is set on and around Pendle Hill in early-Seventeenth-century Lancashire, with an introduction set in 1536. The Cistercian monk, Borlace Alvetham, is falsely accused of witchcraft by his rival, Brother John Paslew, and condemned to a lingering death. Alvetham escapes by selling his soul to Satan and returns as the warlock, Nicholas Demdike, during the Pilgrimage of Grace, to witness the execution of the now Abbot Paslew for treason. Paslew dies cursing Demdike's daughter and “that infant and her progeny became the Lancashire Witches.” The remainder of the narrative is set about a century later, when the ancient witch, Mother Demdike, wields tremendous supernatural power over the area, her evil family challenged only by the rival witches, Mother Chattox and Alice…
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Citation: Carver, Stephen. "The Lancashire Witches". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 July 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=386, accessed 25 November 2024.]
