Crown Court - To Suffer a Witch (1973) - video Dailymotion

Jezza

Adelaide Vincent (Patricia Haynes) is accused of the manslaughter of Charles Laker - the witchcraft trial of Fulchester! David Ashford and Dorothy Vernon star. Watch out for appearances of John Woodnutt and Earl Cameron.

Transcript

00:00:00You're Dr. Colin Crombie, senior resident of the Fulchester South Hospital.

00:00:09That's correct.

00:00:10Dr. Crombie, could you please describe to us the events that happened on the night of November the 3rd last?

00:00:17I was called to examine a patient, Charles Laker, who'd been admitted earlier.

00:00:22He was in a state of complete collapse.

00:00:24He seemed to be in great pain and was experiencing difficulty in breathing.

00:00:28In spite of immediate treatment, his condition rapidly got worse.

00:00:32He was admitted to the intensive care unit.

00:00:35Two hours later, he died.

00:00:38Dr. Crombie, during this time, did Mr. Laker have the opportunity to explain his condition to you?

00:00:43Yes. Given oxygen, he recovered sufficiently to be able to talk briefly.

00:00:50He told me he'd been bewitched.

00:00:58Today in Fulchester Crown Court, Adelaide Vincent stands accused of the manslaughter of Charles Laker.

00:01:15It is alleged that, being the maiden or leader of a witch coven, she did curse his life,

00:01:20thereby bringing about conditions that, directly or indirectly, led to his death.

00:01:28He said that for some time now, he'd been a member of a local witchcraft coven.

00:01:34And the previous evening, the maiden or leader had put a curse on him.

00:01:38And this was the sole reason for his physical condition.

00:01:41I see, Doctor. And what confidence did you place on this diagnosis, exactly?

00:01:46Well, I thought it was nonsense, obviously.

00:01:48Yet I'm bound to say now that, despite the continued efforts of a skilled survival team,

00:01:53Charles Laker died two hours after making that claim.

00:01:57And we, none of us at the hospital, can suggest a medical reason why.

00:02:01But let's be reasonable, Doctor.

00:02:04Charles Laker must have died from some identifiable physical cause.

00:02:09Well, if you mean that the heart stopped, respiration ceased,

00:02:13and deoxygenation of the brain took place within minutes, yes, my lord.

00:02:16But these are the physical conditions that accompany every death.

00:02:19For doctors, it's a matter of what might cause these conditions.

00:02:23Yes, I see. And in Laker's case, you could establish nothing?

00:02:28Nothing at all, my lord.

00:02:30That's very odd, Doctor.

00:02:31Extremely. That seems to be the point, in fact.

00:02:36Continue, please, Miss Tate.

00:02:37My lord.

00:02:39Now, we've already had introduced as evidence

00:02:42the pathologist's report relating to the post-mortem conducted on Charles Laker.

00:02:47You are familiar with that, Doctor Crombie?

00:02:48Naturally.

00:02:49It would seem to bear out your contention

00:02:51that nothing precise can be established concerning the cause of death.

00:02:55Yes.

00:02:56Considering the symptoms that Laker had exhibited,

00:02:59the pathologist at first tested for the presence of poison,

00:03:02possibly of a gradual, non-corrosive nature.

00:03:05But there was no evidence of anything like that.

00:03:08Nor was there any internal lesion that mightn't at first have revealed itself.

00:03:12Laker's was, in fact, an extremely healthy body for a man of his years.

00:03:16Did you see Charles Laker's medical record later?

00:03:18Yes, it was forwarded to us by his GP.

00:03:21And did it confirm your judgment that he was a thoroughly healthy man?

00:03:24No doubt of it.

00:03:25The history was right up to date.

00:03:26There'd been a physical examination not three months earlier.

00:03:29Laker was a careful man who seems to have insisted on biannual check-ups.

00:03:34What, in fact, was entered on the death certificate for Charles Laker, Doctor Crombie?

00:03:38Why, cardiac failure following survival treatment that didn't succeed.

00:03:42And as the doctor who observed Charles Laker when he died, were you entirely happy with this entry?

00:03:49Well, not entirely, no.

00:03:53Scientifically, of course, there's very little else one could say.

00:03:56But, well, it seems that death by cursing may be possible.

00:04:04Why do you say that, Doctor?

00:04:05There's a growing medical opinion to that effect.

