The Islandmagee Witch Trials of 1711

Dark Histories

In the windswept town of Islandmagee, County Antrim, in the year 1711, fear took root, and hysteria fanned the flames of injustice. Eight women—healers, widows, and outcasts—stood accused of witchcraft, charged with tormenting a young girl through dark sorcery. In an Ireland largely untouched by witch trials, this case became an eerie echo of Salem’s horrors. As whispers turned to accusations, the trial unfolded with damning testimonies, spectral evidence, and the weight of superstition, as women turned to spiders, victims vomited pins and feathers and panic and politics conquered over reason.

SOURCES

Sneddon, Andrew (2013) Possessed by the Devil. The History Press Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.

Sneddon, Andrew (2015) Witchcraft & Magic in Ireland. Palgrave macmillan, London, UK.

Tisdall, William (1775) Account of the Trial of Eight Reputed Witches. The Hibernian magazine, or, Compendium of entertaining knowledge v.5.

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