Devon's Forgotten Witches

1860–1910

Tracey Norman, Mark Norman

• Publisher: The History Press
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781803994222
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

Witchcraft and witches throughout history have long captured the imagination, yet hidden away in archives are records of long forgotten cases. Many of these are tragic, some are unusual – perhaps even inexplicable – but all are fascinating in their own right.

Devon's Forgotten Witches 1860–1910 takes a deep dive through these records, bringing to the surface accusations of witchcraft in the county that have languished, unacknowledged, in the British Newspaper Archive for decades. These are the stories of ordinary people whose lives were touched in some way by witchcraft.

Tracey Norman and Mark Norman examine these cases within their historical context, pulling together details from various news reports to explore what might really have happened. This work provides an intriguing snapshot of press coverage in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, showing how the public were urged to view those who still put their faith in 'incredible superstition'. Most importantly, the retelling of these stories gives a new voice to those whom the historical record has silenced.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Praise for Devon's Forgotten Witches 1860–1910
• Notes on Newspaper Sources
• Foreword
• Introduction
• A Note on Attitudes of the Time
• 1 Violence, Bewitching and Family Feuds
• 2 Money, Fraud and Fortune-Telling
• 3 A Family Legacy: The White Witch of Exeter
• 4 A ‘White Witch’ and a Dying Woman
• 5 Case Study: Miss Edith Patten
• 6 Two Healers
• 7 Case Study: Izet Williams
• 8 Lost and Found
• 9 The Church
• Conclusion
• Bibliography