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(Cox). In most places, the trials were highly biased and gave the defendants next to no chance, but there were some places, like Spain and parts of Holland that used fair trials. As a result, there were only a dozen or so executions in Spain (Cox.) and none were executed in Oudewater, Holland (Constable, 70).

There were many methods of getting alleged witches to confess, mainly different types of torture. One of the most infamous tests of witchcraft was the water test. The victim was dunked into water repeatedly, and if found she could "breathe under water" she was convicted as a witch and then executed, but if she drowned, she was innocent. Other methods of getting confessions were flogging, stretching the victim, crushing fingers or limbs, and blackmail. In some places, victims were forced to endure public humiliation, such as wearing grotesque masks that marked them as heretics.

After an alleged witch was forced to confess, he or she was then executed. There were different forms of execution, the most famous being burned alive at the stake. Sometimes, green wood was used to prolong the pain if the victim had confessed to something especially horrible (Constable, 45). Victims were also put into sacks and thrown into the river, and some were put into ovens to be incinerated. There were also those who were hanged or beheaded.

SOURCES:

Bever, Edward. "Witchcraft, female aggression, and power in the early modern community." Journal of Social History. 35.4 (2002): 955.

Cox, Brad, Ph.D. "Witch Hunts with Paradoxical Goals" Brad Cox, Ph.D. 2004. Virtual School. 07 Mar. 2004 .

Constable, George, Ed. Witches and Witchcraft. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books. 1990.

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