William Harrison Ainsworth, The Lancashire Witches

Stephen Carver (Independent Scholar - Europe)
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The Lancashire Witches

is set on and around Pendle Hill in early-Seventeenth-century Lancashire, with an introduction set in 1536. The Cistercian monk, Borlace Alvetham, is falsely accused of witchcraft by his rival, Brother John Paslew, and condemned to a lingering death. Alvetham escapes by selling his soul to Satan and returns as the warlock, Nicholas Demdike, during the Pilgrimage of Grace, to witness the execution of the now Abbot Paslew for treason. Paslew dies cursing Demdike's daughter and “that infant and her progeny became the Lancashire Witches.” The remainder of the narrative is set about a century later, when the ancient witch, Mother Demdike, wields tremendous supernatural power over the area, her evil family challenged only by the rival witches, Mother Chattox and Alice…

943 words

Citation: Carver, Stephen. "The Lancashire Witches". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 July 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=386, accessed 19 March 2024.]

386 The Lancashire Witches 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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