Witch Map Project

@witchmapproject.bsky.social

Student-led project mapping global witchcraft memorials at Cardiff University. @cuhistarchrel.bsky.social If you have any suggestions or questions please contact us at: witchmapproject@gmail.com.

Just boosting @webstermedieval.bsky.social 's #medievalsky #earlymodern post on 🎃👻🕸️ Halloween. If you're interested in witchy #hextag stuff, then our article and the blog posts by our @witchmapproject.bsky.social interns are an excellent starting point. 😊

Paul Webster 🌈@webstermedieval.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Great to have a piece in The Conversation about the @witchmapproject.bsky.social I was part of with @janmachielsen.bsky.social and our brilliant student interns Abi and Gabriel. #hextag #earlymodern #skystorians theconversation.com/witch-memori...

📢Good morning and long time no see! Our second blog post about the Witch Map Project has just been uploaded. Please consider taking a look if you're interested in learning more about the conclusions we drew from our research. blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/cardiff-supe...

From Orkney to Odisha, and Beyond: The Witch Map Project and Global Witchcraft Memorials (Abigail Heneghan and Gabriel Hyde)

Cardiff students reflecting on witches, saints, wonders and more.

blogs.cardiff.ac.uk

☀️Memorial of the Day (MOTD): The Proctor’s Ledge Memorial in Salem, USA. Proctor’s Ledge was first identified as a possible site for the 1692 Salem executions in 1921 by Sidney Perley, but this wasn’t confirmed until January 2016 through the work of a team of researchers.

An image of Proctor's Ledge memorial.

📢We would like to thank all 100 of you who have supported our project for the past few weeks. Sadly, today is the last day that it will be active, but this isn't the end of us yet! Another blog post will go up in a week's time that we'll let you know about, and our map will remain available.

☀️Memorial of the Day (MOTD): Katharina Henot Memorial in Cologne, Germany. Outside Cologne’s town hall stands a statue of Katharina Henot, Germany’s first female postmaster, executed as a witch in 1627. Wealthy and influential, she never confessed under torture but was still put to death.

A shot of Cologne's town hall, ornate and adorned with statues of historical figures. A close-up shot of two statues, one of Friedrich Spree and the other of Katharina Henot, carved into stone.

☀️Memorial of the Day (MOTD): Thomassa Roig Square in Corbins, Catalonia (Spain). Thomassa Roig was a resident of Corbins who was executed for witchcraft in 1627. The square includes a sculpture which is dedicated to her and all women subject to violence, which was created by Elisenda Franquet.

A sign marking Thomassa Roig Square, which also says her execution date of 1627.

☀️Memorial of the Day (MOTD): Grissel Jaffray Memorial in Dundee, Scotland. At the entrance to Peter Street, tiled cones of water and fire frame a plaque for Grissel Jaffray. A 17th-century spaewife, she was accused of witchcraft; only her accusers’ names and execution method are still recorded.

A large mosaic cone filled with flames on the floor of a cobbled street. A large mosaic cone filled with water on the floor of a cobbled street. A circular blue plaque on the wall, reading 'Grissell Jaffray, Spaewife, ? to 1669'.

☀️Memorial of the Day (MOTD): The Grace Sherwood Statue in Virginia, USA. Grace Sherwood was a midwife and the last person to be convicted of witchcraft in Virginia in 1706, although she was never executed. Instead she was imprisoned and lived until age 80.

A picture of the Grace Sherwood Statue. She is depicted holding a basket of rosemary with a raccoon next to her.

☀️Memorial of the Day (MOTD): The Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft in Hólmavík, Iceland. This museum combines the history of witchcraft practices in Iceland with the history of the witch hunts. In Iceland, over 200 were accused and 21 were executed for witchcraft in the 17th century.

An image of the museum's exterior.

☀️Memorial of the Day (MOTD): The Courthouse Memorial of Anna Göldi in Glarus, Switzerland. In 1782, Swiss servant Anna Göldi was the last woman to be executed for witchcraft in Europe after being accused of cursing and curing a sick child who coughed up pins.

Portrait painting of Anna Göldi with deep shadows and muted colours. Glarus courthouse with a brightly lit yellow lamp on the top corner. One of the eternal lamps lit in memory of Göldi.

☀️Memorial of the Day (MOTD): The Orkney Witchcraft Memorial in Scotland. This memorial is located at Gallows Ha, where the victims of the witch hunts in Orkney were executed from 1594-1708. The exact number of victims is unknown due to missing records, although it is estimated to be around 70.

An image of the hedge that surrounds the Orkney Witchcraft Memorial.

☀️Memorial of the Day (MOTD): The Salem Witch Trials Memorial in Salem, USA. This is dedicated to the 20 victims of the Salem Witch Trials. It was opened in 1992 by the Salem Witch Trials Tercentenary Committee after a public competition, with the winning design by Maggie Smith and James Cutler.

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☀️Memorial of the Day (MOTD): The Kryštof Alois Lautner Memorial in Mohelnice, Czechia. Lautner was Dean of Šumperk and opposed the Boblig witch trials (1678–1696), which had around 112 victims. Boblig then accused Lautner of witchcraft, and he was executed in 1685 after several rounds of torture.

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☀️Memorial of the Day (MOTD): The Cabotina in Triora, Italy. During the Triora witch trials 1587-1589, some believed that witches lived in these farmhouses. Actually, these were solitary women who used plants for medicinal purposes. Over 30 were accused in these trials, with at least 4 executed.

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☀️Memorial of the Day (MOTD): Memorial to the Victims of the Witch Hunts in Oulu, Finland. ‘Noitavainojen uhrien muistomerkki’ - a Memorial to the Victims of the Witch Hunts, established in 2010 by the University of Oulu’s Humanist Guild to commemorate their 45th anniversary.

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☀️Memorial of the Day (MOTD): The Alice Nutter statue in Roughlee, England. Built in 2012 to commemorate the 400 year anniversary of the Pendle Witch Trials, this statue depicts Alice Nutter, one of the 10 victims. She was hanged in August 1612 in Lancaster.

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☀️ Memorial Of The Day (MOTD): The Steilneset Memorial Site in Vardø, Norway. This beautiful structure opened in 2011 after a collaboration between artist Louise Bourgeois and architect Peter Zumthor. It honours the 91 people executed for witchcraft during the 1600-1692 Finnmark Witch Trials.

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