Ursula Kemp, acused of Witchcraft, was hanged in 1582.
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Introduction

In 1582, Ursula Kemp was accused of witchcraft along with thirteen other females. This event took place in a quiet coastal area of Essex, England, known as St. Osyth. Ursula was a poor woman, and the first accused of being a witch. She claimed that she would “unwitch”, or break evil spells that were cast against people.

The Accusations

Her neighbor and friend, Grace Thurlow had a son named Davy who became very sick. She asked Kemp for her help, Kemp came over and put a spell on him. A few days went by and he became better, Thurlow believed that Kemp cured her son. Thurlow and Kemp got into an argument over the care of Thurlow’s baby girl Joan. When Joan was a few months old she fell from her cradle, broke her neck, and died. Thurlow was upset and sick then turned around and asked for Kemp’s help again. Kemp told her she would for 12 pence and when Thurlow felt better she refused to pay Kemp. She told Kemp she couldn’t afford it. Kemp was upset and got into an argument with Thurlow who then became ill agian. She then blamed Kemp for her and her son’s illness and even her own baby’s death.

Later Thurlow believed that Kemp had something to do with her intolerable pain and brought the incident to Judge Bryan Darcy. Darcy then took the investigation into his own hands and began interrogating those who knew Kemp. He questioned Thomas, her eight-year-old son, who told the judge about his mother having four familiars who would suck blood from his mother’s arm. He described the animals as a grey cat named Tyffin, a black cat named Jacke, a black toad named Pygine, and a white lamb named Tyttey. He also interviewed a man claiming that Kemp put a spell on his wife and died as a result.

Darcy confronted Kemp who denied everything, that is until the judge tricked her and told her if she confessed then he would be lenient on her. She confessed about her familiars and told on the other thirteen witches.

All of the women were charged with crimes of bewitching people to death, putting spells on animals, butter churning, and making people sick with spells. Not all of the women went on trial, four pleaded not guilty, four more were convicted and then let go. One was charged with having an evil eye and was sent to prison for one year. Two women were hanged, Kemp was one of the unlucky two, both were charged with murdering three people to death with spells between the years of 1580-1582.

Displaying Her Body

Way after her death, in the mid-1900’s, her body was dug up by Cecil Williamson, an occultist, and was put on display in a museum in an open coffin lined with dark purple satin. This whole event was televised. Williamson noticed Kemp’s body had a few iron spikes in the chest, which meant people feared that she would come back to haunt or vampirize them. Williamson sold the museum in 1996 to Graham King, who then moved it to Boscastle, Cornwall. Williamson kept the remains of Kemp for his collection until his death in 2000, then the remains went to King. Today, the witches are often referred to as the “St. Osyth Witches.”

Black cats were commonly thought to be familiars of witches.
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Familiars are animal spirits that come from the devil and are given to witches or sorcerers as a gift. Familiars are universally known, described in several different cultures around the world. It helps the witch by assisting with the casting spells, performing magical quests, or causing a human sickness and death. It only obeys the one witch or sorcerer and will not listen to anybody else. The witch will feed the familiars with blood through her fingers, thumb, or breast. The markings on the body made by the sucking familiars were known as “witches marks.” These animals were commonly cats, dogs, mice, birds, or toads.

The Bruxsa often takes the form of a bird during the night.
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The Bruxsa is from Portuguese lore and is a female vampire witch. She is described as being a beautiful woman in the day and leaves in the form of a bird at night looking for lost travelers or babies. She is able to have marry and have children and will eat them. She will attack and suck the blood from infants sleeping in their cribs and is hard to kill. Unlike many other witches, her choice to be evil is hers, rather than the cause of an accident or a birth defect. The Bruxsa is said to be immortal and has immense sorcerous powers. She is able to cause miscarriages, storms, droughts and disease. Garlic is a good repellent for the Bruxsa, and she cannot be killed by mortal means.

The gandillon werewolf of France.
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The strange case of the Gandillon werewolf took place in France in 1598. The events started when a young girl named Pernette from the Gandillon family walked around on her hands and knees believing that she was a wolf. She roamed around the woods one day acting like a wolf and came across a boy and girl, both brother and sister, picking berries. Pernette went crazy for blood and started to attack the girl. The girl’s little brother, aged four years old, grabbed a knife and tried to protect his sister while getting a huge gash on his neck but both made it out of the woods alive. They told the townspeople what happened and a mob of peasants went after Pernette and destroyed her.

Not very long afer the incident, Pernette’s brother Pierre, kidnapped children and took them to witch sabbats. He was said to have an ointment that he received from the devil that made him transform into a wolf. When he was a wolf he would run around killing people and animals, and to turn back into a human he would roll in the wet grass. He wasn’t the only one that used the ointment, his son also claimed that he used it and killed two goats. Once the spirit becomes the animal, the body lies in bed in a trance. They were both accused of witchcraft, and both had scratches all over their bodies and bite marks. The two men were taken into prison where they didn’t turn into wolves, but they did run about on all fours howling uncontrollably. It was believed they couldn’t take the shape of a wolf because they didn’t have access to the ointment.Pierre’s daughter also confessed that she sold her soul to the devil who took the form of a black cat.

The Brujas often take the form of a bat.
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The Brujas (Brujos for male) are vampiric witches from Mexico, Mesoamerica, and other Hispanic areas of North America. The Bruja are thought to be more prevalent than the male Brujo, and are also considered to be more powerful. They can take the form of a bat and enjoy sucking blood from helpless victims. They are known for having many remedies against physical illness, and can help with emotional, romantic, and social problems with the help of spells and charms. In rural areas, the witch is considered more evil than good and is often blamed for wounding vampire bats. They will try to enter houses through cracks or keyholes. One can protect their home by spilling a lot of rice or wheat by the door, the witch will be forced to stop and count all of the grains which will take until the sun comes up.

The Adze, in the form of a firefly.
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The Adze is a type of vampire that takes the form of a firefly. This little vampire is believed in African lore, and is said to dwell near tribal sorcerers, especially those of the Ewe in Ghana and southern Togo. This firefly’s favorite is blood from little children. The adze can also possess people, and anyone under the influence of an adze is considered a witch. If a person captures the lightning bug, the bug will take human form. The adze can also drink coconut water and palm oil if no blood is available.