00:04:07My interest in the matter stems from the fact that at Fulchester South nowadays we have to deal very largely with members of the immigrant community.

00:04:15You speak of a growing medical opinion, Doctor.

00:04:18But how large a body of opinion would this be, do you think?

00:04:22Oh, in this country, very small, my lord.

00:04:26The journal Medicine, Science and the Law recently published an article detailing the experiences of doctors working with very much the same cross-section of the public as I am.

00:04:35Now, the article was, well, disturbing.

00:04:40Its conclusion seemed to be that, in certain cases anyway, we might have to accept death by cursing as a medical and legal reality.

00:04:50What exactly is the status of this journal, Medicine, Science and Law, Doctor Crombie?

00:04:54It's the official organ of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences.

00:04:58I see.

00:05:00Now, in countries other than Britain, does medical knowledge, in your opinion, accept the possibility of death by cursing?

00:05:07Oh, yes.

00:05:08Doctors who worked in Africa will tell you it happens frequently enough.

00:05:12The same is true of parts of Asia and the Pacific Islands.

00:05:14Medical men have even reported cases in New Zealand among the Maoris, who, comparatively speaking, are highly civilised people.

00:05:23Is it then your professional opinion, Doctor Crombie, that Charles Laker could have died as a result of a curse put on him by a supposed witch?

00:05:31Well, I know that Charles Laker told me that a curse had been put on him.

00:05:40I also know there is no medical reason why he should be dead today.

00:05:45Thank you, Doctor Crombie, that's all.

00:05:49Doctor Crombie, supposing we allow for one moment that, in certain curious cases, death by cursing might actually be possible, how would it operate exactly?

00:05:58Can you tell us?

00:05:59It operates?

00:05:59What would be the mechanism?

00:06:02The medical mechanism, Doctor?

00:06:03I mean, curse isn't a physical cause of death, is it?

00:06:07Like the edge of a blade, a poison dart?

00:06:10Well, I suppose the mechanism would be that the curse implants some sort of dread in the mind of the subject, which in due course leads to a deterioration of health.

00:06:22But why?

00:06:23Why?

00:06:24Yes, why?

00:06:25If I announced that, contrary to appearances, I was in fact a witch doctor, and I put a curse on you, well, presumably the effect would be negligible, and yet with certain other people it wouldn't be.

00:06:36Now, why?

00:06:37Is the curse real, actually effective?

00:06:39Of course not.

00:06:39That's mumbo-jumbo.

00:06:40Then why?

00:06:42Are the people concerned of a special type, perhaps?

00:06:44Well, they... well, naturally, they would have to be of a type who subscribed to the superstition's concerns.

00:06:50Susceptible people, in other words.

00:06:52Yes, if you like.

00:06:52Was Charles Laker a susceptible person?

00:06:55Well, how on earth can I answer that?

00:06:56Oh, come, doctor, you've had his medical history.

00:06:58You've told us that he insisted on biannual check-ups.

00:07:00Yes.

00:07:00Overdoing things a little, isn't it?

00:07:02I don't think so.

00:07:03Careful, Mr. Woodard.

00:07:03I've also made a note that he visited his doctor a good deal over complaints that turned out to be entirely imaginary.

00:07:08Suspected slip disc, October 72.

00:07:11Suspected hernia, March 73.

00:07:13Well, some people are like that every doctor has to deal with one or two.

00:07:15Yes, exactly.

00:07:16The hypochondriacs.

00:07:17I didn't say that.

00:07:18Oh, come, doctor, surely you'd agree that Charles Laker was a hypochondriac.

00:07:21I didn't know the man until he was serious.

00:07:23You must have known that he worried unnecessarily about his health.

00:07:26And you must know, too, that hypochondria has close affinities with the mechanism of death by cursing.

00:07:31I don't agree with that at all.

00:07:32Simple auto-suggestion in both cases.

00:07:34That's absurd over-simplification.

00:07:36Either a man is killed by something you can put a name to, or he kills himself.

00:07:40No two ways about it.

00:07:42Bad science makes for worse law.

00:07:44You appear to be making some inept reference to the medical syndrome known as psychosomatism.

00:07:49But psychosomatism begins from within the person.

00:07:53Death from cursing has its origins outside the individual.

00:07:57The subject doesn't want to die, you know.

