WitchYears
ServantofGod -Bookone
BY M. W. Westerberg
©2025M.W.Westerberg
Förlag:BoD ·BooksonDemand, Östermalmstorg 1, 114 42 Stockholm, bod@bod.se
Tryck: LibriPlureos GmbH, Friedensallee273, 22763 Hamburg, Tyskland
ISBN:978-91-8080-013-6
WitchYears †††
ServantofGod -Bookone
Thisbook is dedicated to thosewho lost theirlives during thewitch trials in Sweden in theseventeenthcentury. The authorhas takenartisticliberties to depict thehorrors thesepeopleendured, buteveninthiscase, realitywas much worsethan fiction.
Chapter1
Shestood atop apyrebound to astake in themiddleof thesquare. Shehad just turned fifteen,and soon,she wouldbeengulfedbythe flames on hiscommand. Around herfrozenand woundedfeet laybranches, logs, andbirch twigs.
Thepeopleofthe smallvillage hadgatheredatthe site to witnessher punishment forher sins.She hadcommittedthese sins fora long time;manyhad suspectedher, andnow shehad finally confessed. They hadlongedfor this moment forseveral days nowsince theday shewas arrested.Whenshe wasdead, everything wouldbebetter. Everyone hadbeenlooking forwardtothisday.
Herblondehairfloated around herinthe cold wind. Thefirst snowflakes of winter danced before hereyes. Tearsburnedonher cheeks. Shelookedather mother and father.She sawthe shameintheir eyes.She looked at her brothers,the ones whohad reported her. Shelookedatall theothers, thoseshe knew so well,the ones whohad been therefor herall theseyears.Now,she only sawthe hatred shiningintheir eyes andheard it pouringfromtheir mouths.She didnot understand howshe hadended up here,whatshe haddonewrong,orwhy shehad been accusedand designated as this sacrifice.
Theliesabout herweremany, andatfirst,she hadjust laughedatthem, butshe didn't laughanymore.She now understood that everyone believeditwas herfault.The crop failures,the famine,infantdeaths, poverty– yes, all themiserythathad befallenthemwas herfault.She had done herbesttoconvincethemofher innocence, but nothingshe said helped.After that,she wastorturedso
severely that sheconfessed.She couldn't bear thepain anylonger. Shecould have confessedtoanything. She just wanted to putanend to allthe sufferingshe hadbeen subjectedto. Thepeopleneededa scapegoat, someoneto vent theirfrustration on andblame forthe horrors,and that became her.
Shetried to scream outher despair, butnow hervoice wastoo weak.Her lament wasdrowned in thedin of all thespectatorswho hadcometosee herlikethis, to witness herfinal moment on earth. Allthose whobelieved that herdeath wouldbring them happiness. Thosewho believedthatifonlyshe died,everythingwould be fine again. That themisfortunetheyhad woulddisappear with her. That herdeath wouldmeannew life andnew hope forthemall.
"Myfriends!"
Shesaw atallman standing on abrown wooden box. He wasdressedentirelyinblack except fora whiteband around hiscollar. Hisblack coat flutteredinthe harsh wind.Heworea largehat that obscured most of hisworn face.Inhis righthand, he held awooden crossraisedtowardsthe sky, andinhis left hand,heheldanopenblack book.
"You askedfor my help,and Iheard your prayer!" he continued, hisgaze fixedonthe book.Nexttothe man stood aboy no olderthanten.Hewas dressedinthe same manner as theman,and in hishand, he held atorch.
"Poverty,cropfailure,and famine have plaguedyou forfar toolong, butdonot despair, forI am your salvation!The Lord is your salvation!"
Thepeopleshouted andcheered,and thegirlsaw hope in theireyes. Theman in blackcontinued to speak, andonceagain,silencefellamong thespectators.
"The onewho sins is aservant of thedevil,for the devilhas sinnedfromthe beginning.But theSon of God hasappeared to destroythe worksofthe devil. Do you feel that theLord'spresenceheretonight?"
