Name:
Alice Gooderidge
Date:
1596
Location:
Stapenhill, Burton-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire
Accusations: In February 1596, Alice was accused of bewitching young Thomas Darling after meeting the boy when he got lost in the woods while hunting with his uncle. Shortly afterwards, Thomas suffered from vomiting and
hallucinations; when the doctor called to attend him could do nothing
to ease his condition, it was noted that the boy became worse when
praying or reading the bible, and witchcraft was diagnosed. When
Thomas told of his meeting with the old woman, (and her anger when he
happened to break wind in front of her) the finger of blame was soon
pointed at sixty-year old Alice Gooderidge, although some also
believed her mother, Elizabeth Wright, was actually the woman in
question. Upon examination, Alice initially admitted she had been in
the wood, but not to seeing Thomas there. Upon being unable to say
the Lord's Prayer properly however, the local Justice was called, and
Alice and her mother were apprehended by the constable, leading to Alice
finally admitting to having met Thomas Darling. Further evidence was
forthcoming: a hole was discovered on Alice's belly, the site, it was
said, where she had desperately tried to remove the evidence of the
witch's mark that would incriminate her, and although she said the
injury was caused by a fall from a ladder, this explanation was not
believed. Alice was imprisoned and Thomas Darling continued to
suffer: the boy was plagued by hallucinations, fits and, incredibly,
was said to have been threatened by a spectral bear.
Outcome:
After undergoing inducement to confess, including having the shoes on
her feet heated to unbearable temperatures before the fire, Alice
finally broke. On 2 and 3 May she confessed that she had bewitched
Thomas, and sent the Devil after him in the form of a red and white
coloured dog named Minny. She was also charged with bewitching a cow
belonging to a man named Michael. Thomas Darling was exorcised by the
soon to be infamous exorcist John Darrell, after which the boy
recovered from his bewitchment. Alice was not so fortunate; it is
believed that she was sentenced to a year in gaol, and although
there is no further record of her, it is believed she died during her
imprisonment. Tragically, three years later, Thomas Darling confessed
that he had fabricated the entire story and his subsequent illness.
Darrell, after playing a prominent role in several high-profile
possession cases, was like-wise discredited as a fraud.
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