00:08:00But the curse is pronounced, and for some reason or other that we don't understand, he does die.

00:08:06Yes.

00:08:08Thank you, doctor.

00:08:08No further questions.

00:08:10Miss Tate.

00:08:11No further questions, my lord.

00:08:13You may stand down, doctor.

00:08:15I call John Terry Saxon, my lord.

00:08:19John Terry Saxon, please.

00:08:30What is your religion?

00:08:32Siri.

00:08:33Take a testament in your right hand and read aloud the words on this card.

00:08:36I swear by almighty God the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

00:08:42You're John Terry Saxon and you live at 42 Bread Lane, Fulchester Central.

00:08:45That's right.

00:08:46How are you employed, Mr. Saxon?

00:08:48I'm a journalist on the Fulchester Record.

00:08:50Are you acquainted with the accused, Adelaide Vincent?

00:08:53Yes, yes, you could say we've met, unsocially.

00:08:57Shortly before his death, did you also meet the deceased in this case, Charles Laker?

00:09:03That's right, too.

00:09:03I met Laker as a result of a phone call I received at the record office on October the 20th last.

00:09:09It was a man who would only say that he was an accountant who worked locally and that he had a sensational news story for me if I was interested.

00:09:18We arranged to meet the following night at a pub called the Jug and Bottle in the Brightly Junction area.

00:09:22And did you keep this appointment, Mr. Saxon?

00:09:24At 8pm.

00:09:25Yeah, it was a weird place to meet an accountant, a tiled Navvy's pub.

00:09:28Well, you know Brightly Junction.

00:09:30Laker was hiding behind a belted raincoat and a pint of mild.

00:09:33I spotted him as a social refugee straight off.

00:09:36What did Mr. Laker have to tell you?

00:09:38He said he was a member of a local witchcraft coven led by a woman

00:09:41and that there was to be a meeting of this coven, rather like a sex orgy as he described it,

00:09:46coming up on October the 31st and there'd be some prominent people involved

00:09:51and that if I liked, he'd see that I got a grandstand seat for it,

00:09:55provided we were prepared to guarantee him absolute anonymity.

00:09:58Why do you think he made that stipulation, Mr. Saxon?

00:10:01He was scared stiff.

00:10:03It was obvious in his every move.

00:10:05He said it was imperative I guaranteed him anonymity.

00:10:08He seemed to be terrified what might happen to him if he was found out.

00:10:12He seemed to be frightened for his life.

00:10:14I see, Mr. Saxon.

00:10:28So Charles Laker told you of some kind of sex orgy that was due to take place on the night of October the 31st

00:10:34and offered to provide you with its location, hour and so on.

00:10:38Is that correct?

00:10:38That's right.

00:10:39In the belief that it would all make a sensational newspaper story for you.

00:10:43Well, wouldn't it?

00:10:44I mean, especially if he was right about the Mayor and Corporation being involved.

00:10:47I mean, I could even see the Nationals.

00:10:48My lord, I must object.

00:10:50Yes, indeed.

00:10:51Mr. Saxon, you must be most careful what you say in that connection.

00:10:55Oh, I didn't mean the Mayor and Corporation literally, my lord.

00:10:57Oh, I'm delighted to hear it.

00:11:01Miss Tate, perhaps the court should be given some indication at this point

00:11:05of exactly how much naming of names you think is likely to be strictly necessary.

00:11:10Well, as things have turned out, my lord, remarkably little.

00:11:13I had hoped to call in evidence other members of the coven,

00:11:16but in the event it has proved practically impossible to identify them.

00:11:21Impossible to identify them?

00:11:23Yes, my lord.

00:11:23But how do you mean exactly?

00:11:24Well, apparently they attend meetings masked and address each other by pseudonyms.

00:11:30The accused is apparently known as Hecate.

00:11:32Another coven member I have managed to identify is known as Demeter.

00:11:36Charles Laker was Aron, an ancient Celtic wizard, my lord.

00:11:41Yes, undoubtedly.

00:11:43But, well, the identities of the coven members must have been known to the,

00:11:48what is it she calls herself, the maiden?

00:11:50I mean, how else were they enrolled in the first place?

00:11:53Well, your lordship raises a shrewd point, but unhappily we lack information on it at the moment.

00:11:57Perhaps we can hope for enlightenment later.

00:12:00I see.

