33. In 1563, Agnes Waterhouse became the first woman hanged for witchcraft in England
In 1563, the English Parliament passed the Witchcraft Act, which made all forms of sorcery illegal. In 1566, a 64-year-old woman named Agnes Waterhouse was tried under the new Act. The locals of Hatfield Peverell, Essex accused Agnes and two others of killing livestock, and people through Satanic magic. The principal testimony came from a 12-year-old girl, who’d seen their demonic familiar: a white-spotted cat. Under duress, the confused old woman confessed to all sorts of evildoing and witchcraft. In July, 1566, she became the first person hanged for witchcraft in England. The cat was called Satan, by the way.
