Last Witch Hunt (9 photos + text) Bashny.Net

Last witch was convicted in Britain in 1944.
Was already split the atom. Planes flying across the Atlantic. And somewhere judges judged witch ...

Fatally this woman was the last officially recognized and condemned in Britain witch. While at the helm when he was not indifferent to her Sir Winston.



Helen Duncan was born in 1897 in the small Scottish town of Callender (Callender) in a family of furniture makers. Against the background of general poverty and high unemployment, her family lived in a modest, though, but plenty. As a child, Helen was very noisy and lively child, earning the nickname of Hell Hell (Hell - Hell translated to English). In seven years, she has found a unique gift of communicating with spirits and the other world. Wise life experience, the mother warned her daughter Helen to keep in secret their communication with spirits. But if she could foresee that the unusual ability to bring her daughter Helen to jail ... and it will go down in history as the last convicted witch ...

In 16 years, Helen began working in Dundee. At the same age she developed tuberculosis (what to do, damned Scottish weather!). However, there would be a blessing in disguise. In the sanatorium, where Helen was sent for treatment, she met with former military, earn rheumatism in the military, Henry Duncan. In 1916, Helen and Henry were married. It was truly a marriage of love. Married Helen gave birth to six children. Unfortunately, the health of her husband, undermined the army deteriorated. After a heart attack, he could not work and returned to his former hobby - reading spiritualist books. Husband became an invaluable assistant for Helen in her career medium.



In the 30 years Helen Duncan was one of the most famous mediums Britain. She specialized in the materialization of souls of the recently deceased people using ectoplasm, which she allegedly released from his mouth.

Photo taken at one of the Ouija Helen Duncan with the permission of the medium shows the time of materialization of the soul. Witnesses spoke of the sessions that materialized objects are at a distance from the medium and were less dense than the material bodies in the room. Of course, to believe in the possibility and reality of materialization was not easy. Skeptics were both among the inhabitants, and among scientists. Among the latter was Harry and Prince, director of the National Physical Laboratory of Great Britain, who has studied the ability of Helen, and was present at many of its sessions. Helen Duncan was suspected that she swallowed the gauze in advance, and during the session will rend it out themselves under the guise of ectoplasm. Helen herself adds fuel to the fire, not wishing for scientific verification of their ability to undergo X-ray examination.



In 1934, in Edinburgh, during a session of the materialization of one of the participants was able to grab a piece of ectoplasm. Materialized in the session was the soul of the ordinary knitted jersey. Helen Duncan was convicted of fraud and sentenced to a fine of 10 pounds or one month in prison. Of course, she chose a fine.
However, very often attempts to expose it and grab the ectoplasm at a seance were unsuccessful - hand held as if through the ectoplasm.



With the onset of World War II seances Helen Duncan became especially popular - many nadeyalic learn from her about the fate of their loved ones. Helen first came to the attention of intelligence in Britain in May 1941 in Portsmouth (city-based Navy Britain), where she lived. On one of his seances in a trance Helen told that one of the ships of the Navy Her Majesty sank, taking to the bottom 1, 100 lives. On the death of the ship did not report the news, so awareness of Helen Duncan seemed suspicious.

In the same 1941 on one of the Ouija Helen Duncan appeared ghost sailor. He appeared before his mother in uniform, on his cap was clearly visible name of the ship HMS Barham. Ghost told that his ship was involved in the battle and was sunk by a German submarine. The entire crew was killed. However, the British government completely denied the loss of the ship and the deaths. The press did not report it. Only a few months later, it was announced the death of the ship. Admiralty motivated desire to maintain his silence morale of the nation and prevent panic among the population. All the information on the sinking of Barham passed classified as "top secret".
The fact that Helen Duncan knew about the death of the ship, very alarmed serious people from military intelligence.



Secret Service now did not know what else we know Helen Duncan. The day of D - Day landings in Normandy (June 6, 1944). If Helen suddenly prividitsya plans to land troops in Normandy anti-Hitler coalition, it could pose a real threat to national security. However, to accuse it as a medium was impossible - the lessons of spiritualism was absolutely legal. Therefore, the secret services have not found anything better than to push against Helen Duncan charged under the law against witchcraft (The Witchcraft Act), which was adopted in England in 1735 godu.Vnuchka Helen Duncan Mary Martin, who lives in Edinburgh, denies it that Helen could be a danger to national security, "Grandma accused of treason. But her two sons-in-law and two served in the army ... She would never have issued important secrets "- she says.