00:12:01Well, very well, continue then, Miss Tate.

00:12:03My lord.

00:12:04Mr Saxon, in offering to make you privy to the activities of the witch coven,

00:12:09did Mr Laker expect any sort of reward from you?

00:12:12You mean, did he ask for any money, a payoff?

00:12:14Yes.

00:12:15Well, it's not unusual, is it?

00:12:16No, but Laker wasn't like that.

00:12:19All through our talk in the jug and bottle, he just struck me as, well,

00:12:22just being anxious to get something off his chest.

00:12:25It was as though he was guilty about the experiences he'd had in the coven,

00:12:31and that he just wanted to expose them to me to clear his conscience.

00:12:34Did he say to you at any point that his conscience was troubled?

00:12:37He said all his life he'd tried to be moral, only members of the coven weren't.

00:12:44They were all only in it for the sex, and he hated that.

00:12:47I see.

00:12:48Now, you've told us that Charles Laker gave you the time and place of this particular coven meeting on October the 31st.

00:12:55Did you, in fact, attend?

00:12:57Secretly, yes.

00:12:59The venue was in a clearing in the Rillingford Forest.

00:13:01I got there about ten to hide myself, and things were due to start at eleven.

00:13:06After a while, various coven members began to show up.

00:13:09They were wearing domino masks on their faces, so I couldn't recognise them,

00:13:13and long, white, druid-type garments.

00:13:16I recognised Laker from his dumpy figure.

00:13:19Anyway, a fire was lit, and a tall woman stepped forward and started to read a chant from a book.

00:13:25Part in English, I think, part in Latin.

00:13:27She wasn't wearing a mask.

00:13:29Do you see that same woman in court today?

00:13:31Yes, yes.

00:13:32Over there, Adelaide Vincent.

00:13:34I see. Carry on, please.

00:13:37Well, after a while, the group, the crowd, whatever they call it, began to respond to this chant.

00:13:44There were about twenty people altogether, about fourteen men, five or six women.

00:13:48The responses were not words, they were just sounds, sighs and groans.

00:13:55And then they all started to revolve in a circle around the fire, rather like a dance.

00:13:59And then it got faster, and people started to take their clothes off.

00:14:04And what did you do then, Mr Saxon?

00:14:06I started taking pictures, of course.

00:14:07I'm a newspaper man.

00:14:09But the firelight must have reflected off the lens of something.

00:14:13I don't know.

00:14:13Anyway, I was spotted.

00:14:15A half-naked young woman shrieked, jabbed a finger in my direction,

00:14:18and before you could say double-double toil and trouble,

00:14:20two hefty specimens had raced over to where I was hiding,

00:14:23grabbed me and thrust me out into the clearing,

00:14:25up in front of the maiden, the accused, that is.

00:14:27And how did the coven members react to this?

00:14:30Oh, they gasped like faulty traction engines

00:14:33and head off for the dark in the bushes.

00:14:35I got the distinct impression that they didn't relish the idea of a stranger

00:14:38being able to recognise them from their birthmark on their right shoulder, or whatever.

00:14:43And the accused?

00:14:46Well, she just looked at me as if I was something the cat had dragged up.

00:14:49She snatched my camera away and tore the film from it.

00:14:51The Forchester record was plastered all over the camera,

00:14:55so she didn't need to ask who I was or what I was doing there.

00:14:57She just demanded to know how I'd found out where the coven was taking place.

00:15:01And you replied.

00:15:05Well, at this point, I'd like to say that I didn't know too much about witches and covens.

00:15:10They may have even turned vicious on me.

00:15:12Please, Mr Saxon, what did you reply?

00:15:17Well, I didn't see why I should sweat alone, so I dropped poor Laker in it.

00:15:20You mean, you told the accused that Charles Laker had supplied you with the whereabouts

00:15:25of this particular coven meeting, and suggested that you might find the proceedings interesting.

00:15:31I see.

00:15:32And what was the accused's reaction to this?

00:15:35She went white.

00:15:36All the colour drained from her face.

00:15:38She shouted,

00:15:38Find her on! Find her on!

00:15:40Just like that.

00:15:41A minute, Laker was hustled up, shaking like a jelly, protesting innocence.

00:15:47She tore the mask from his face, and announced he'd betrayed the coven, and she had no further

00:15:52choice but to curse his life.

00:15:54To curse his life.

