witchy bits

Of Rabbits, Hats, and Holes

There is a compulsion that anyone who has ever done historical research has felt. A need to chase down the loose ends, to follow the documentary trail as far as it will go. I like research snacking – using spare time or setting aside short periods to look at new materials every day, even when […]

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Good Victims

In January 1816, Mathurin Viel was despairing of his health.* He had seen several doctors, but nothing had worked to cure his ‘nerves’. It was at this point that he was introduced to a man known as ‘Lacroix’, whose real name was René Bodin. Lacroix told him his illness ‘came from a spell that had […]

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