Helen Duncan
Helen Duncan (born November 25, 1897 in Callander , Perthshire , Scotland , † December 6, 1956 ) was a Scottish medium and in 1944 the last person convicted under the Witchcraft Act of 1735. She is sometimes falsely referred to as the last woman convicted as a witch in Europe .
The Scottish housewife, a well-known fortune teller and necromancer, was arrested in January 1944 and subsequently sentenced to nine months in prison. This was made possible by the Witchcraft Act , an anti-witchcraft law from 1735. This, however, did not punish witchcraft as such, but the exploitation of the belief in witches for fraudulent purposes.
The Witchcraft Act was repealed in 1951 at the instigation of Winston Churchill .
Web links
- Helen Duncan - The Official Site Pardon (English)
- Her granddaughter's trial and rehabilitation efforts on Deutschlandfunk
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Duncan, Helen |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | last woman condemned as a witch in Europe |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 25, 1897 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Callander , Perthshire , Scotland |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 6, 1956 |