00:15:54Now, was this the exact expression she used?

00:15:58Her actual words were, um...

00:16:01This man is an intruder, but you have betrayed Hecate.

00:16:04You shall both be cursed as to the life, the blood, the house, and the hearth.

00:16:10I see.

00:16:12And then what happened?

00:16:13Well, I was given the rush, handed back what was left of my camera, and thrust into the

00:16:17outer darkness.

00:16:19The last I saw of Laker, he was on his knees in front of the accused, pleading with her

00:16:23not to curse him.

00:16:24She was looking at him with a face like stone.

00:16:26You saw Charles Laker begging the accused not to curse him?

00:16:30Over and over again.

00:16:31I thought he was acting like a fool at the time, but there, you know, maybe he knew

00:16:35something I didn't.

00:16:36Thank you, Mr. Saxon.

00:16:40Now, Mr. Saxon, is the point of the matter that on October the 31st, you failed to identify

00:16:47any of the supposedly prominent members of the witchcraft coven?

00:16:53Yeah, that's what I said.

00:16:54They were all wearing domino masks, and such pictures as I'd managed to get had been destroyed.

00:17:00Which is obviously the reason why nothing ever appeared in the Fulchester record about

00:17:03it, correct?

00:17:04Well, my editor said, what had I got?

00:17:07A half-baked story about some people dancing starkers round a fire in the wood.

00:17:11It might add up to a silly season feature on naturism, but it didn't add up to a juicy

00:17:16scandal.

00:17:17No sex orgies, in other words.

00:17:21It was early days when I got the shove, mind.

00:17:23I mean, maybe later when they got the...

00:17:24No, Mr. Saxon, we aren't concerned with later, nor with earlier, nor with anything except

00:17:28what you can positively testify to when you can't testify to any sex orgies, can you?

00:17:34No, no, I guess I can't.

00:17:35No, thank you.

00:17:37Now, you tell us that when you left the coven meeting on October the 31st, Charles Laker was

00:17:42on his knees before the defendant, pleading with her over and over not to curse him.

00:17:47That's right.

00:17:48Now, how about yourself?

00:17:50Weren't you similarly disposed?

00:17:53Me?

00:17:53Yes, well, unless I misheard your testimony, you were to be cursed as well, weren't you?

00:17:59Yes.

00:18:00You shall both be cursed as to the life, the blood, the house and the hearth.

00:18:05Were you cursed too, do you think?

00:18:08Damned if I know.

00:18:09You mean, you wouldn't care if you had been?

00:18:12Of course not.

00:18:13I don't go in for all that cod's wallop.

00:18:15So that's your understanding of things.

00:18:16The curse works if you believe in it, fails if you don't.

00:18:20I object, my lord.

00:18:21Counsel is eliciting an opinion from the witness.

00:18:24Yes, Mr. Lotterby, you know better than that.

00:18:26My lord, I'm simply anxious to point out that Mr. Saxon appears to have been cursed along

00:18:30with Charles Laker.

00:18:32Well, if counsel for the prosecution is insistent that the curse was effective in the case of

00:18:37Charles Laker, then I feel we should ask ourselves why it was not so in the case of

00:18:41Mr. Saxon.

00:18:42Yes, perhaps, Mr. Lotterby, perhaps.

00:18:44But at the proper time, and certainly not in this manner.

00:18:47Mr. Saxon, you find yourself in perfect health at this moment, do you?

00:18:54Perfect, yes.

00:18:55You've been in good health for some time.

00:18:58Yes.

00:18:59At any time between the dates October the 31st and November the 2nd, did you suffer any

00:19:04sickness or decline in your usual high standard?

00:19:07As I recall, on the morning of November the 2nd, I did feel a bit here and there.

00:19:15Yes?

00:19:16I bumped into a few old chums the night before, and I told them of my experiences at the hands

00:19:22of a witch.

00:19:23It seemed to make us remarkably thirsty.

00:19:25Yes, I see.

00:19:28No further questions.

00:19:30Will we stand down, Mr. Saxon?

00:19:32I call Anne Silk, my lord.

00:19:36Anne Silk, please.

00:19:41You are Anne Silk, and you live at Haddardsley Mansions, Belling Grove, Fortchester.

00:19:46That's right.

00:19:47What is your employment, Miss Silk?

00:19:49Oh, I do different things.

