List of people executed for witchcraft

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] 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.

Artistic depiction of the execution by burning of three alleged witches in Baden, Switzerland in 1585

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 the 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. We do not know the exact number, but modern conservative scholars estimate around 40,000–50,000.^[A] Scholars such as Carlo Ginzburg at Stanford University, 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
Johann Albrecht Adelgrief	d. 1636	Royal Prussia	Executed after claiming to be a prophet.[6]
Marigje Arriens	c. 1520–1591	Dutch Republic	Burned to death for sorcery.
Goodwife Bassett[7]	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.
Allison Balfour	d. 1594	Scotland	Executed in Kirkwall
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.
Merga Bien	1560s–1603	Hesse	Convicted as part of the Fulda witch trials and burned to death.
Lasses Birgitta	d. 1550	Sweden	The first woman executed for witchcraft in Sweden; beheaded.
Bridget Bishop	c. 1632–1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	The first person to be tried and executed during the Salem witch trials.[8]
Viola Cantini	1668-1693	Italian	Burned to death on May 10, 1693, after caught performing vampirism on her dying son and cursing members of the village.
Sidonia von Borcke	1548–1620	Pomerania	Confessed to murder and witchcraft under torture; beheaded, corpse burned.
Janet Boyman	d. 1572	Scotland	Executed in 1572 for witchcraft
George Burroughs	c. 1650–1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Congregational pastor, executed as part of the Salem witch trials.[9]
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.
Anne de Chantraine	1601–1622	France	Strangled and then burned at the stake.
Michée Chauderon	d. 1652	Switzerland	Confessed under torture to summoning demons and was the last person executed for sorcery in Geneva.[10]
Nyzette Cheveron	d. 1605	Spanish Netherlands	Confessed to being a witch; was strangled and burned to death.
Elizabeth Clarke	c. 1565–1645	England	The first woman persecuted by the Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins; hanged.
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".
Martha Corey	1620s–1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged during the Salem witch trials
Helena Curtens	1722–1738	Electoral Palatinate	One of the last people to be executed for witchcraft in Germany.
Narbona Dacal	d. 1498	Spain	Accused of witchcraft during the trial by the Inquisition. Burned at the stake.
Jean Delvaux	d. 1595	Liège	Roman Catholic monk; beheaded
Catherine Deshayes	c. 1640–1680	France	AKA La Voisin; burned to death following the Affair of the Poisons
Thomas Doughty	d. 1578	England	Nobleman and explorer accused by Sir Francis Drake of witchcraft, mutiny and treason; beheaded
Mary Eastey	1634–1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged during the Salem witch trials
Anna Eriksdotter	1624–1704	Sweden	The last person executed for sorcery in Sweden.
Matteuccia de Francesco	d. 1428	Papal States	Confessed to having flown on the back of a demon; burned to death.
Jeane Gardiner	d. 1651	Bermuda	Executed in Bermuda.
Gilles Garnier	d. 1573	France	Serial child murderer; convicted of witchcraft and lycanthropy, and burned to death.
Janet, Lady Glamis	d. 1537	Scotland	Accused of witchcraft by King James V; burned to death.
Ann Glover	d. 1688	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Last person hanged for witchcraft in Boston.
Peronne Goguillon	d. 1679	France	Burned to death; one of the last women to be executed for witchcraft in France.
Anna Göldi	d. 1782	Switzerland	Beheaded; last person to be executed for withcraft in Europe[11]
Sarah Good	1655–1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	One of the first to be convicted in the Salem witch trials.
Urbain Grandier	1590–1634	France	Convicted following the Loudun possessions and burned to death.
Goodwife Greensmith[7]	d. 1663	Connecticut Colony	Hanged at Hartford, Connecticut
Bertrand Guilladot	d. 1742	France	Priest who confessed to having made a pact with the devil
Mechteld ten Ham	d. 1605	Dutch Republic	Confessed under torture and was burned to death.
Walpurga Hausmannin	d. 1587	Bavaria	Midwife who confessed to child murder, witchcraft and vampirism; burned to death.
Katharina Henot	1570–1627	Cologne	Postmistress; burned to death.
Adrienne d'Heur	1585–1646	France	Burned to death.
Ann Hibbins	1656	Massachusetts Bay Colony	The fourth person executed for witchcraft in Massachusetts Bay Colony; hanged on Boston Common
Mary Hicks	1716	Great Britain	Mary and her daughter Elizabeth were to be the last Witches executed in England in Huntingdon.[12]
Janet Horne	d. 1727	Great Britain	Last British person to be executed for sorcery; burned to death.
Elin i Horsnäs	d. 1611	Sweden	Beheaded after her second trial for witchcraft.
Elizabeth Howe	1635–1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
George Jacobs	1620–1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Mary Johnson	c. 1648	Connecticut Colony	Hanged at Hartford, Connecticut
Margaret Jones	1648	Massachusetts Bay Colony	The first person to be executed for witchcraft in Massachusetts Bay Colony; hanged.
Evaline Gill	d. 1616	Scotland	Strangled; burned to death survived by 2 children moved to Singer Louisiana – Still living witch's Scalloway
Märet Jonsdotter	1644–1672	Sweden	Beheaded
Johannes Junius	1573–1628	Holy Roman Empire	Tortured, burned to death during the Bamberg witch trials
Ursula Kemp	c. 1525–1582	England	Confessed to witchcraft and hanged.
