And I'm glad that I continued, because it DID get quite interesting to me, especially the clash between Cathy and Elena over who can write about Ilsbeth. And I can kind of see some of the criticism around this, because it does get quite melodramatic... but I didn't feel like it was out of character for either of them to behave as they did, given their personalities and histories. Reporter, Record (29 March 2016). "Should the women burned as 'witches' in Edinburgh be immortalised in a memorial?". dailyrecord . Retrieved 6 March 2020. The Witch in the Well sounds intriguing. The cover image is subtly haunting. The title makes me want to discover what is happening. Is there actually a witch? The publication of “Malleus Maleficarum”—written by two well-respected German Dominicans in 1486—likely spurred witch mania to go viral. The book, usually translated as “The Hammer of Witches,” was essentially a guide on how to identify, hunt and interrogate witches. But witches—whether actual or accused—still face persecution and death. Several men and women suspected of using witchcraft have been beaten and killed in Papua New Guinea since 2010, including a young mother who was burned alive. Similar episodes of violence against people accused of being witches have occurred in Africa, South America, the Middle East and in immigrant communities in Europe and the United States. Sources

The confrontation between the two doesn’t go well. Elena is surprised and disbelieving that Cathy is writing a book on the same subject, while she is certain hers will be the definitive one since she has Ilsbeth’s spirit guiding her.Both Elena and Cathy set out to write this "true" story of Ilsbeth, and have VERY different reasons and ideas about how to go about doing so. I've mentioned Cathy's, because she feels persecuted by the town in the same way that she believes Ilsbeth was, but Elena's is quite different. Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in. I could not wait for this to be over. I didn't want to DNF because, mistakenly, I thought perhaps I would have some sort of epiphany and it would suddenly all make sense. Massachusetts wasn’t the first of the 13 colonies to obsess about witches, though. In Windsor, Connecticut in 1647, Alse Young was the first person in America executed for witchcraft. Before Connecticut’s final witch trial took place in 1697, forty-six people were accused of witchcraft in that state and 11 were put to death for the crime. Neither of the women are particularly likeable. Elena is a prolific poster on social media, a fan of hashtags and an advocate of listening to the voice of one’s SOUL (her capital letters, not mine). For her, the ancient well is not a place of menace but somewhere magical, hence it being her favourite place for her morning yoga workout. She believes she has formed a spiritual connection with Ilsbeth and is possessed by the idea that she can use this to prove the existence of ‘good magic’. Unfortunately, the situation is rather different, creepily different in fact.

And Elena has everything Catherine has not. A platform. And connections. And no one seems to care that this book will be pure speculation, tainting Ilsbeth's memory. Catherine is left with no option but to blunt her rival's pen ... In Virginia, people were less frantic about witches. In fact, in Lower Norfolk County in 1655, a law was passed making it a crime to falsely accuse someone of witchcraft. Still, witchcraft was a concern. About two-dozen witch trials (mostly of women) took place in Virginia between 1626 and 1730. None of the accused were executed. Are Witches Real? The town's people may not want their past raked up, but Catherine is determined to shine a light upon that shameful event. For Ilsbeth was an innocent, after all. She was shunned and ostracised by rumour-mongers and ill-wishers and someone has to speak up for her. And who better than Catherine, who has herself felt the sting and hurt of such whisperings?a b "Castlehill Reservoir and Edinburgh's Water Supply". Edinburgh Expert Walking Tours . Retrieved 6 March 2020.