00:19:51Modelling.

00:19:52I've appeared on television once or twice.

00:19:54A bit of local broadcasting.

00:19:56You're basically in the entertainment business.

00:19:58Yes.

00:19:59Are you also a member of the Fulchester Witch Coven?

00:20:04I shouldn't have been asked to come to court.

00:20:07It's not fair.

00:20:08What I do with my private life is...

00:20:10Miss Silk, you must answer the question.

00:20:13Are you a member of the Fulchester Witchcraft Coven or not?

00:20:16Yes.

00:20:21Oh.

00:20:23Actually, I'm the main assistant to the maiden, Hecate.

00:20:27Adelaide Vincent, that is.

00:20:29I'm called Demeter.

00:20:31Thank you, Miss Silk.

00:20:32And how long have you been a Coven member?

00:20:34Two years.

00:20:36What made you join?

00:20:38Well, I'd always been interested in that sort of thing.

00:20:41You know, mysteries, the occult.

00:20:43But people have the wrong idea of witches.

00:20:45They think it's all old crones standing over steaming pots, breathing hatred and wickedness everywhere.

00:20:52But it's not like that at all.

00:20:55It's...

00:20:56Well, it's nature, really.

00:20:59Getting back to the forces of nature that people these days ignore or don't care about.

00:21:04Natural things.

00:21:06Do you believe in magic, Miss Silk?

00:21:09I believe that if you serve the forces of nature, then the forces of nature serve you.

00:21:15Yes.

00:21:16Now, what does it mean to be the maiden of the coven?

00:21:19Well, all covens are founded round a witch with real power.

00:21:25It can be a man or a woman.

00:21:27If it's a woman, she's called the maiden.

00:21:29In this coven is Adelaide Vincent, the witch with real power.

00:21:36Oh, yes.

00:21:37Her power can be frightening sometimes.

00:21:40I've seen it at Sabbaths.

00:21:42At Sabbaths.

00:21:43Now, what are they exactly?

00:21:44Are they special coven meetings?

00:21:46Yes, they're very special meetings.

00:21:48They occur a few times a year.

00:21:50I see.

00:21:50What happens, then?

00:21:55All that's secret.

00:21:58I'm not supposed to talk about that.

00:22:00I'm afraid you will have to, Miss Silk.

00:22:01If the information is relevant to the case, the court has a right to insist upon it.

00:22:05Let me put the question in another way, Miss Silk.

00:22:07Have you ever at these Sabbaths had or been required to have sexual relations with any of the men present?

00:22:17Yes.

00:22:20She makes us.

00:22:23She calls up the devil.

00:22:25And then she makes us worship him in the devil's way.

00:22:28Poor Charles Laker knew that.

00:22:30That's why he wanted to make it public.

00:22:32And that's why he died.

00:22:34That's why she killed him.

00:22:36The case of the Queen against Vincent will be resumed tomorrow in the Crown Court.

00:23:02And that's why she wanted to make it public.

00:23:23Yeah.

00:23:23OK.

00:23:24In the so-called witchcraft trial at Fullchester Crown Court, Adelaide Vincent is accused of

00:23:36the manslaughter of Charles Laker. It is alleged that, being the maiden or leader of the witchcraft

00:23:41coven, she did curse the life of Charles Laker, thereby bringing about conditions that directly

00:23:46or indirectly led to his death. It's been established that Dr. Comby, senior resident

00:23:52at Fullchester South Hospital, could find no reason for his state of collapse when Laker

00:23:57presented himself at casualty, nor for his subsequent death.

00:24:01I see, Miss Silk. So sexual relations occurred at these sabbats or important coven meetings?

00:24:08Yes. The Feast of Beltene. That's May the 1st. Midsummer. The Feast of Samhain. That's the

00:24:16end of October. October the 31st.

00:24:19And female members were required to cooperate?

00:24:21The assistants, anyway.

00:24:23How many assistants, exactly?

00:24:25Six.

00:24:26But surely, according to a testimony we've just heard, that must be the entire female

00:24:30complement.

00:24:31Yes, it was.

00:24:33No other women in the coven apart from the assistants, and all of them required to participate in

00:24:38sexual activities.

00:24:40Yes.

00:24:40I see. Now, you tell us that Charles Laker, knowing of all this, wanted to make it, wanted

00:24:46to make the fact public.

