Three people lie on a large fire, watched by several men.
Artistic depiction of the execution by burning of three alleged witches in Baden, Switzerland in 1585

This is a list of people executed for witchcraft, many of whom were executed during organized witch-hunts, particularly during the 15th–18th centuries. Large numbers of people were prosecuted for witchcraft in Europe between 1560 and 1630.[1]

Background

Until around 1440, witchcraft-related prosecutions in Europe centered on maleficium, the concept of using supernatural powers specifically to harm others. Cases came about from accusations of the use of ritual magic to damage rivals.[1] Until the early 15th century, there was little association of witchcraft with Satan.[2] From that time organized witch-hunts increased, as did individual accusations of sorcery. The nature of the charges brought changed as more cases were linked to diabolism. Throughout the century, several treatises were published that helped to establish a stereotype of the witch, particularly the Satanic connection. During the 16th century, witchcraft prosecutions stabilized and even declined in some areas.[2] Witch-hunts increased again in the 17th century. The witch trials in Early Modern Europe included the Basque witch trials in Spain, the Fulda witch trials in Germany, the North Berwick witch trials in Scotland, and the Torsåker witch trials in Sweden.

There were also witch-hunts during the 17th century in the American colonies. These were particularly common in the colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Haven. The myth of the witch had a strong cultural presence in 17th century New England and, as in Europe, witchcraft was strongly associated with devil-worship.[3] About eighty people were accused of practicing witchcraft in a witch-hunt that lasted throughout New England from 1647 to 1663. Thirteen women and two men were executed.[4] The Salem witch trials followed in 1692–93, culminating in the executions of 20 people. Five others died in jail.

It has been estimated that tens of thousands of people were executed for witchcraft in Europe and the American colonies over several hundred years. The exact number is unknown, but modern conservative scholars estimate around 40,000–50,000.[A] Scholar Carlo Ginzburg of the University of Bologna, in his work Night Battles, estimates the number between 3-4 million people. Common methods of execution for convicted witches were hanging, drowning and burning. Burning was often favored, particularly in Europe, as it was considered a more painful way to die.[5] Prosecutors in the American colonies generally preferred hanging in cases of witchcraft.[5]

