Possessed By the Devil (eBook)

AUTHOR’S NOTES

NOTES ON REFERENCES

Quotations and end-notes are used primarily to detail material written before 1900. Quotations from these sources which have not been referenced in the end-notes have been taken from the main narrative account of the Islandmagee witches: Anon., The Islandmagee Witches: A Narrative of the Suffering of a Young Girl Called Mary Dunbar, Who was Strangely Molested by Spirits and Witches, at Mr James Hattridge’s house, Islandmagee, near Carrickfergus, in the county of Antrim and Province of Ulster, and in some other Places to which she was Removed during the Time of her Disorder, as also of the Aforesaid Mr Hattridge’s House being Haunted with Spirits in the Latter End of 1710 and the Beginning of 1711, ed. Samuel McSkimmin (Belfast, 1822).

The modern secondary sources that have been used in the writing of this book are detailed in an annotated bibliography contained in the ‘Further Reading’ section, which is arranged by chapter. This reading list also provides an overview of witchcraft literature and a starting point for those new to the themes covered in this book.

NOTES ON SPELLING

When quoting from primary source documents or publications, grammar, punctuation and spelling (as much as the maintenance of sense allows) have been kept as in the original. Capitalisation has been modernised and the abbreviation ‘ye’ has been replaced with ‘the’.

NOTES ON DATES

The dates given in this book are given in the form related in the primary sources and as such are based on the old style calendar. However, the year has been taken to begin on 1 January and not 25 March as was the custom before 1752.

MAIN ‘CHARACTERS’

A variety of spellings are used in contemporary sources for those involved in the Islandmagee witchcraft case. For example, the family name Hattridge is also spelled Hatterick, Hattrick and Haltridge. I have used one surname consistently, Haltridge, in order to avoid confusion and because it is the one used most frequently in surviving sources. I have adopted this approach for the rest of the surnames mentioned in the book.

The Haltridge Family

Revd John Haltridge (died 1697) – Scottish-born, Presbyterian minister of Islandmagee from 1674.

Mrs Ann Haltridge (died 1711) – widow to John, a pious and respected neighbour, she was believed to have been bewitched to death.

James Haltridge – son of John and Ann who was absent from Islandmagee when a large part of the incidents described below took place.

Miss Haltridge (forename unknown) – daughter of John and Ann. She brought Mary Dunbar to Islandmagee for the first time in February 1711.

Young Mrs Haltridge (forename unknown) – wife of James Haltridge, she had two young children and gave evidence for the prosecution at the trial.

Mary Dunbar – a ‘victim’ of demonic possession and witchcraft, she was eighteen years of age in February 1711. Educated and articulate, Dunbar came from a gentry family in Castlereagh, Co. Down, and was first cousin to James Haltridge.

Margaret Spears – a servant to the Haltridge family, who witnessed much of the supernatural phenomena said to have occurred in the Haltridge house, Islandmagee.

The Islandmagee Witches

Catherine McCalmond – from Islandmagee, was considered by her neighbours to be of ‘an ill fame’, and lived close to Revd Robert Sinclair.

Janet Liston – from Islandmagee, was married to William Sellor and by 1711 had a long-standing reputation for witchcraft. She is described by Mary Dunbar in the pamphlet account as ‘the lame woman’.

Elizabeth Sellor – from Islandmagee – daughter of Janet Liston and William Sellor, she was 17 in 1711, and is described as being small and pretty but ‘lame of leg’.

Janet Carson – from Islandmagee, maintained her innocence in the face of Dunbar’s accusations both before and during the trial. Her daughter tried unsuccessfully to defend her against Dunbar’s charges.

Janet Main – from Broadisland, was married to Andrew Ferguson, and considered locally as an irreligious woman with a bad temper. She had an unkempt appearance, suffered from severe arthritis and her face was badly scarred from smallpox. She was considered by Dunbar to be one of the ringleaders of the Islandmagee witches.

Janet Millar – from Scotch Quarter, Carrickfergus, was blind in one eye, and had survived smallpox and falling into a fire, which had left her body badly scarred. She ranted and cursed when interviewed about Dunbar’s bewitchment.

Janet Latimer – from Irish Quarter, Carrickfergus, was tall with black hair, prone to temper tantrums and possessed a reputation for low morals in her local area.

