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Witch Trials
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What happened after a Witch was caught?
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Once a Witch was caught, she would be taken to court to be judged. First, evidence would be found and then presented in the court room, and depending on how serious the evidence, they would either be burned, hanged, jailed or told to carry out some community service and pay a fine of money.
If the Witch was part of the church organisation, then she may have been ordered to leave it or be banished from East Lothian - and it would be likely that she would be arrested in some other county.
If the evidence found was serious, then more evidence would be found and the supposed 'Witch' would be further questioned. The court would hope that during the questioning, the 'Witch' would confess. If she did not, then she would be tortured by preventing her from sleeping, crushing her feet and stretching on a rack. These tortures would be used all over Scotland - and to great effect - most would confess within a day! This process was very unfair as all that confessed only did so because it was the only way to stop the torture. So if you said you were innocent, they would only torture you harder until you confessed.....
If you withstood the torture, then they would find your 'Witch Mark' and prick it with a needle, if it did not bleed it was certain you were a 'Witch'.
If you were finally found guilty then you would be burnt alive.
So, as you have read, Witches didn't have much of a chance...
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The Evidence:
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Before Witches could be declared guilty, evidence had to be gathered so that the courts could decide if to let the accused go. Sometimes a witness would come to the court and present their version of events, or there would be a search for any herbs and anything that would prove the 'Witch' had been practising witch craft.
At the time, it was thought that Witches used Voodoo dolls (Dolls modelled into their enemy) to torture someone. This was done by pricking needles into the doll which was thought to hurt the person it was modelled on. There were other ways however - Witches could use herbs, potions or poison. It was also thought that a Witch could cause violent storms and rain showers as well as possessing someone. Witches were thought to be very powerful because of these things.
I hope you enjoyed reading about Witch Trials! To go to the next page, Witch Hideouts, click here .
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HOMEPAGE
Witches and Warlocks
What is a Witch?
Witch Trials