List of people executed for witchcraft

Name Lifetime Nationality Death
Theoris of Lemnos before 323 BC Ancient Greece (Lemnos) Unknown.
Liu Ju d. 91 BC Han Dynasty Committed suicide after rebelling against Emperor Wu of Han in the midst of a witch hunt. His father later realized he had been wrong.
Petronilla de Meath c. 1300–1324  Ireland Burned to death.
Stedelen d. c. 1400  Switzerland Confessed under torture to summoning demons; burned to death and beheaded.
Kolgrim c. d. 1407 Norwegian Greenland Burned to death.
Veronika of Desenice d. 1425  Slovenia Veronika was minor nobility and Frederick's father Hermann II was greatly opposed to the marriage. The chronicles of the Counts of Celje suggest he had his son arrested and, while holding him prisoner, initiated a trial against Veronika accusing her of witchcraft. She was acquitted by the court. Despite the court's ruling, she was incarcerated in Ojstrica Castle near Tabor and murdered (supposedly on the orders of Hermann II) by being drowned in 1425. She was buried in Braslovče and a few years later Frederick arranged for her remains to be reburied at the Carthusian monastery at Jurklošter and in her memory also made an endowment to the monastery at Bistra.[6]
Matteuccia de Francesco d. 1428 Papal States Confessed to having flown on the back of a demon; burned to death.
Agnes Bernauer c. 1410–1435 Bavaria Convicted of witchcraft and thrown in the Danube to drown, following accusations by her father-in-law Ernest, Duke of Bavaria.
Guirandana de Lay d. 1461 Aragon Woman accused of witchcraft; burned at the stake.
Gentile Budrioli d. 1498, 14 July Italy Italy Tortured and burned on the stake in Bologna.
Narbona Dacal d. 1498 Spain Accused of witchcraft during the trial by the Inquisition. Burned at the stake.
Janet, Lady Glamis d. 1537  Scotland Accused of witchcraft by King James V; burned to death.
Gyde Spandemager d. 1543  Denmark Burned to death.
Lasses Birgitta d. 1550  Sweden The first woman executed for witchcraft in Sweden; beheaded.
Agnes Waterhouse c. 1503–1566  England The first woman executed for witchcraft in England; hanged.
Polissena of San Macario d. 1571 Lucca Burned to death.
Janet Boyman d. 1572  Scotland Executed in 1572 for witchcraft
Gilles Garnier d. 1573  France Serial child murderer; convicted of witchcraft and lycanthropy, and burned to death.
Soulmother of Küssnacht d. 1577  Switzerland Burned to death.
Violet Mar d. 1577  Scotland The trial of Violet Mar is believed to have influenced the views on witchcraft held by James VI of Scotland
Thomas Doughty d. 1578  England Nobleman and explorer accused by Sir Francis Drake of witchcraft, mutiny and treason; beheaded
Ursula Kemp c. 1525–1582  England Confessed to witchcraft and hanged.
Elisabeth Plainacher 1513–1583  Austria Only person to be executed for witchcraft in Vienna; burned to death.
Walpurga Hausmannin d. 1587 Bavaria Midwife who confessed to child murder, witchcraft and vampirism; burned to death.
Anna Koldings d. 1590  Denmark-Norway Burned to death.
Rebecca Lemp d. 1590 Bavaria One of 32 women convicted of witchcraft in a witch hunt in Nördlingen, burnt at the stake.[7]
Anne Pedersdotter d. 1590  Denmark-Norway Burned to death.
Kerstin Gabrielsdotter d. 1590 SwedenSweden The only member of Swedish nobility to be charged with witchcraft; Unknown.[8]
Agnes Sampson d. 1591  Scotland Midwife, garrotted and burned to death during the North Berwick witch trials.
Marigje Arriens c. 1520–1591  Dutch Republic Burned to death for sorcery.
Witches of Warboys d. 1593  England Alice Samuel and her family; hanged.
Allison Balfour d. 1594  Scotland Executed in Kirkwall
Jean Delvaux d. 1595 Liège Roman Catholic monk; beheaded
Andrew Man d. 1598  Scotland Tried and burnt[9][10]
Pappenheimer Family d. 1600 Bavaria Tortured and burned to death.
Mary Pannal d.1603  England Unknown.
Merga Bien 1560s–1603 Hesse Convicted as part of the Fulda witch trials and burned to death.
Mechteld ten Ham d. 1605  Dutch Republic Confessed under torture and was burned to death.
Nyzette Cheveron d. 1605 Spanish Netherlands Confessed to being a witch; was strangled and burned to death; Led to the execution of Anne Nouville.
Franziska Soder d. 1606, October 8 Rheinfelden, Switzerland Burned as a witch. Her husband paid 320 Gulden as "confiscation" to the Gentlemen' Chamber in Rheinfelden.[11]
Elin i Horsnäs d. 1611  Sweden Beheaded after her second trial for witchcraft.
Alice Nutter d. 1612  England Hanged during Pendle witches hunt
Pendle witches d. 1612  England Unknown.
Evaline Gill d. 1616  Scotland Strangled; burned to death survived by 2 children moved to Singer Louisiana – Still living witch's Scalloway
Elspeth Reoch d. 1616  Scotland Executed in Kirkwall