Thecrowd cheeredagain,and thegirlsquirmed. Her back ached, andher wrists burned from theropes tied around them.Blood randownher hands, andshe dugher nails into therope. Shehad open wounds that burned all over herbody. Thecoldnumbedher so that shenolonger hadany feelinginher feet.She looked down at herdirty, bloody legs andfigured it mightaswellbethatway.She turned herheadand looked at hermother, butshe didnot meet hergaze this time either.
"But Godisnot alone, thedevil andhis mistress are also with us tonight. He hidesfromour eyes,but she stands here amongus."Hepointed with thecross towardsthe womanonthe pyre.
"No, that's nottrue!"she screamed."Youmustnot believe him!"
"Silence!"shouted oneofthe meninthe congregation andhurleda stonethatstruckher in theforehead. The people begantolaugh andcheer again, anda small stream of warm bloodran down hercheek.
"She's trying to deceiveyou,leading youintothe darkness wherethe devilawaits. Butdonot listen to her; only listen to theLord, forHeisyouronlysalvation now. It is writteninthe Book of Exodus 22:18: 'Thoushalt not suffer awitch to live,' andI am here to do God'swork!"
Iamnot awitch,thought thegirl. Whydoesnoone want to believe me?EverythingI'vedone, I've done to
servethe Lord andmybeloved parents. I've done my very best even in difficulttimes.And thedifficult times have been many.I'vetaken care of both cropsand household,bothmybrothersand my parents. I've gone to bed last at nightand risenfirst in themorning.I'vedoneeverythingtoserve my family in thebestway possible.And this is thethanksI get.
"You,Stina Eriksdotter, have been foundguiltyofmaleficium andare hereby sentencedtodeath in thenameof God."The manturnedtothe boyand noddedslowly. The boynoddedbackand begantowalktowardthe girl.The mudwater splashed underhis boots, andlikethe others, he didn't look at her. He raised thetorch when he reached thepyre, turned to theaudience, andthenlowered the torchtowards thetwigs,and Stinabegan to cryagain.
"No, youmustn't,you can't, mother,helpme! Mother!"
Now, themothermet hergaze,and shesaid, "May Godforgive you, my child!"
"Onlythrough fire canyou obtain forgivenessfor your sins,and Godisa consumingfire!"saidthe manin black, closingthe book.Atlast, he looked up at thegirl andmet hereyesfor thefirst time this evening. He had black, wolf-likeeyes. Hisfacewas worn andpale, andhe hada long blackbeard.His ice-cold gaze made herlook away again.
Theboy circledthe pyre andlowered thetorch in four more places.She looked at theboy andsaid, "You don't want to do this,pleasestop."The boystoppedand looked at her. Hiseyeswerekind, anditfrightenedher even more than thelook shehad received from theman.What child coulddosomething like this with gentle eyes anda
smile on hislips? Theboy placed thetorch at herfeetand returned to theman in black.
Thesmoke wasnow spreading. Shejerkedand tore andtried to getfree, butthe rope wastoo tight. Thechain that laywrapped around herbodywas cold as death, and theblood that flowed from herbodywas warm as life. Shebreathedfasterand sawthe steamcomingfromher mouth. Shethought it wasthe spirit that wasabandoning hernow.The flames slowly begantocaressher skin.Her feet slowly thawed,and shefeltterriblepain. Shewanted to scream,but shehad no strength left.
Shelookedather parentsagain.She askedthemfor forgivenesseventhoughshe didn't know what shehad done wrong. Shesaw thetears in theireyes, anditcut like knives in herchest.Itburnedher more than anyfire could, so shecouldn'tbeartolookatthem. Sheclosedher eyes andsaida prayer.
"God forgivemefor thesinsI have committed,"she murmured.She coughedout thesmoke fillingher lungs. Thepainswept over herlikeanembrace.Anembrace of fire.She felt theheatagainst herlegs. Shestarted to lift herfeet, butafter awhile,she realized that it was pointless. Shecould notescapethe flames.
