border of what was considered good and legal, and what was thought of as malicious and illegal. And they were the first to be accused of witchcraft.
11 people were imprisoned in Lancaster Castle. After 4 months in a cold, damp, filthy, and small cell, where all the prisoners shared space, 10 of them were brought in front of the judge. Elizabeth Device’s mother, Elisabeth Southern, also called Demdike, had died in jail. She was 80 at the time.
A 12th indictee, Jennet Preston was prosecuted in York.
Jennet Device
Roger Nowell had one key witness. The daughter of Elizabeth, and the sister of Alizon and James… Jennet Device. She was 9 years old. When she was put on a table to make her testimony, her mother, Elizabeth, was so furious, that she had to be taken out of the courtroom.
With a steady voice and without hesitating, she spilled the terrible truth out on all those present at the assize. Her mother was a witch, her grandmother was a witch, and even her siblings were in on it. She sold out her whole family.
Then she went on accusing a whole lot of other people, who had attended a meeting at the Device’s house on Good Friday that same year. All of them dealing with black magic.
Witchcraft and the court hearings.
To a modern reader, having a nine-year-old as a witness can seem dubious. Small children can’t always know what’s right or wrong, and they certainly do not fully understand the consequences of their words. Even in those days, that was a general idea, and small children weren’t normally considered trustworthy enough to be brought into a courtroom.
Daemonologie
But King James had changed all that. In his book Daemonologie, he had declared that, when it comes to fighting witchcraft, any witness is credible… Children, mentally disabled, people with a conflict of interest… In short, anyone. And normal reasoning wasn’t always practiced.
Since witchcraft is a supernatural force, all common sense went out the window.
If the accused had an alibi, then she could have killed him anyway, with a spell, from a distance. If it wasn’t a murder but an accident, then the witch could make it seem that way to not raise suspicion. If someone else had done it, then the witch could have changed form and physical characteristics to resemble that person.
There simply was no way to really get off the hook.
… And so, nine of the ten accused were found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging. And it was mostly based on the witness of a nine-year-old.
Alice Nutter
One person didn’t really fit in. Alice Nutter wasn’t poor, and she wasn’t accomplished in herbs and powerful brews. She didn’t associate with any of the other accused. But she had one suspicious quality… She was Catholic. It is probable that Jennet, or whoever put the words in her mouth, just threw in Alice Nutter as a bonus… That, and the fact that she owned land.
To perform the Catholic mass was a felony compared to high treason. And the King had made it illegal not to attend the Potestantic mass or not to take communion during that mass. Alice Nutter didn’t admit anything and pleaded innocence until the end. She actually didn’t say much at all. Possibly because she couldn’t reveal her and her family’s engagement in the heretical religion.
The Executions
On the 20th of August 1612, at Gallows Hill, Lancaster, 8 women, and 2 men were hanged by the neck until dead. These were
- Alizon Device
- Elizabeth Device
- James Device
- Anne Whittle
- Anne Redferne
- Alice Nutter
- Katherine Hewitt
- John Bulcock
- Jane Bulcock
- Isabel Robey
Alice Grey was found not guilty.
- Jennet Preston was executed in York on July 29, 1612.
- Elizabeth Southern (Demdike) died in prison.
So, are these witches still haunting Pendle Hill?
First of all, Pendle Hill is a truly magical place. Its naked, grass-covered slopes and the isolated position would be a perfect background for any paranormal activity, true or invented. And anyone driving the deserted, narrow roads up the hill, or between churchyards and ruins at night, is likely to see all kinds of things, regardless if they’re there or not.
And there have been numerous sightings of ghosts, spirits, strange lights, mists, and even UFOs on and around the hill.
But are there any documented, verified, really true confirmed encounters with anything that’s not of the normal, everyday world?
First, let’s look at where these encounters are supposed to have taken place…
The most haunted spots are these.
The Malkin Tower, where the Device family lived, was demolished shortly after the trial. Today there are many locations for that building proposed by historians. The only thing we know is that it was on the east or south side of the hill.
One possible location is here:
Another is here:
Other possibly haunted spots are Faugh’s Quarry, where the old Demdike supposedly met with the devil.
… Or this whole area:
… Or the churchyard of Saint Mary’s church in Newchurch:
Clitheroe Castle:
Possibly because it’s a castle, and those are obvious hot spots when it comes to haunted sites. It is on the other side of the hill though, and the ghosts you find there could be of a different nature and perhaps not connected to the witch trials.
Lancaster Castle:
Lancaster Castle is where Elizabeth Southern aka Demdike died and where all the witches spent four months before trial.
The sightings are not limited to certain buildings or geographic spots, though. People have had strange encounters all over the Pendle area. Even up, on the hill, as far as the summit lights and mists have been observed.
