Name:
Joan Cason
Location:
Faversham, Kent
Date:
1586
Accusations:
When Sarah Cooke's young daughter fell ill, a traveller told her that
the girl had been bewitched. To cure her, the worried mother
was advised to procure a roof tile from the house of the woman she
suspected was responsible: Joan Cason. Sarah was to place the tile in the fire, where
it would 'sparkle and fly round the cradle' if the child was indeed
bewitched. Sarah Cooke duly carried out the ritual using a tile from the roof of Joan's house, and the result proved positive. To further compound her guilt in the eyes of her neighbours, Joan herself came to the Cooke's
house not long afterwards to see how the child did, with disasterous consequences: four hours
after looking Joan in the face, young Jane Cooke was dead. Although
Joan denied any culpability it did her little good; seven people
vouched for the fact that several years ago a rat-like spirit used to
visit Joan's house to aid her in her mischief. Despite Joan insisting
that those who spoke against her did so out of malice, she was
arrested and charged.
Outcome: Joan was indicted on the charge of invoking spirits and also of
bewitching young Jane Cooke to death. She was acquitted of the murder
charge however and only charged with the conjuring of spirits, after she admitted that the rat-like creature had indeed been a frequent visitor to her own house and others in Faversham. This 'leniency' was due, according to the account in Holinshed, to the jury being reluctant to convict Joan of a crime
punishable by death. It seems, however, that their consideration was
actually Joan's downfall; a lawyer who was present quibbled the matter of conjuring spirits, and Joan was hanged anyway three days later.
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