Was Helen Duncan actually condemned as a witch? Many authors Witchcraft Act 1735 is interpreted not quite true. In fact, Witchcraft Act (Act witchcraft) was introduced as a measure to combat not with witches, and the belief in witches. The introduction of this law means that no one in England and Scotland could not be more liable to criminal prosecution for what is supposedly a witch simply because witches do not exist. However, in accordance with this law, a person could be fined or imprisoned for having pretended to be a witch or a claim that has the power of witches (in fact, for fraud). At one time (in 1735!), This law was truly revolutionary. He put an end to the witch hunts in England and Scotland (if there is no witch-hunts and that they can not). England was the first country to abolish the law of witches in 1735, while in Switzerland last witch was executed in 1782 (ie, the Enlightenment, at the time of Kant, Goethe, Mozart and Beethoven). Condemning Helen Duncan under the Witchcraft Act, the court actually attributed her strength witch. Helen herself is never a witch herself and did not call. By the way, Helen Duncan was not the last of the accused, who were subject to this law on witchcraft. In late 1944, Jane Rebecca Yorke was also accused of embezzling strength witch. However, the defendant's advanced age (she was 70) saved her from prison and allowed her to escape the penalty.

In January 1944, Helen Duncan was arrested right during his seance. Old Bailey court in London after a seven-day hearing found her guilty under the law The Witchcraft Act of 1735 and sentenced to nine months in prison Hollovay famous London (Holloway Prison). She was not even allowed to appeal. Winston Churchill visited Helen Duncan in prison. It was rumored that Churchill himself, who believed in the paranormal, was a visitor Ouija Helen Duncan. Perhaps the most attentive observer of the process itself was the British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. Open a second front, Armada went to the shores of Normandy, Allied troops numbering in the hundreds and hundreds of thousands rushed into battle, and he continually inquired about what is happening in the small courtroom. When the verdict was read, Churchill took the time and effort to make a public statement and accuse the judges in the "terrible injustice and bias».
Helen Duncan went to a conclusion. A prime minister in the next year was defeated in the elections. But in 1951, he returned to power, the first thing Churchill quashed Act 1735. In honor of the unfortunate who was unfairly accused woman whose ability he secretly worshiped.



Secret services and the police are not left in peace Helen Duncan, and after the war. After leaving prison, Helen vowed not to hold seances. However, someone has beguiled, apparently. During a private seance in Nottingham in November 1956, police broke into the room, where there was a session. The police tried to grab the ectoplasm to prove its materiality and to convict Helen quackery, but ectoplasm disappeared before their eyes. All attempts by the police to prove fraud have not been successful. Helen was arrested and taken to a detention cell. Caused by the camera saw a doctor not a witch, but a very sick woman with two second degree burns across the abdomen. Probably burns were the result of a sharp reaction ectoplasm interrupt seance. Interrupting a seance usually is physically painful for the medium in trance. In this state, the body of the medium becomes very sensitive to the slightest resistance. During the session, you can not touch the in trance medium, otherwise the ectoplasm too quickly returned to the body of the medium and can cause him serious harm.
After his arrest, Helen felt very weak. She returned to his native Scotland to be closer to his family. After five weeks, she died at the age of 59 years.



So far, Helen Duncan rehabilitated and it is not acquitted of witchcraft. Her family and the British Society for the Study of Paranormal conducted a vigorous campaign for the rehabilitation of Helen Duncan.
And witches have to think about. The Witchcraft Act (a law against witchcraft) in 1735 has still not lost its force in the Republic of Ireland (although not applied there has never, to honor the Irish).

British Society for Paranormal Research has long been trying to get the government to justify and formal posthumous rehabilitation of Helen Duncan. Most likely, Sir Winston Churchill would agree with this requirement. Perhaps he even spoke to another brilliant speech about how cruel society has managed with a woman whose only crime was that she was able to talk to the dead ...