Shelookedupatthe skyand wished that He would receiveher.All shecould thinkabout nowwas pain.Her body screamed foranend to thesuffering,but shecould only wait.She movedher body convulsively,first to one side andthentothe other. Nothinghelped. Finally,she gave up andjuststood there. Shetried to push the thoughts away.Tried to remember atimewhenshe was happy, butthe flames burned away allthe memories.
Thesmoke in herlungs made herpanic.She tried everything shecould to coughitup, butevery effort
failed. Nothinggot better;everythingjustgot worse. Tearsran down hersooty cheeks,and shetried to wipe them away on oneshoulder.
Theflamesrosehigherand higher now, andthrough them,she sawthe joyonthe facesofthe spectators.She triedone last time to shoutout herplea, butnow she couldn't make asound.Nowords,justliquidflowing from hermouth.She gapedashardasshe couldina last gasp.But allshe felt wasjustmoresmoke fillingher lungs.
If it weren'tfor thechain,she wouldhavecollapsed by now. Shefelther blood begintoboilinher veins. She screamed onelasttimeasher hair caught fire.A heartbreakingsound that silenced thecrowd.All she couldsee nowwerethe flames slowly consumingher body.Flamesthatcaressedher face andmeltedher eyes. Shewishedshe couldsee herfamilyone last time,but she neverdid.
Ascreamechoedthrough theautumnevening andcut likea swordthrough thesilence. Hermothercollapsed in themud,and thefatherbentdownand liftedher up.
Thecrowd dispersedasthe family left thescene.Some turned to thepyreand made thesignofthe crossontheir chests.Othersjustleftthe scenewithteary eyes,horrified by what they hadjustseen. Evil glanceswerethrownat theman in black. He didn't seethem, buthefeltthem coming towardshim.Italwaysdid when hisworkwas completed.
Du ri ng th e1 7t hc en tu ry ,f am in e, po ve rt y, and fa ile dh ar ve st sh ad sp re ad ac ro ss Sw ed en. Th e pl ag ue ha db ro ke no ut ,a nd th ew it ch tr ia ls we re fu lly un de rw ay .I nD al ar na ,a ma na nd hi ss on tr av el ed be tw ee nv illa ge st op re si de ov er th e tr ia ls .H ew as bot ht he ju dg ea nd th e ex ec ut io ne ra nd hi st it le wa sW it ch Hu nt er , ap po in te db yt he Ro ya lW it ch cr af tC om mi ssi on to ca rry ou tG od ’s wo rk .N oo ne da re dt o qu es ti on hi mb ec au se th ey kn ew hi sw il lw as la w, and hi sw or ds ca me di re ct ly fr om Go d. Th e pe op le we re de sp er a te and wo ul dm ak ea ny sa cr if ic es if it ga ve th em ho pe fo ra bet te r fu tu re .I tw as pr im ar ily wo me nw ho we re ac cu se do fw it ch cr af ta nd co ns or ti ng wi th th e de vi l. Th ew om en we re co ns id er ed th ed ev il' s mi st re sse s, an di tw as of te nt hr ou gh th em th at he ca rri ed ou th is de ed s.
In ano th er pl ac e, Ja ko bg re wu pw it hh is pa re nt s. He hel pe do nt he fa rm as mu ch as he co ul da nd wa sf ar aw ay fr om wi tc ht ri al sa nd wa r. He dr ea me do fo ne da yt ra ve li ng to St oc kh ol ma nd st ar ti ng an ew lif ef ar fr om th e to il of fa rm in g. On ee ve ni ng ,J ak ob me ta st ra ng ew om an by th ew el l, an dh e re al iz ed th at hi sl if ew ou ld no tt ur no ut as he ha dd re am ed .
Se rv ant of Go di st he fi rs tb oo ki nt he se ri es Wi tc hY ea rs .
