Pendle Witch House Protected by Dead Cat

From Barking Moon Bat

Beneath Pendle Hill in Lancashire, England, archaeologists have unearthed a 17th century cottage that has been enthusiastically described as a Pendle Witch home.  What is the determinative evidence?  The dead cat buried in the wall of a secret room.  Undoubtedly, the cat was once alive and thus it is as likely as not that the cat had been buried alive in the wall in order to protect against evil (or good) spirits.  Many contemporary books on cats reference pagan European traditions of burying a cat alive in a field or foundation in order to ward off evil spirits. This might suggest that the cottage recently uncovered was merely a neighbor to a Pendle Witch or her client. 

Pendle Witch Trial transcript by Thomas Potts, 1612.

The Pendle Witch Trial (1612) is to England what the Salem Witch Trial is to the United States.  Some have suggested that there is jurisprudential link between the two trials.  The Pendle Witch trial established as precedent the permissibility of children giving testimony in matters concerning "high treason against God."  The English legal system has always been reluctant to allow children to testify in court because of a child's inability to meet competency standards for adults, in particular, being able to understand the oath.  King James I published his book Demonology as a call to arms in the fight against the growing problem of "slaves of the Devil, Witches, or Enchanters."  As part of the fight against the Devil, the James I explained that women, children, and even liars are competent to testify on matters concerning treason against God.  Thus, nine year old Jennet Device was called to testify that her mother was a witch.  The admission of Jennet's testimony set the precedent for the admission of the children's testimony in the Salem Witch Trials in 1692.