In the 1580s, the remote Essex village of St Osyth was beset by poverty and social tensions – and when a servant accused her neighbour of witchcraft, it sparked a crisis that engulfed the entire community. Speaking with Charlotte Hodgman, Marion Gibson explores what this late 16th-century witchcraft trial can tell us about life in early modern England.

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Marion Gibson is the author of The Witches of St Osyth: Persecution, Betrayal and Murder in Elizabethan England (Cambridge University Press, 2022)

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Discover more learning from week one of the HistoryExtra Academy history of witchcraft course

Video lecture – What is a witch?, with Professor Marion Gibson – watching time 20 mins

James VI and I: the king who hunted witches – reading time 9 mins

Witchfinding: what drove the hunters’ cruel crusade and what methods did they use? – reading time 12 mins

8 popular misconceptions about the history of witchcraft in Europe – reading time 9 mins

Authors

Charlotte HodgmanStrategic Projects Editor, HistoryExtra

Charlotte Hodgman is Strategic Projects Editor for HistoryExtra. She currently looks after the HistoryExtra Academy and was previously editor of BBC History Revealed, and deputy editor of BBC History Magazine - although not at the same time. She also makes the occasional appearance on the HistoryExtra podcast

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