Hysteria: The Indiscriminate Violence Of Witch Finder Britain | Century Of Murder | Chronicle

Maybe Matthew Hopkins was a serial killer who saw an opportunity to feed that impulse and get paid for it. What a truly despicable man! Those poor, poor people.

Sad part is these monsters are closer to Satan with their brutal tortures and executions than any of these women ever were.

Gillis didn't confess, she just wanted them to stop torturing her. A swift death is better than extended suffering.

"Imagine living in that world. You could be accused, tortured and executed, on the basis of nothing more than gossip and Superstition" Sounds so familiar.

One of the things I find rather ironic with this story is that even though he had printed a copy of the Papal Bull at the front of his book, in reality the pope himself had never actually endorsed the Malleous's publishing. Kranmer was actually reprimanded several times by the Church because of the way he would interrogate women. Apparently the vast majority of his questions were sexually motivated. In fact he was apparently even kicked out of one town in Germany for this exact reason prior to him writing the Malleous. This has lead some to believe that one of the reasons that he went on to claim that the vast majority of "witches" are women was as a direct result of those earlier events.

It's a wonder humanity survived, given the our historically appalling ignorance. Excellent history lesson---I was riveted to my seat throughout.

Who ever wrongfully accused these innocent ppl ought to be in the deepest level of hell.

My ancestor, Margrite de Clercque, was burned as a witch in Cassel, Flanders on October 9th 1596.

Evil runs rampant when good men do nothing. Times haven't changed much.

I doubt Gillis confessed at all. She was tortured until she told them what ever they demanded. What she said was what she was told to. Also, who recorded their confessions? A contemporary of the torturer no doubt.

I have watched this several times and it pisses me off every time. It amazes me how ignorant mankind was and still is. These people were nothing but murderers.

If they had accused their accusers of conspiring with them, I wonder how long these persecutions would have lasted.

"and thats what finally broke her" well i mean you either admitted to it and were killed or you didnt admit to it and was killed. there wasnt much choice. perhaps she thought if she denied it enough times they might let her go but once they found "evidence" she knew there was no going back, they would either torture her more for more information or they would just kill her anyways so theres was no reason to keep defending your innocence, by all rights her fate was decided then and there regardless of her innocence.

Wow. It's been a long time since I've been filled with this much rage. The way that these people so easily caused so much pain and distress to the people of the world, and then pretended they were doing it for the sake of goodness...it's sickening me. Also, kudos to the actors, especially the little girl. They're doing a very good job of acting out some very emotionally heavy scenes!

I just watched a preach in Kentucky that preaches that witches are real. And It is so easy to see how this insanity started, he was horrifying and his congregation believes him even more horrifying.

I have met children that told lies for attention. Even my sister was bad about that. I can't imagine how many children like that caused the death of family members or family members of children they didn't get along with. My sister would have sold me out in a second with lies. What a fkn nightmare those kinds of kids can be. My step mother (her birthmother) had it out for me. I was religiously abused by that woman. Not in a catholic alterboy kind of way but like poor orphans at the hands of violent nuns kind of way. My sister loved lying about me and thinking it was funny to get my butt handed to me by my step mom. If we had been alive back then I would have been hung by 13 by those 2.

Geilles Duncan is the same character that was portrayed in the Outlander series. Although not accurate as Geilles in Outlander was present over 100 years later in the 18th Century.

I'm here for anything Dr. Lipscomb wants to talk about, tbh. Aaand her hair is amazing! As always.

Dr Lipscomb is becoming my favourite documentry presenter.

The little girl janet spillin all that tea on her family. 😪😭😭😭😭