Alison Device and the Peddler
The saga of the Pendle Witches began on March 18, 1612, when a peddler had an unsettling encounter with a local woman. Alison Device was a young woman who lived with her family in the Pendle area, in a hovel rather grandly known as Malkin Tower. The Devices scratched a living from odd jobs and begging. On the day in question, Alison was on the Colne Road, looking for likely targets. She found one, a peddler named John Law who was working away from his home in Halifax. Alison attempted to beg some pins from him- however, Law refused as he said he “would not lose his pack.” He then left Alison and continued on his way.
However, as soon as had he left Alison Device behind him, John Law fell to the road. He found himself paralyzed on one side and unable to speak. Law was undoubtedly the victim of a stroke- but he did not see it this way. In any event, Alison had either departed or would not help, so Law was left to drag himself to an inn in the nearby town of Colne where he lay ‘in great pain, not able to stir either hand or foot.” While incapacitated, he had a letter sent to his son, Abraham, who also lived in Halifax.
Abraham received the letter on March 21. Alarmed to hear his father was ill, he quickly departed for Colne. There he found his father gravely sick and terrified. The elder Mr. Law told his son he had been struck down by the witchcraft of Alison Device. He also claimed she continued to torture him in his sick bed. He had seen a great black dog that he believed to be Alison Device’s familiar. At times, Alison herself attended the dog on his visits, staring at the sick man before silently leaving his room.
Abraham Law immediately sought out Alison Device and fetched her to the inn. There, he confronted her with her crime and demanded that she remove the spell and heal his father. To everyone’s astonishment, Alison agreed. She even broke down in remorse when she saw John Law’s pitiful state and begged his forgiveness. She freely admitted she had ill-wished him on the Colne Road. Law- probably out of desperation and the desire for a cure -said he forgave her and asked her to lift her curse. Alison promised to do so.