00:24:48Yes, that's right.

00:24:49Now, the court has already learned that he, in fact, contacted a journalist. But how do

00:24:53you know of this desire?

00:24:54Well, he told me. Well, as is good as. We weren't supposed to know one another's identities.

00:25:01But he spoke to me once. It was after the first grand sabbat that he came to. He was shocked

00:25:09by what he'd seen. He said it shouldn't be allowed to happen like that. That it should

00:25:14be stopped.

00:25:15Did you agree with him about that, perhaps?

00:25:16Well, I always did what the maiden said. I didn't like it much, maybe.

00:25:26Miss Silk, on the evening of November the 1st, did you go to the home of Adelaide Vincent

00:25:30in Fulchester South, and was there a particular reason for this visit?

00:25:34Yes. Adelaide asked me to go to her home to assist her with a cursing ceremony.

00:25:40What is that exactly, and why was it taking place?

00:25:43Well, a cursing ceremony is when you put a spell on someone, because they've sinned

00:25:49against Hecate.

00:25:50Now, Hecate, that is, in fact, Adelaide Vincent.

00:25:53Well, no. I mean, the maiden only takes the name if she wants to. The real Hecate is the

00:25:59goddess of witches.

00:26:00Ah.

00:26:02It can be a minor spell, or a major one, causing the person just to be sick, say, or to die.

00:26:09Why? On November the 1st, Adelaide pronounced a life curse against Charles Laker.

00:26:15Why?

00:26:17Well, the night before, there'd been a Grand Sabbat, and Charles had told a newspaper man

00:26:22about it. That's a great sin, which may not be forgiven.

00:26:27Miss Silk, what precise form does this life cursing ceremony take?

00:26:31Well, I'd never been to one before. They're held secretly, usually with just the witch

00:26:37and one witness present, in this case me. There have to be black candles and a fire of

00:26:44embers. Some incantations are read out, and then wax is melted over the embers and moulded

00:26:51into a figure of the person. Then, then long spikes or pins push through the figure, through

00:27:01the part of the body you want to be affected.

00:27:03And in this case?

00:27:04The chest.

00:27:06I see.

00:27:07Miss Silk, was it your belief that this cursing ceremony would have any actual effect on

00:27:12Charles Laker?

00:27:13Well, I didn't know. I said I'd never been to one before.

00:27:16But, but I believed in Adelaide's power.

00:27:20Well, surely you were at fault, then, in assisting her on such a venture.

00:27:24I, I wasn't free. Truly.

00:27:28Thank you, Miss Silk. That's all.

00:27:31Miss Silk, you give us the impression that, although it is apparently unusual for Covent

00:27:37members even to be aware of each other's identity, you got to know Charles Laker quite well.

00:27:42Oh, no, no. I, I never said anything like that.

00:27:45You seem to have talked to him in some depth. He told you of things that troubled him, anyway.

00:27:50You must have been able to form some impression of what kind of a man he was.

00:27:56What was he like, would you say? Sanguine? Overconfident?

00:28:01Oh, no, no. Quite the opposite to that. He was unsure of himself. Shy, especially with

00:28:07women.

00:28:08Charles Laker was shy with women?

00:28:09Yes. He told me that time that he'd never married. That he was, well, old-fashioned

00:28:16about women. I, I think that's why he was so shocked by the sex at the Grand

00:28:21Sabbaths. He, he just didn't approve of sex. He thought it was evil.

00:28:25Just as you think it evil, too, Miss Silk.

00:28:28What?

00:28:28Well, you testified that at the Grand Sabbaths, when the maiden calls up the devil, she makes

00:28:33you worship him in the devil's way.

00:28:35No.

00:28:36Meaning, in this context, bisexual acts?

00:28:38No, no. Well, what I, no, what I was trying to say was, was being forced to do it.

00:28:43Well, that's what makes it the devil's work. Miss Silk, would you have called Charles Laker

00:28:47a nervous man?

00:28:50Yes. Yes, that'd be right. He was very tense and jumpy.

00:28:53Impressionable?

00:28:55When at the Grand Sabbath on October the 31st, uh, Charles Laker was told he was going to

00:29:01be, uh, cursed, um, what visible effect did this have on him?

00:29:06He was scared stiff. He got down on his knees and he pleaded with her not to do it.

00:29:10Pleaded?