Mrs. Kendall[7]	c. 1650	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Goodwife Knapp[13]	d. 1653	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged at Fairfield, Connecticut.
Anna Koldings	d. 1590	Denmark-Norway	Burned to death.
Kolgrim	c. d. 1407	Norwegian Greenland	Burned to death.
Christenze Kruckow	1558–1621	Denmark-Norway	Noblewoman who confessed to cursing the marital bed of a rival; beheaded.
Alice Lake[7]	1620 – c. 1650	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Wife of Henry Lake; hanged in Massachusetts.
Guirandana de Lay	d. 1461	Aragon	Woman accused of witchcraft; burned at the stake.
Leatherlips	1732–1810	Wyandot people	Native American leader who was sentenced to death for witchcraft and executed with a tomahawk.[14]
Rebecca Lemp	d. 1590	Bavaria	One of 32 women convicted of witchcraft in a witch hunt in Nördlingen, burnt at the stake.[15]
Anne Løset	d. 1679	Denmark-Norway	Burned to death.
Laurien Magee	1689-1710	Ireland	Burnt at the stake as part of the Islandmagee witch trial.[16]
Susannah Martin	1621–1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Executed during the Salem witch trials.
Malin Matsdotter	1613–1676	Sweden	Burned to death.
Petronilla de Meath	c. 1300–1324	Ireland	Burned to death.
Rebecca Nurse	1621–1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged during the Salem witch trials
Alice Nutter	1612	England	Hanged during Pendle witches hunt
Lisbeth Nypan	c. 1610–1670	Denmark-Norway	Cunning woman accused of making people sick to earn money; burned to death.
Ruth Osborne	1680–1751	England	Murdered by an unruly mob during a "trial by ducking".
Paisley witches	d. 1697	Scotland	Also known as the Bargarran witches, the last mass execution for witchcraft in western Europe.[17]
Anne Palles	1619–1693	Denmark-Norway	The last person officially executed for witchcraft in Denmark; beheaded.
Mary Pannal	d.1603	England
Pappenheimer Family	d. 1600	Bavaria	Tortured and burned to death.
Alice Parker	d. 1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Mary Parker	d. 1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Maria Pauer	1730s–1750	Austria	Last person executed for witchcraft in Austria; beheaded.
Anne Pedersdotter	d. 1590	Denmark-Norway	Burned to death.
Pendle witches	d. 1612	England
Elisabeth Plainacher	1513–1583	Austria	Only person to be executed for witchcraft in Vienna; burned to death.
Polissena of San Macario	d. 1571	Lucca	Burned to death.
John Proctor	c. 1632–1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Ann Pudeator	d. 1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Marketta Punasuomalainen	1600s–1658	Swedish Finland	Cunning woman, burned to death.
Wilmot Redd	1600s–1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Elspeth Reoch	d. 1616	Scotland	Executed in Kirkwall
Catherine Repond	1662–1731	Switzerland	Strangled and burned to death.
Isabella Rigby	d. 1666	England	Believed to be the last person hanged for witchcraft in Lancashire.
Jòn Rögnvaldsson	d. 1625	Iceland under Danish rule	Burned to death.
Anna Roleffes	c. 1600-1663	Brunswick-Lüneburg	Decapitated and burned on December 30th, 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.
Maria Renata Saenger von Mossau	1680–1749	Bavaria	One of the last to be executed for witchcraft in Germany.
Agnes Sampson	d. 1591	Scotland	Midwife, garrotted and burned to death during the North Berwick witch trials.
Margaret Scott	d. 1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Soulmother of Küssnacht	d. 1577	Switzerland	Burned to death.
Gyde Spandemager	d. 1543	Denmark	Burned to death.
Maren Spliid	c. 1600–1641	Denmark	Burned to death.
Gentile Budrioli	d. 14 July 1498	Italian	Tortured and burned on the stake in Bologna.
Stedelen	d. c. 1400	Switzerland	Confessed under torture to summoning demons; burned to death.
Theoris of Lemnos	before 323 BC	Ancient Greece (Lemnos)
Agnes Waterhouse	c. 1503–1566	England	The first woman executed for witchcraft in England; hanged.
Thomas Weir	1599–1670	Scotland	Strangled and burned to death.
Sarah Wildes	1627–1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
John Willard	c. 1672–1692	Massachusetts Bay Colony	Hanged during the Salem witch trials.
Witches of Belvoir	d. 1618	England	A mother and two daughters, the daughters were hanged.
Witches of Warboys	d. 1593	England	Alice Samuel and her family; hanged.
Alse Young	c. 1600–1647	Connecticut Colony	The first person recorded to have been executed for witchcraft in the American colonies; hanged.
Barbara Zdunk	1769–1811	Prussian Poland	Burned to death.
Anna Zippel	d. 1676	Sweden	Beheaded for abducting children.
Antti Tokoi	d.1682	Swedish Finland	Accused and convicted of witchcraft, blasphemy, disgracing priests, and healing.
Brita Zippel	d. 1676	Sweden	Beheaded for sorcery.
Jacob Distelzweig	d. 1690, April 20	Spain	Impaled and drowned. Believed to bewitch men, causing them to have intercourse with him.
Mima Renard	d. 1692	Portuguese Brazil	Prostitute, was accused by popular belief to bewitch men; burned to death.
Maria da Conceição	d. 1798	Portuguese Brazil	Accused and convicted of witchcraft to produce medicines and potions to attract men.
Ursulina de Jesus	d. 1754	Portuguese Brazil	Accused of removing her husband's virility to avoid having children; burned to death.
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.[18]
Margaret Inne Quaine & John Cubbon[19]	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.
Marie Esnouf	d. 1648	Jersey
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[20]
Muree bin Ali Al Asiri	d. 2012, June	Saudi Arabia	Public execution by beheading[21]
Ahmed Kusane Hassan	d. 2020, September	Somalia	[22]

