England’s Last Executed ‘Witch’ Might Have Survived After All

New research suggests the last woman thought to have been executed for witchcraft in England ended up not being hanged, after all.

“Alice” Molland was sentenced to execution at Exeter Castle, Devon, in 1685. She was accused of “bewitching” three of her neighbors, BBC reported.

However, as stated by Professor Mark Stoyle, a historian at the University of Southampton, the court might have made a spelling error—and “Alice Molland” might have actually been “Avis Molland.” This new discovery sheds light on what really went down.

“Court records from the 17th century were written in Latin, and in this form, it would only have taken a single mis-stroke of the clerk of the court’s pen to transform ‘Avicia’ (Avis) into ‘Alicia’ (Alice),” Stoyle said. “Almost nothing is known about Alice’s life and attempts to illuminate it have failed. I immediately asked myself, did Alice Molland ever exist? Is Alice, in fact, Avis?”

Records show that Avis had been poor and married with three kids, all of whom passed away.

“By the time of the 1685 trial, Avis Molland was a poor, middle-aged widow, who was burdened with loss—precisely the kind of woman who was likely to be accused of witchcraft in early modern England,” Prof Stoyle said.

Around the time “Alice” had supposedly been sentenced to death, “Avis” had been imprisoned at Exeter Castle, further supporting the claim that they are one and the same. Additionally, new research now shows that Avis actually died eight years later than Alice’s suspected execution. 

“The truth is, despite all my diligent searching, we may never know for sure whether history has got it wrong,” Prof Stoyle said.

How’s that for a Halloween mystery?