Margaret Quaine d. 1617  Isle of Man Executed in Castletown, Isle of Man with her son, John Cubbon. Margaret's mother was also accused of Witchcraft several decades prior. Wiccan Priest Gerald Gardner erected a plaque in their memory on the Smelt Monument in Castletown Square.
Witches of Belvoir d. 1618  England A mother and two daughters, the daughters were hanged.
Sidonia von Borcke 1548–1620 Pomerania Confessed to murder and witchcraft under torture; beheaded, corpse burned.
Christenze Kruckow 1558–1621  Denmark-Norway Noblewoman who confessed to cursing the marital bed of a rival; beheaded.
Elizabeth Sawyer 1572-1621  England Poor woman executed at Tyburn.
Anne de Chantraine 1601–1622  France Strangled and then burned at the stake.
Jón Rögnvaldsson d. 1625 Iceland under Danish rule Burned to death.
Katharina Henot 1570–1627 Cologne Postmistress; burned to death.
Johannes Junius 1573–1628  Holy Roman Empire Tortured, burned to death during the Bamberg witch trials
Urbain Grandier 1590–1634  France Convicted following the Loudun possessions and burned to death.
Johann Albrecht Adelgrief d. 1636 Royal Prussia Executed after claiming to be a prophet.[12]
Maren Spliid c. 1600–1641  Denmark Burned to death.
Elizabeth Clarke c. 1565–1645  England The first woman persecuted by the Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins; hanged.
Adrienne d'Heur 1585–1646  France Burned to death.
Alse Young c. 1600–1647 Connecticut Colony The first person recorded to have been executed for witchcraft in the American colonies; hanged.
Margaret Jones d. 1648 Massachusetts Bay Colony The first person to be executed for witchcraft in Massachusetts Bay Colony; hanged.
Mary Barnes c. 1631-Jan 1663 Connecticut Colony The last person to be executed for witchcraft, along with Nathaniel and Rebecca Elson Greensmith, in Hartford, CT
Alse Young c. 1600–1647 Connecticut Colony The first person recorded to have been executed for witchcraft in the American colonies; hanged.
Alice Lake[13] 1620–c. 1650 Massachusetts Bay Colony Wife of Henry Lake; hanged in Massachusetts.
Mrs. Kendall[13] c. 1650 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Elizabeth Bassett[13] born. 1651 Massachusetts Bay Colony Accused but not executed because she was pregnant. (Husband John Proctor Jr was executed for being a Witch) Elizabeth died sometime after 1703. The cause is unknown but not from Witch trials.
Jeane Gardiner d. 1651 Bermuda Executed in Bermuda.
Michée Chauderon d. 1652  Switzerland Confessed under torture to summoning demons and was the last person executed for sorcery in Geneva.[14]
Goodwife Knapp[15] d. 1653 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged at Fairfield, Connecticut.
Katherine Grady d. 1654  England Accused of being a witch, tried, found guilty, and hanged aboard an English ship en route to Virginia from England.
Ann Hibbins d. 1656 Massachusetts Bay Colony The fourth person executed for witchcraft in Massachusetts Bay Colony; hanged on Boston Common
Marketta Punasuomalainen 1600s–1658 Swedish Finland Cunning woman, burned to death.
Ursula Corbet d. March 14, 1661  England Worcester Accused of being a witch, tried, found guilty of poisoning her husband of three weeks. Known as the white witch of Worcester who lived at Defford, near Pershore.
Daniel Vuil d. 1661 New France Shot with muskets on October 7, 1661, accused of causing the demonic possession of a girl, although his Protestantism and selling alcohol to the indigenous people were also factors. The only person to be executed for witchcraft in New France.[16]
Anna Roleffes c. 1600-1663 Brunswick-Lüneburg Decapitated and burned on December 30, 1663. She was one of the last witches to be executed in Braunschweig, Germany and the complete account of her trial still exists. She is better known as Tempel Anneke.
Goodwife Greensmith[13] d. 1663 Connecticut Colony Hanged at Hartford, Connecticut
Isabella Rigby d. 1666  England Believed to be the last person hanged for witchcraft in Lancashire.
Lisbeth Nypan c. 1610–1670  Denmark-Norway Cunning woman accused of making people sick to earn money; burned to death.
Thomas Weir 1599–1670  Scotland Strangled and burned to death.
Märet Jonsdotter 1644–1672  Sweden Beheaded
Anna Zippel d. 1676  Sweden Beheaded for abducting children.
Brita Zippel d. 1676  Sweden Beheaded for sorcery.
Malin Matsdotter 1613–1676  Sweden Burned to death.
Anne Løset d. 1679  Denmark-Norway Burned to death.
Peronne Goguillon d. 1679  France Burned to death; one of the last women to be executed for witchcraft in France.
Catherine Deshayes c. 1640–1680  France Also known as La Voisin; burned to death following the Affair of the Poisons
Antti Tokoi d.1682 Swedish Finland Accused and convicted of witchcraft, blasphemy, disgracing priests, and healing.