Images

• 
  Agnes Bernauer, executed in 1435
• 
  Catherine Deshayes aka La Voisin, executed in 1680
• 
  Urbain Grandier, executed in 1634
• 
  Execution of Ann Hibbins on Boston Common, June 19, 1656. Sketch by F.T. Merril, 1886
• 
  Giles Corey being crushed to death, 1692
• 
  Martha Corey was executed in 1692
• 
  The Trial of George Jacobs who was executed in 1692. Painting by Thompkins Matteson, 1855
• 
  Agnes Waterhouse was executed in Chelmsford, England in 1566

Notes

1. ^
   According to Kors & Peters, modern scholars place the number of executions for witchcraft at no greater than 50,000.[23] According to Merriman, some estimates are higher.[24] 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.[25] Barstow adjusted Levack's estimate to account for lost records, estimating 100,000 deaths.[26] Hutton argues that Levack's estimate had already been adjusted for these, and revises the figure to approximately 40,000.[27]
2. ^
   "This article is a stub. You can help by expanding it."

References

Footnotes

1. Levack, p. 204
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. Stack, p. 20
6. Ripley, George; Dana, Charles Anderson (1859). The New American Cyclopaedia. D. Appleton and Company. p. 122.
7. Jewett, Clarence F. The memorial history of Boston: including Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 1630–1880. Vol 2. Ticknor and Company, 1881. pp. 138–141
8. Upham, Caroline E. (2003). Salem Witchcraft in Outline. Kessinger Publishing. p. 88. ISBN 0-7661-3900-X.
9. Burr, George Lincoln (2003). Narratives of the Witchcraft Cases 1648 to 1706. Kessinger Publishing. p. 215. ISBN 0-7661-5773-3.
10. Lea, Henry Charles (2004). Materials Toward a History of Witchcraft. Kessinger Publishing. p. 1118. ISBN 0-7661-8359-9.
11. The end of capital punishment in Europe.
12. "Mary Hicks". www.earlymidernmedicine.com. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
13. Profile of Goodwife Knapp
14. Carpenter, William Henry; Arthur, Timothy Shay (1854). The History of Ohio: From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. Lippincott, Grambo & Co. p. 209.
15. 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.
16. Islandmagee witch trial
17. Burns, William E. (2003), Witch hunts in Europe and America: an encyclopedia, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 3, ISBN 978-0-313-32142-9
18. Schaeppi, Kathrin. (2000). Reunion: Schaeppi of Horgen: Family Chronicle. Basel: Gremper. Aus der Gemeindechronik Alte Bürgergeschlechter: Soder. p. 164.
19. Gardner, Gerald (1959). The Meaning of Witchcraft. Weiser Books. p. 128.
20. Executions in December 2011
21. Executions in June 2012
22. "AL Shabaab executes man accused of sorcery in Middle Jubba". 24 September 2020.
23. 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.
24. Merriman, Scott A. (2007). Religion and the law in America, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 527. ISBN 978-1-85109-863-7.
25. Levack
26. Barstow
27. Hutton

Sources

• Barstow, Anne Llewellyn (1994). Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts. Pandora. ISBN 0-06-250049-X.
• Hall, David D. (2005). Witch-Hunting in Seventeenth-Century New England: A Documentary History 1638-1693. Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-3613-8.
• Hutton, Ronald (2001). The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-285449-6.
• Levack, Brian P. (2006). The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe. Pearson Education. ISBN 0-582-41901-8.
• Stack, Richard A. (2006). Dead wrong: violence, vengeance, and the victims of capital punishment. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-275-99221-7.