Matthew Hopkins

• Matthew Hopkins was a former Essex lawyer who called himself ‘witchfinder general’. In 1645 he was employed by a JP in Essex and East Anglia to uncover witchery.
• Hopkins used a range of interrogation methods to get the accused to confess, including starving them and depriving them of sleep.
• The accused would by physically examined to look for a ‘teat’ with which they would feed their ‘familiar’ – eg a mole or birthmark.
• When the victims were forced into a confession, it would have to include the names of other witches, which ensured Hopkins always had another suspected witch to arrest next.
• The actions of Hopkins and his assistant John Stearne led to the an estimated 300 investigations for witchcraft; around 112 of those were executed by hanging.