The Witches of Northamptonshire

At Northampton

...mind, they both joined together and bewitched a round ball into the throat of his father, where it continued for a great while, his father not being able to speak a word. However, the ball was afterwards taken out original: "hauout." Likely a transcription error for "had out" or "taken out.", and his father proved to be the principal witness against him.

His mother, out of fear of hanging (rather than any hatred or detestation she felt toward the sin), many times fainted. She would often pitifully complain to her Spirit original: "Spirit." A "familiar spirit" or demon believed to serve a witch. that the power of the law would be stronger than the power of her art, and that she saw no other likelihood but that she should be hanged, just as her son was likely to be. To whom her Spirit answered, giving this sorry comfort: that she should not be hanged, but to prevent that, she should cut her own throat. She, hearing this sentence and holding it as definitive, fell into a great agony and horror of mind and conscience. She began raving, crying out that the irrevocable judgment of her death was given and that she was damned perpetually, cursing and banning To "ban" in this context means to curse or invoke evil upon someone or something. the time in which she was born and the hour in which she was conceived.

Her neighbors, often hearing her bitter execrations Curse words or expressions of deep loathing., told her to call upon God and to be sorry for the sins which she had committed. But she could in no case endure to hear it. And having thus tormented herself in this agony for three or four days, at last she made good on the Devil’s word; to prevent the justice of the law and to save the hangman the labor, she cut her own throat.

Her son, being all this while in prison, and...