Ann Glover d. 1688 Massachusetts Bay Colony Last person hanged for witchcraft in Boston.
Alice Parker d. 1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Ann Pudeator d. 1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Bridget Bishop c. 1632–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony The first person to be tried and executed during the Salem witch trials.[17]
Elizabeth Howe 1635–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
George Burroughs c. 1650–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Congregational pastor, executed as part of the Salem witch trials.[18]
George Jacobs 1620–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Giles Corey c. 1611–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Crushed to death for refusing to plea during the Salem witch trials. This method is also known as pressing. His last words were "more weight please".
John Proctor c. 1632–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
John Willard c. 1672–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Margaret Scott d. 1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Martha Carrier d. 1692, August 19 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials; her children had claimed she was a witch while undergoing torture.
Martha Corey 1620s–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials
Mary Eastey 1634–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials
Mary Parker d. 1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Rebecca Nurse 1621–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials
Sarah Good 1655–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony One of the first to be convicted in the Salem witch trials.
Samuel Wardwell 1643–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Sarah Wildes 1627–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Susannah Martin 1621–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Executed during the Salem witch trials.
Wilmot Redd 1600s–1692 Massachusetts Bay Colony Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Mima Renard d. 1692 Portuguese Brazil Prostitute, was accused by popular belief to bewitch men; burned to death.
Anne Palles 1619–1693  Denmark-Norway The last person officially executed for witchcraft in Denmark; beheaded.
Viola Cantini 1668–1693 ItalyItaly Burned to death on May 10, 1693, after caught performing vampirism on her dying son and cursing members of the village.
Paisley witches d. 1697  Scotland Also known as the Bargarran witches, the last mass execution for witchcraft in western Europe.[19]
Elspeth McEwen d. 1698  Scotland Burned to death.
Anna Eriksdotter 1624–1704  Sweden The last person executed for sorcery in Sweden.
Laurien Magee 1689-1710  Ireland Burnt at the stake as part of the Islandmagee witch trial.[20]
Mary Hicks d. 1716  Great Britain Mary and her daughter Elizabeth were to be the last Witches executed in England in Huntingdon.[21]
Janet Horne d. 1727  Great Britain Last British person to be executed for sorcery; burned to death.
Catherine Repond 1662–1731  Switzerland Strangled and burned to death.
Helena Curtens 1722–1738 Electoral Palatinate One of the last people to be executed for witchcraft in Germany.
Bertrand Guilladot d. 1742  France Priest who confessed to having made a pact with the devil
Maria Renata Saenger von Mossau 1680–1749 Bavaria One of the last to be executed for witchcraft in Germany.
Maria Pauer 1730s–1750  Austria Last person executed for witchcraft in Austria; beheaded.
Ruth Osborne 1680–1751  England Murdered by an unruly mob during a "trial by ducking".
Ursulina de Jesus d. 1754 Portuguese Brazil Accused of removing her husband's virility to avoid having children; burned to death.
Anna Göldi d. 1782  Switzerland Beheaded; last person to be executed for witchcraft in Europe[22]
Maria da Conceição d. 1798 Portuguese Brazil Accused and convicted of witchcraft to produce medicines and potions to attract men.
Leatherlips 1732–1810 Wyandot people Native American leader who was sentenced to death for witchcraft and executed with a tomahawk.[23]
Barbara Zdunk 1769–1811 Prussian Poland Burned to death.
Ngema Makhemu d. 2000, October  South Africa Burned to death. Victims: Makhemu Ngema (65), Mbhejile Sibiya (28), Hlengiwe Ntuli (20), Samukelisiwe Masikane (7), Khanyisane Ngema (6) and Siyabonga Masikane (3).[24]
Ama Hemmah d. 2010  Ghana Accused of being a witch; burned to death.
Amina bint Abdulhalim Nassar d. 2011, December  Saudi Arabia Public execution by beheading[25]
Muree bin Ali Al Asiri d. 2012, June  Saudi Arabia Public execution by beheading[26]
Ahmed Kusane Hassan d. 2020, September  Somalia Public execution by firing squad[27][28]
Sangweni Jostina d. 2021, April  South Africa Brutally beaten and burned alive. (3).[24]

