The Bewitching of John Smith, a Child 1616: A True Account
In the manor house of Husbands Bosworth1, a village of around eighty cottages a few miles south of Leicester, John Smith, eldest son of the owner with his second wife2, was unwell. Ever since early childhood, and he was now nearly twelve3, he had complained of headaches and stomach pains, but recently, beginning around Shrovetide4, he had taken a turn for the worse and had begun to have fits that were now occurring several times a day. His father, Roger, at first tried to hold him down, but his child was thrashing about so wildly that he had to call for help, and even with servants holding his arms and legs, they could not calm him. Over the course of a few fretful weeks, the child’s condition worsened, until he no longer had bowel movements and was wailing in pain from his bloated stomach, and was refusing food and water.
Roger Smith was reluctantly away on business in London when Doctor Sheppard was called for. Vomit purges were administered to the boy that relieved the most pressing symptoms, but the fits continued, so further remedies were applied in an attempt to restore the equilibrium of the humours; but not one was successful. At a loss to explain the child’s suffering, Doctor Sheppard wrote to Roger that, summarising conversations at the boy’s bedside, he hoped that his son had not been possessed by demons. A second opinion from Doctor Cotta was requested who suspected ‘falling sickness’5. This diagnosis, however, corresponded with a further level of affliction, that everyone referred to as the ‘senseless fits’ in which, even when not convulsing, John Smith was struck blind, deaf and dumb, and during the fits appeared to be fighting unseen tormentors, and was shrieking and making strange noises. He now needed to be watched constantly, with onlookers armed with sheets to try and catch him if he should fall out of bed. At night, he insisted on having the candles lit at all times. The observers were horrified at the spectacle, most especially John’s mother, and Roger returned to find a household in chaos and panic.
Into this maelstrom came Randall, a woman from the village known for her powers of healing. Desperate for some alternative to the medical advice that had failed, Roger ushered her to the invalid’s bedside where John was having yet another of his interminable fits. The doctors stepped aside to let this dishevelled person pass, and watched suspiciously as Randall recited some incomprehensible incantations, and applied foul-smelling potions, but then there was general astonishment as John’s body stopped shaking, and he opened his eyes. Shortly afterwards, rumours began to circulate that witchcraft was the cause of John’s ailments and, in a settlement of less than five hundred souls, word spread quickly.
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