"The age old practice of witchcraft has seen an explosive resurgence over the last few decades. In the past it provoked wild and insane persecutions that led to ridiculous witch hunts in which thousands died. The criteria for conviction were often based on hearsay and poor evidence, and the penalties..."
The age old practice of witchcraft has seen an explosive resurgence over the last few decades. In the past it provoked wild and insane persecutions that led to ridiculous witch hunts in which thousands died. The criteria for conviction were often based on hearsay and poor evidence, and the penalties were cruel and unwarranted. Most of the madness subsided by the 19th century, having been nearly eradicated in the west by that centuries' end. However, the hysteria surfaced again briefly during the second world war. In the midst of war, madness rules the day and invariably comes home, infecting legal matters. Few wartime cases in the courts of Britain are as bizarre as the 1944 witchcrafttrial of Helen Duncan.
It happened just before D-Day. Helen Duncan was a spiritualist and medium from Scotland who traveled the UK during the war performing seances. Her customers are reputed to have included George VI and Winston Churchill, and she was one of the most widely known mediums of the day. Channeling for the parents of a missing sailor in 1941, she revealed that he had died when his ship HMS Barham had been sunk by the Germans. The ship had indeed sunk with a loss of 861 men, but the admiralty had kept the affair secret to mislead the Germans who weren't aware that the ship had gone down. The cover-up made sense, since the germans would invariably spend resources on trying to track a ship that no longer existed. Plus it prevented an unnecessary blow to British public morale during the infamousblitz.The Germans found out in 1942 and the whole thing became public, but the fact remained that Helen Duncan had known about the sinking, allegedly through channeling the dead sailor, and had revealed information that could have been potentially damaging for the Admiralty's coverup. Nothing came of it at the time, and Helen Duncan continued her seances. Fast forward to 1944. The D-Day invasion was being prepared amid unprecedented secrecy. The British government was prepared to do anything to keep the invasion plans under wraps as the defeat of the Nazis depended on the success of the operation. In January, Helen Duncan was in Portsmouth performing a seance in the presence of two superstitious naval officers. The officers were alarmed that she might reveal secrets of the impending invasion that couldget bac...
To continue please sign in with your Hotsposz ID... If you are new to Hotspotsz you can
register a new ID .
Anthony North: The French court of the Sun King, Louis XIV, was a flamboyant, extravagant place. But underneath the facade was a cauldron of hatred, deceit and social climbing. And underpinning the more unsavoury factors of the court was a conspiracy of murder and supposed witchcraft. After the suspicious deaths of several of the French nobility, Louis ordered the Commissioner of Police, Nicholas de la Reynie, to investigate. Opening the Chambre Ardente, or Burning Court (a black draped room wit...US town escapes 666 phone prefix
A town in the US state of Louisiana is to be allowed to change its telephone prefix so that residents can avoid a number many associate with the Devil. Christians in Reeves have been unhappy since the early 1960s about being given the prefix, 666 - traditionally known as the Biblical "number of the beast". For the next three months, households will be able to change the first three digits of their phone numbers to 749. Mayor Scott Walker said CenturyTel"s decision was "divine intervention". Howe...'Witches' face fine in Tajikistan
The lower house of parliament in Tajikistan has endorsed a bill to try to tackle what it describes as fortune-telling and witchcraft. Those found engaging in superstitious activities could be fined $200 (£98). Belief in the occult is widespread in many former Soviet societies. The Tajik authorities say those claiming occult powersare charlatans. The bill still needs the upper house of parliament and the president to approve it, but this is considered a formality. Earlier this year President Emom...Campaigners bid to clear the 'witch'
When the battleship Barham was torpedoed by the Germans in November 1941, with the loss of over 800 lives, the Admiralty delayed announcing the news to maintain morale. But the secrecy was ended within a few days when medium Helen Duncan told a couple during a seance that their son, a sailor on the ship, had appeared from the spirit world to tell them it had sunk. In one of the most bizarre acts of the Second World War, Mrs Duncan was accused of leaking military secrets - and became the last wom...At witch school, spelling has new meaning