Images

Notes

  1. ^
    According to Kors & Peters, modern scholars place the number of executions for witchcraft at no greater than 50,000.[29] According to Merriman, some estimates are higher.[30] Levack multiplied the number of known European witch trials by the average rate of conviction and execution, to arrive at a figure of around 60,000 deaths.[31] Barstow adjusted Levack's estimate to account for lost records, estimating 100,000 deaths. Many were burned by the stake, decapitated, and tortured in various ways.[32] Hutton argues that Levack's estimate had already been adjusted for these, and revises the figure to approximately 40,000.[33]

References

Footnotes
  1. 1 2 Levack, p. 204
  2. 1 2 Levack, p. 205
  3. ↑ Hall, p. 4
  4. ↑ Fradin, Judith Bloom, Dennis Brindell Fradin. The Salem Witch Trials. Marshall Cavendish. 2008, pg. 15
  5. 1 2 Stack, p. 20
  6. ↑ "Veronika of Desenice".
  7. ↑ Guiley, Rosemary Ellen (2008). "Lemp, Rebecca (d. 1590)". The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca (3rd ed.). New York: Facts On File. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-4381-2684-5.
  8. ↑ Almquist, Joh. Ax (1931). Frälsegodsen i Sverige under storhetstiden : med särskild hänsyn till proveniens och säteribildning. Stockholm: P.A. Norstedt. ISBN 91-38-03119-1. OCLC 2677928.
  9. ↑ Natasha Sheldon (18 November 2017), The Devil's Disciples: Twelve Male Witch Trials You Haven't Heard Of, History Collection
  10. ↑ Goodare, Julian (21 September 2002), The Scottish Witch-Hunt in Context, Manchester University Press, pp. 83–84, ISBN 9780719060243
  11. ↑ Schaeppi, Kathrin. (2000). Reunion: Schaeppi of Horgen: Family Chronicle. Basel: Gremper. Aus der Gemeindechronik Alte Bürgergeschlechter: Soder. p. 164.
  12. ↑ Ripley, George; Dana, Charles Anderson (1859). The New American Cyclopaedia. D. Appleton and Company. p. 122.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Jewett, Clarence F. The memorial history of Boston: including Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 1630–1880. Vol 2. Ticknor and Company, 1881. pp. 138–141
  14. ↑ Lea, Henry Charles (2004). Materials Toward a History of Witchcraft. Kessinger Publishing. p. 1118. ISBN 0-7661-8359-9.
  15. ↑ "Profile of Goodwife Knapp". Archived from the original on 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  16. ↑ Henneton & Roper 2016, p. 56
  17. ↑ Upham, Caroline E. (2003). Salem Witchcraft in Outline. Kessinger Publishing. p. 88. ISBN 0-7661-3900-X.
  18. ↑ Burr, George Lincoln (2003). Narratives of the Witchcraft Cases 1648 to 1706. Kessinger Publishing. p. 215. ISBN 0-7661-5773-3.
  19. ↑ Burns, William E. (2003), Witch hunts in Europe and America: an encyclopedia, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 3, ISBN 978-0-313-32142-9
  20. ↑ Islandmagee witch trial
  21. ↑ "Mary Hicks". earlymidernmedicine.com. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  22. ↑ "The abolition of capital punishment in Europe". capitalpunishmentuk.org.
  23. ↑ Carpenter, William Henry; Arthur, Timothy Shay (1854). The History of Ohio: From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. Lippincott, Grambo & Co. p. 209.
  24. 1 2 "Remember there names". paganrightsalliance.org/remember-their-names/. 26 June 2023.
  25. ↑ "Executions in December 2011". capitalpunishmentuk.org.
  26. ↑ "Executions in June 2012". capitalpunishmentuk.org.
  27. ↑ "Somalia: Alshabab Executes Man for 'Witchcraft' in Somalia". 25 September 2020.
  28. ↑ "AL Shabaab executes man accused of sorcery in Middle Jubba". 24 September 2020.
  29. ↑ Kors, Alan Charles; Peters, Edward (2001). Witchcraft in Europe, 400–1700: A Documentary History. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 17. ISBN 0-8122-1751-9.
  30. ↑ Merriman, Scott A. (2007). Religion and the Law in America. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 527. ISBN 978-1-85109-863-7.
  31. ↑ Levack
  32. ↑ Barstow
  33. ↑ Hutton
Sources
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