A few of the many observations…
- Ashley Firth caught this image in the spring of 2019 when walking down the hill. It supposedly was a mist that appeared right in front of her showing one or possibly two faces. It then disappeared rapidly. Read the full article here.
Mists are very common when documenting ghostly phenomena. Very often they have natural origins.
- Christine Hamlett snapped a photo in autumn 2015 at the Saint Mary’s churchyard in Newchurch-in-Pendle. Read the full article here.
- In early autumn 2014, Alan Pickover met with an eerie ghost at Waddow Hall at Waddington, north of Clitheroe. He was monitoring the plume from a chimney stacks a few minutes after midnight when he spotted a huge hooded shadow making its way toward him. Alan retreated to his car and drove off.
… And then came television…
In 2004 the British paranormal reality television series, Most Haunted, came to Pendle. In October they made a three-day live Halloween-special transmission from various locations around the hill, and of course, it was a huge success. So big, in fact, that the series anchor, Yvette Fielding, afterward declared that the episode was one of, if not the most disturbing experiences she had ever had.
TV-series on the paranormal are generally not a good source of documentation. The technique involves the usual handheld camera moving around too fast to be able to get a good look at what’s going on. And since they always film at night, with the night-vision’s grey/green-ish colors it’s even harder to get any good visual on the images.
The medium, Derek Acorah, who tragically passed away in January 2020, conveniently used a whole lot of information that was easily accessible from any website or book about the Pendle-witch-trials. Even the most famous names, Elisabeth, and Anne Device, as well as Demdike were used.
It’s still interesting documentation. Especially the second day.
After that, the sightings peaked.
From 2005 all the way up until 2015, Lancashire had 81 reported encounters of non-explained supernatural phenomena. Of those, no less than 23 were witches, which is 28% of the total. And that’s statistically a very big part. This is in line with the usual effect a TV show of this type has on the frequency of sightings. When a location gets publicity, the reason for that publicity is reinforced. In this case with more witches being seen.
Proof isn’t proof until it’s proven…
But unfortunately, none of these witches cared to leave any sustainable proof of their existence. The photos and videos are open to interpretanìtion, to say the least, and many of the supposed encounters were made by, or in the presence of, people who have a lot to gain from any positive exposure in this field.
In the area around the hill, there are numerous companies offering witch-hikes, ghost-walks, sleep-over, and tours in haunted hotels, and other locations. And much of the tourist sector in the area benefits from the witches even if it’s just indirectly. It’s simply good business.
But good business doesn’t mean it can’t be true. It is still possible that Pendle Hill really is a haunted territory…
What does the research say?
Research is a big word, and when it comes to paranormal phenomena, the implication often outgrows the topic. Not much science is investigated in researching paranormal activity. I will refer to two British societies.
The SPR – Society for Psychical Research in London, England, has no reliable documentation of paranormal activity in the Pendle Hill area.
The ASSAP – Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena, England, has no reliable documentation of paranormal activity in the Pendle Hill area.
Conclusion
We don’t have very much to go on here. Yes, there are loads of testimonies and flickering lights on greyish out-of-focus filming, but that isn’t convincing. Adding the obvious historical background, and commercial interest in the sightings, I can’t give Pendle Hill a positive verdict.
It’s a truly awesome place for anyone who wants to spend some time in the barren countryside of east Lancashire. And the history of the witches is fascinating, as is the Hill itself, and the wonderful villages around it. But when it comes to haunted spots, it’s just not compelling. The witches that were brutally tortured and executed in thousands all over Europe have all the reasons to seek revenge. And the thousands and hundreds of thousands of women who were oppressed, exploited, humiliated, and abused in the centuries that followed, and are so even today, are all entitled to justice… In this world or from the world beyond.
Demdike, Elizabeth, Anne, and all the others are seemingly quiet, though. What we can do is to let our voices be heard and to speak for them. And to speak for all the other women in this world suffering from persecution and injustice.
I give Pendle Hill one extra star for the documented historical background. As well as Yvette Fielding’s of Most Haunted statement that Pendle Hill is one of the most disturbing experiences in her career.
So, are there any witches?
No, not really.
The history is fascinating, and the surroundings are beautiful, but when it comes to paranormal activity I would give Pendle Hill…
So, what happened to the young Jennet Device?
We don’t know how she managed after she sent her whole family to the gallows. But she turns up again in the records in 1634 when she’s accused of having killed a woman with witchcraft. But in 1634 the King was dead and King Charles I was in charge. He was much more of a skeptical, and he promoted sustainable proof rather than religious fanaticism.
The main witness was a boy named Edmund Robinson, aged ten. When he finally cracked up and admitted that he had made it all up, he referred to an old story he’d been told. A story about ten witches on the slopes of Pendle Hill…
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