Lancaster Castle guide to give talk on Pendle witches in Blackburn (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Lancaster Castle guide to give talk on Pendle witches in Blackburn

8:00pm Tuesday 16th October 2012 in News

A LANCASTER Castle guide will be talking about the Lancashire witch trials of 1612 at Blackburn Library on Wednesday, October 17.

In August 1612, 10 people from Pendle were convicted of witchcraft at Lancaster Castle and sent to the gallows.

The crimes they were accused of included laming, causing madness, and unexplained deaths stretching back years.

These trials are among the most famous witchcraft trials in history and have generated numerous stories and fictional accounts.

Christine Goodier, a guide at the castle and an acknowledged expert on these dreadful events, has written a book called ‘1612’ examining the events that led up to that fateful day.

She focuses on the human tragedy of the families caught up in the anti-witch fever of the 17th Century, emphasising that the accused were poor, uneducated people who were, at worst, misguided rather than demonic.

Admission to the talk, which starts at 2pm, is £1 and tickets are available from Blackburn library.

For more information, or to book a place, call 01254 661221.

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