When witch school came to town, Mayor Terry Prillaman stopped in to welcome the owners, as he does whenever a new business opens. "If you don"t like them, don"t patronize them," he says. "It"s like a tattoo parlor: You don"t have to go in." Youth pastor Andy Thomas, though, believes the arrival of witches in this town of 1,200 created a "spiritual battle" pitting "the forces of darkness against the forces of light." Rosella Ray, who runs the Village Art & Culture Center, a shop near the school, ...Judge rules in favour of Harry Potter
The adventures of boy wizard Harry Potter can stay in Gwinnett County school libraries, despite a mother's objections, a judge ruled Tuesday. Laura Mallory, who argued the popular fiction series is an attempt to indoctrinate children in witchcraft, said she still wants the best-selling books removed and may take her case to federal court."I maybe need a whole new case from the ground up," Mallory said. The woman, who said two of her four children attend public schools in thecounty,...Dawn of the witch
Anthony north: We"ve all heard of the witch, but do witches have a real existence? Yes, they have existed since the dawn of history, and most likely for millenia before. In the Bible, Saul, afraid of the might of the Philistine army, took himself off to be counsellefd by the Witch of Endor. In Classical literature we have Homer’s Circe who bewitched men and turned them into swine. Ovid tells us of the Strigae; erotic beings who flew through the air to carry out their murderous deeds. But with su...Even witches cant catch a break
Romanian witches may soon see earnings from their profession taxed, for better or worse.Witches from across Romania are assembling to either protest or praise potential legislation that will tax their trade. While many are angry at the prospect of paying into social security and having their net income cut by 16 percent, others are glad to finally have their occupation officiallysanctioned - "our magic skills, which are recognized and accepted worldwide, are now authorized in Romania too," say...Warlock allowed to break curfew on full moon
A 52-year-old warlock sentenced to stay indoors has been permitted to go out on a full moon.Cerwyn Jones was sentenced to stay indoors between the hours of 7pm and 7am after being caught carrying a ceremonial knife in a pub, however magistrates agreed to lift the restriction on four nights so that he can go out and practicehis faith. During the full moon, ‘magic’ ceremonies are performed and the gods and goddesses of Wiccaare honoured. . These ceremonies may be officiated by a cho...Influence of the occult
Anthony North: The Occult. The term sends a chill down the spine -for some. This is the world of evil and mystery, where sinister magicians prowl the borders between the physical and ethereal. Where the subject causes real fear, it is sanitised for western feeling, and images of Harry Potter fill our heads. Yet in reality the Occult has been essential to the life we live today. Its birth: The Occult was actually born following the life of Christ. Up until this time, most religions had been pagan...
Foldersz is an internal bookmarking system where you can save and organise Hotspotsz content (including this article) into a Folder of your own for later reference.
Paranormal Category List (A-Z)
All our articles are sorted under categories and topics, making it easier to cross reference different subjects. Below are all the different categories the articles are sorted under alphabetically.
79(79/0) 
The age old practice of witchcraft has seen an explosive resurgence over the last few decades. In the past it provoked wild and insane persecutions that led to ridiculous witch hunts in which thousands died. The criteria for conviction were often based on hearsay and poor evidence, and the penalties were cruel and unwarranted. Most of the madness subsided by the 19th century, having been nearly eradicated in the west by that centuries' end. However, the hysteria surfaced again briefly during the second world war. In the midst of war, madness rules the day and invariably comes home, infecting legal matters. Few wartime cases in the courts of Britain are as bizarre as the 1944 witchcrafttrial of Helen Duncan. 
Defining witchcraft
US town escapes 666 phone prefix
'Witches' face fine in Tajikistan
Judge rules in favour of Harry Potter
Warlock allowed to break curfew on full moon
