Essex Witches

Essex Witches examines witchcraft accusations and trials in the county between 1560 and 1680, when fear of sorcery shaped local communities and court proceedings. Peter C. Brown records that 317 women and 23 men were tried for witchcraft in Essex during these years, with more than 100 hanged.

Alongside the broader history, the book presents biographical accounts of ordinary local people accused of preparing herbal remedies and potions, causing the deaths of neighbours or family members, and practising sorcery. Their cases show how suspicion could grow from everyday relationships, illness and misfortune, while the recorded punishments reveal the severe consequences attached to alleged witchcraft in early modern England.