Knowehead
The haunting of Ann Haltridge of Knowehead House, Islandmagee, began in September 1710. It ended with her death less than six months later. In this episode, I bring you the story of a haunting, a death, and the last witch trial in Ireland: the case of the Islandmagee witches. How does one girl's affliction shape a community's fear?
Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet.
Music
Purple Planet - Possessed Doll
Purple Planet - Haunted
Purple Planet - Cobwebbed
Purple Planet - Immuration
Purple Planet - Sense of Loss
Purple Planet - Shadowlands
Sources
Primary
Sneddon, Andrew and Shannon Devlin (eds). “Documents from the Trial of the ‘Islandmagee Witches’ at Carrickfergus Assizes, County Antrim, Ireland, 1711.”
Secondary
Cashin, Declan. “The Witches of Antrim.” Irish Independent. 26 May 2011.
Crisp, James. “Northern Irish councillor says last witches tried on island may have been actual witches.” The Telegraph. 24 November 2022.
Devlin, Martina. The House where it Happened. Ward River Press, 2014.
McConville, Mary Louis. “Plaque commemorating nine people convicted of witchcraft more than 300 years ago unveiled in Co Antrim.” The Irish News. 21 March 2023.
McDonald, Henry. “Christian Councillor Objects to Islandmagee ‘Witches’ Plaque.” The Guardian. 5 February 2015.
Seymour, St John Drelincourt. Irish Witchcraft and Demonology. Dublin: Hodges, Figgis: 200–221.
Sneddon, Andrew. “‘Creative’ Microhistories, Difficult Heritage, and ‘Dark’ Public History: The Islandmagee Witches (1711) Project.” Preternatural: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural 11. No. 1 (2022): 109–130.
Sneddon, Andrew. Possessed By the Devil: The Real History of the Island Magee Witches and Ireland’s Only Mass Witchcraft Trial. The History Press, 2013.
Sneddon, Andrew. Representing Magic in Modern Ireland: Belief, History, and Culture. Cambridge University Press, 2022.
Sneddon, Andrew. Witchcraft and Magic in Ireland. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2015.
Sneddon, Andrew. “Witchcraft Belief, Representation and Memory in Modern Ireland.” Cultural and Social History 16. No. 3 (2019): 251–270.
