15 Bizarre and Cruel Ways People Tested Witches
Their Victims' Urine Was Baked Into Cakes And Fed To Dogs
Photo: Robert Calef / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainOne way to identify a witch was to bake a cake with rye and the urine of a witch’s victim and then feed the cake to a dog. There are differing accounts on how witch cake was used to identify witches.
If the dog began to exhibit symptoms similar to that of the victim, often that indicated that witchcraft was at work. The dog would then identify the witch.
They Were Dunked Into Freezing Water
Photo: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainA ducking stool was a medieval torture device that was primarily used to punish and humiliate women. The contraption resembled a seesaw with a chair affixed to one end. The device was placed along the edge of a river and the offender, who would be strapped into the chair, was repeatedly plunged into the cold river water.
Witch hunters would use the device to coerce confessions from the accused. This method was later simplified - accusers forwent the device and just tossed suspected witches into the water to see if they would drown.
They Were Bound And Thrown Into A Body Of Water
Photo: Wellcome Images / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0Probably the ultimate example of a no-win situation, some accused witches had their hands and feet bound, and then they were thrown into a body of water.
It was believed that if a person was a witch, the water would reject them and spit them back out. However, if they were innocent, they would drown.
They Were Pressed With Heavy Stones
Photo: Henrietta D. Kimball / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainThis method was used to manipulate accused witches into admitting their guilt. The witches in question had a board laid on top of them and their accusers placed heavy rocks on the board until they either confessed or they were literally crushed.
Giles Corey, one of the few men who was accused, met his end in this unfortunate manner.
They Were Scratched By Their Victims Until They Bled
Photo: Thomkins H. Matteson / Wikipedia / Public DomainSome of the accused were tested by being scratched by their supposed victims. It was believed that those cursed by a witch would experience relief if they scratched the person responsible for their affliction.
Victims would scratch the witch in question until they drew blood, and if their symptoms improved, they knew they had found their witch.
They Were Told To Pray - And It Had To Be Perfect
Photo: John W. Ehninger / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainAccused witches were asked to recite the Lord’s Prayer - and to recite it perfectly. This meant perfect pronunciation - no stuttering, no twitching, no shaking.
Real witches were known to be unable to recite the prayer perfectly - that is, without skipping a word or stuttering. Even passing this test was not always sufficient to reach an acquittal, however. George Burroughs was executed in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, even after passing the Lord's Prayer test.
They Were Asked To Touch Their Victims
Photo: Joseph E. Baker / Wikipedia / Public DomainSome victims were afflicted with violent fits that caused them to shake and convulse. To prove their innocence, some witches were asked to touch their victims.
If the victims were brought out of their fit, then the accused was declared a witch. The reasoning behind this test was that only the person who put the spell on the victim could remove it. This method is known to have been used exclusively in Andover, Massachusetts.
Their Bodies Were Examined For A Third Nipple
Photo: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainSuspected witches were searched for a third nipple. It was believed that this third nipple was used to feed one of the witch’s helpers or familiars.
Witches were supposedly given this mark by Satan during their transformation.
Their Bodies Were Examined For Markings
Photo: Thompkins H. Matteson / Wikipedia / Public DomainIn addition to being searched for a third nipple, suspected witches were also examined for unusual markings. During witch hunts, moles, scars, and birthmarks were often believed to be the mark of the devil.
It was believed that anyone who made a deal with the devil would bear his mark.
They Were Pricked With Pins And Needles
Photo: Wikipedia / Public DomainIt was believed that witches bore a special mark that identified them as a practitioner of witchcraft. Witch hunters would identify these marks and use a pin or needle to prick at them. If the suspected witch felt no pain, he or she was declared a witch.
Some witch hunters would dull one end of their tools so that the accused would not experience any pain.
They Were Forced To Summon The Devil
Photo: R. Stennet / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainKnown as "charging" or "incantations," some of those on trial for witchcraft were forced to verbally summon the devil, supplicating him to "stop" possessing an individual who might be in the middle of a fit or seizure of some sort.
In this test, the witch really couldn't win. If the fit stopped, then she was clearly in league with the devil and should be treated accordingly. If it kept going, then she wasn't doing a good enough job summoning the devil.
They Were Weighed Against A Stack Of Bibles
Photo: Tomasz Sienicki / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.5This test required that a suspected witch would be weighed against a stack of Bibles.
If the accused weighed more than the Bibles, she was innocent. However, if she was lighter than the stack, she was deemed a witch and punished accordingly.
They Were Observed To See If They Muttered To Themselves
Photo: Tim1965 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0This one is cruel and bizarre to the extent that it turns what was likely a form of mental illness into a telltale sign of a witch. If you could observe a potential witch talking to herself - muttering under her breath in some fashion - odds are, she was probably a witch doing incantations or something else evil. So being ever vigilant for this manifestation of witchcraft was something any good citizen should've been ready and willing to do.
Sarah Good, one of the women slain during the Salem witch trials, was particularly famous for having a habit of talking to herself.
If They Looked Old And 'Witch-Like,' That Was Enough To Condemn Them
Photo: Martin Le France / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainFor some unfortunate women, the only "test" they needed to pass for the public to declare them a witch was to be a bit older.
According to John Gaule, an English Puritan cleric during the height of the witch trials, "Every old woman with a wrinkled face, a furr'd brow, a hairy lip, a gobber tooth, a squint eye, a squeaking voice, or a scolding tongue... a dog or cat by her side, is not only suspected but pronounced for a witch."
Spectral Evidence Was Enough To Lock A Witch Up
Photo: The British Library / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainSpectral evidence refers to testimony provided by a witness that states that the accused person's spectral shape appeared to the witness in a dream. This was an accepted form of accusation during the Salem witch trials.
If a neighbor claimed a woman appeared to them in a dream with malicious intent, that was enough to condemn her for witchcraft.
