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Wicked Spirits at Colchester Castle
Colchester Castle’s newest exhibition will transport you back in time to the 1500 and 1600s.
During this time, a terrifying fear campaign was spreading throughout Europe which saw hundreds of people accused of witchcraft, arrested and imprisoned in many locations across the country, including Colchester Castle.
ssex became well known for its persecution
Eof suspected witches, indeed the first person in England to be executed under a Witchcraft Act was Elizabeth Lowys, who lived in Great Waltham.
Now in 2022, five hundred years later, many of the stories of victims like Elizabeth are at risk of being lost – overshadowed by tales of people like the famous Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins.
This fascinating exhibition in collaboration with the world-famous Museum of Witchcraft and Magic and Museum of British Folklore in Boscastle, will finally give a voice to those people, who were persecuted, imprisoned, and even executed on suspicion of witchcraft - challenging visitors to question who the “wicked spirits” really were?
In Essex alone, around 1,000 people were accused of witchcraft between 1500 – 1800. Some of those accused spent time in the cells at Colchester Castle while awaiting trial. Accusations ranged from using animal familiars to kill neighbours to meeting in secret and reading from mysterious books.
The exhibition, although sensitive in nature, has been developed for a family audience.
Wicked Spirits? Witchcraft + Magic at Colchester Castle is open from now until Friday 6 January 2023.
Find out more by visiting: www.colchester.cimuseums. org.uk/wickedspirits
You can also listen to an Eerie Essex podcast where the Eerie Essex team interview Colchester Castle’s Collections and Learning Curator about the Wicked Spirits? Witchcraft + Magic exhibition.
To listen visit: www.eerieessex.com
A witch bottle found during excavations at Middleborough.
