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40 Real People Executed for Witchcraft

Tim Flight October 15, 2019 27 min

19. It took 2 separate trials to behead Elin i Horsnäs for witchcraft

Elin was a widow, and thus viewed with suspicion by the patriarchy, just like Elizabeth Sawyer, depicted here on the cover of a play, The Witch of Edmonton, London, 1658. Wikimedia Commons

Not only was Elin I Horsnäs a widow, she was an argumentative and foul-tempered one. With no male protectors and a habit of making enemies, in 1601 Elin was put on trial for witchcraft. Incredibly, she passed – and survived – the swimming test ordered by Håkan the Witchfinder, and sank to the river bottom. The other two suspects on this occasion were not so lucky. 10 years later, people claimed she’d bewitched livestock and killed her husband. Alas, Elin failed the swimming test this time, and confessed to killing her husband with arsenic under torture. Håkan beheaded her in 1611.

Written by

Tim Flight

I am a freelance historical and literary writer based in West Yorkshire, UK. I read for a funded PhD in English at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) and graduated in 2016. I am a former lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London. My publications include peer-reviewed articles in academic publications, and pieces in mainstream magazines such as History Today and Fortean Times. For more information, please see www.drflight.co.uk