Please be aware the stories, theories, re-enactments and language in this podcast are of an adult nature and can be disturbing, frightening and in some cases offensive. Listener Discretion is advised – there is very adult content ahead and you have been warned.

Welcome heathens welcome to the world of the weird and unexplained. I’m your host, Nicole Delacroix and together, we will be investigating stories about the weird, wonderful, unexplained, eerie, scary and down-right unbelievable. There will be tales of ghosts, murder, supernatural beings and unexplained mysteries. So, sit back, grab your favorite drink, relax and prepare to be transported to today's dark Enigma....

And on today’s Dark enigma we’re coming to the end of our Witchtober and I know you guys are looking forward to the story of the Salem witch trials, and I promise we will get to them. For today’s episode though, we’re going to look at an earlier witch trial to set the mood to show that the hysteria was building not only in the Americas with Salem but in many other places. As always, we will be playing our drinking game and as you know, the drinking game is only for those of us that are at home and have nowhere else to go tonight. I will leave the choice of witchy brew up to you, so choose your poison accordingly… Alright, now for the game part how about every time I say Lancashire that will be a single shot and every time I say Pendle, that’s a double shot. So if you’re not deeply devoted to everything historical like I am then you may not be aware there was a more famous witch trial before Salem, and that’s right, today we’re covering it, so now that the business end is out of the way we can jump headfirst into today’s dark enigma… and the story of… The Pendle Witch Trails of 1612… let’s jump right on in my heathens…

During the sixteenth century whole districts in some parts of Lancashire seemed contaminated with the presence of witches; men and beasts were supposed to languish under their charm, and the delusion which preyed alike on the learned and the vulgar did not allow any family to suppose that they were beyond the reach of the witch's power. Was the family visited by sickness? It was believed to be the work of an invisible agent, which in secret wasted an image, made in clay before the fire, or crumbled its various parts into dust.

Did the cattle sicken and die? The witch and the wizard were the authors of the calamity. Did the yeast refuse to ferment, either in the bread or the beer? It was the consequence of a 'bad wish'. Did the butter refuse to come? The 'familiar' was in the churn. Did the ship founder at sea? The gale or hurricane was blown by the lung less hag who had scarcely sufficient breath to cool her own pottage. Did the river Ribble overflow its banks? The floods descended from the congregated sisterhood at Malkin Tower.