24. The whole Samuel family hanged in 1593 for witchcraft on the testimony of children
In 1589, 10-year-old Jane Throckmorton suffered a series of (probably epileptic) fits. One day, a wealthy neighbour, Alice Samuel, visited the Throckmorton household during an episode of spasms. Jane screamed that the 76-year-old woman had bewitched her. Alice’s four siblings, aged between 9 and 15, backed her up, and promptly started having fits too. This carried on for years, and eventually, Alice ordered the girls to stop their nonsense. They actually did, and things took a sinister turn. Under interrogation, Alice confessed to all the Throckmortons’ ludicrous allegations, and she was hanged with her husband and daughter in 1593.