Margaret Mitchell – from Kilroot, Co. Antrim, was known as ‘Mistress Ann’ or ‘Mrs Ann’ to the other suspected witches. According to the pamphlet account, she was one of Dunbar’s ‘greatest tormentors’ and married to a man called ‘Johnny’.15

William Sellor – husband to Janet Liston and father to Elizabeth, he was accused, arrested and convicted of bewitching Mary Dunbar in late 1711, just after his immediate family had been convicted of the same crime.

Prosecutors and Investigators

Edward Clements (died 1733) – Whig Mayor of Carrickfergus, he inherited his brother’s estate, Clements Hill, and took effective control of the investigation into the Islandmagee witches in March 1711.

Revd Robert Sinclair – lived in the townland of Ballymulldraugh, Islandmagee and was Presbyterian minister there from 1704 until his death in 1731. He was involved in the Islandmagee case from the start.

Revd David Robb – Church of Ireland curate of St John’s parish, Islandmagee, he helped both Revd Sinclair and Mayor Clements interview the accused witches and various other witnesses.

Revd William Ogilvie (died September 1712) – Presbyterian minister of Larne and witness for the prosecution in court on 31 March, who initially displayed caution towards Dunbar’s witchcraft accusations.

James Blythe – from Bank-Head in Larne, Blythe gave a pre-trial deposition or statement to Mayor Edward Clements and appeared as a witness for the prosecution. Although there is no record of him holding an official legal position, he played a leading role in the investigation and apprehension of the suspected witches.

Bryce Blan – constable of Larne, a deponent who discovered image magic in Janet Millar’s house.

Randal Leathes – a Ruling Elder (in 1710) for Islandmagee Presbyterian Church, he gave farmland to his congregation so they could build a manse for Revd Sinclair.

John Man – a Ruling Elder in 1714, he stayed overnight in the Haltridge house, praying for the release of Ann from the grips of the demons ‘haunting’ the house.

William Fenton – deponent, prosecution witness, and Ruling Elder of Islandmagee, he was landlord to Janet Liston and helped search McCalmond’s house for spells.

Robert Holmes (died 1724) – was a wealthy Ruling Elder for Islandmagee and helped search McCalmond’s house.

John Logan – constable of Broadisland who arrested Mitchell.

William Hatley – was a deponent, prosecution witness and participated in the search of McCalmond’s house. His wife’s cloak was found mysteriously stuffed with straw and believed bewitched.

Deponents, Witnesses and Commentators

Revd William Tisdall (1669–1735) – rabidly anti-Presbyterian, High-Church, Tory vicar of Belfast, he owned property in Carrickfergus. Convinced of the innocence of the convicted women, he spoke with Dunbar immediately after the trial.

Revd William Skeffington (1659–1741) – Church of Ireland curate of Larne, who was a witness for the prosecution.

Revd James Cobham (1678–1759) – Presbyterian minister of Broadisland (Ballycarry) from 1700, and prosecution witness.

Revd Patrick Adair (died June 1717) – Presbyterian minister of Carrickfergus from 1702 and prosecution witness.

James Stannus – he and his wife visited Dunbar in Islandmagee before allowing her to stay in their home in Larne until the day of the trial.

John Smith – while staying overnight in the Haltridge house, he witnessed the apparitions of two men. He also helped Blythe interview Margaret Mitchell, gave depositions to Mayor Clements on two separate occasions, and was witness for the prosecution.

James Hill – a deponent and prosecution witness.

Shelia McGee – was assaulted in the Haltridge house by an invisible, demonic entity while staying overnight.

Hugh Donaldson – of Islandmagee, deponent and prosecution witness.

Charles Lennan – a member of the Islandmagee gentry, he was a deponent and prosecution witness.

John Wilson – from Islandmagee, deponent and prosecution witness.

Hugh Wilson – from Islandmagee, deponent and prosecution witness.

John Campbell – heard a bedroom door fly open of its own accord and ghostly cat noises while staying overnight at the Haltridge house.

John Getty – a merchant from Larne, he witnessed Margaret Mitchell in her spider ‘form’.

Anthony Upton – Tory Justice of the Common Pleas, and one of the judges who tried the Islandmagee...