In the windswept town of Islandmagee, County Antrim, in the year 1711, fear took root, and hysteria fanned the flames of injustice. Eight women—healers, widows, and outcasts—stood accused of witchcraft, charged with tormenting a young girl through dark sorcery. In an Ireland largely untouched by witch trials, this case became an eerie echo of Salem’s horrors. As whispers turned to accusations, the trial unfolded with damning testimonies, spectral evidence, and the weight of superstition, as women turned to spiders, victims vomited pins and feathers and panic and politics conquered over reason.SOURCESSneddon, Andrew (2013) Possessed by the Devil. The History Press Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.Sneddon, Andrew (2015) Witchcraft & Magic in Ireland. Palgrave macmillan, London, UK.Tisdall, William (1775) Account of the Trial of Eight Reputed Witches. The Hibernian magazine, or, Compendium of entertaining knowledge v.5. ------- For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistoriesThe Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistoriesDark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcastOr find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.comor join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFfThe Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereyeMusic was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices