The Witches Of Lillhärdal

In the middle of the 17th century Härjedalen’s people were poor and had faced a harsh period of time. Härjedalen had recently separated from Norway and now the people were struggling to understand its place under the rule of the Swedish church. It was during this era that the 23 year old girl named Stor Märit faced hell on earth. Her family and the village of Lillhärdal turned against her due to rumours that she was a witch.

The village priest heard about the story and it became his mission to see Stor Märit sentenced to death for being in pact with the devil. But first Stor Märit had to make a confession. Swedish law prohibited execution before the accused confessed her crimes.

Surprisingly for the court Stor Märit did not confess, not even under torture or when her mother begged her to do so since she did not want her daughter to go to hell. The court even arranged a fake execution to bring out a confession. After four years the court of law got tired of the always returning case of Stor Märit and in 1673 she got beheaded and burned. This was the start of a hysteric witch hunt in Sweden where over 350 innocent people got executed in the name of God for being the devil’s helper. Full Story

Related: religion, wicca, pagan, spells