00:29:11Begged. I mean, really.

00:29:14Miss Silk, you believe in the maiden's power, don't you? You've said so.

00:29:17I do, yes.

00:29:18You also believe there is a causal connection between her cursing him and Charles Laker's

00:29:23death. You've virtually said that, too.

00:29:25Well, I mean, Charles is dead, isn't he? And no one seems to know why.

00:29:29Then, Miss Silk, believing as you do, aren't you taking the most fearful risks coming here

00:29:33today and testifying?

00:29:35What do you mean by that?

00:29:36Well, what the maiden has done to Charles Laker. Presumably, she can do it to you.

00:29:42Well, Adelaide wouldn't dare. I mean, not when it's all open and public like this.

00:29:46Oh, come, Miss Silk. You don't honestly believe she could harm you anyway, do you?

00:29:50I do.

00:29:51You don't go along with all this cursing, all that rubbish. You're not afraid of Adelaide

00:29:55Vincent. You're just jealous of her.

00:29:57Jealous?

00:29:57Of her position. You'd like to see her safely out of the way so that you could take over

00:30:01as maiden of the coven.

00:30:02Well, I mean, that's the most ridiculous thing.

00:30:04How is it you're here today anyway, Miss Silk? Were you sought out for the mists of your

00:30:09anonymity by the police? Or did you not come forward of your own free will?

00:30:13I came forward of my own free will.

00:30:16When others wouldn't.

00:30:18I thought that there were things that needed to be said.

00:30:21And now you're quite prepared to pay the dread penalty of sinning against Hecate. I see.

00:30:27Those sex orgies of the Sabbaths, Miss Silk, they never really happened, did they?

00:30:31They did.

00:30:32Oh, there was some sex, I've no doubt, but only on the part of certain individuals acting independently.

00:30:37No orgies. Nobody forced to it.

00:30:39There were orgies. Well, Charles Laker wanted to expose them.

00:30:43Poor, impressionable Charles Laker, who seems to have been shocked at the very fact of sex.

00:30:49Miss Silk, do you still say Adelaide Vincent commanded six orgies of those Sabbaths?

00:30:55Yes. Yes, of course I do.

00:30:59Adelaide couldn't risk Charles Laker talking.

00:31:02She has power.

00:31:03And by the means of it, she killed him.

00:31:06You're the Reverend Felix Garman's Way, a priest of the Church of England and currently attached to the Missionary Society of St. Chad Forchester.

00:31:17I am.

00:31:18Have you also spent some time on missionary work in Central Africa and written books on the subject of witchcraft?

00:31:23I was in Africa for 15 years and my books which come out of that experience are entitled Powers of Darkness and the Mark of the Beast.

00:31:32Father Garman's Way, do you believe in witchcraft as a real power?

00:31:36I certainly do.

00:31:37Now, let us be quite clear about this.

00:31:39You believe that certain persons, by cultivating what are commonly known as the black arts, can influence the forces of nature and even how other people behave?

00:31:50Yes. Yes, I do.

00:31:52Would you explain that to the court, please?

00:31:54It's not easy.

00:31:58Witchcraft is really a survival into the present day of what is sometimes known as the old religion.

00:32:06That is, the religion of animism or belief in spirits, out of which all other religion develops.

00:32:13Spirits are life forms distinct from matter with certain limited powers over it.

00:32:23The witch or witch-doctor, as it were, taps this spiritual power to produce the effects he desires.

00:32:30The difficulty there, Father Garman's Way, of course, would be that one would have to accept your belief in spirits.

00:32:37The difficulty may rather be, my Lord, that one is hard put to explain certain observed phenomena without accepting a belief in spirits.

00:32:45You have observed phenomena, have you not, that in your view can be explained in no other way than as a result of witchcraft?

00:32:52Indeed I have.

00:32:53Can you give us some example of the kind of things you mean?

00:32:55I have seen objects move from one place to the other, rendered weightless and made to float in air.

00:33:02I have seen fires started without flame or spark.

00:33:07And I have seen healthy men, cursed by a witch-doctor, simply lie down and die in spite of all the efforts of skilled medical men to save them.

00:33:16Now, will you tell the court about this latter phenomenon, Doctor?

00:33:19One moment, Father Garman's Way.

00:33:20Before you do that, will you tell me whether you mean that these things you are going to tell us about actually happened or whether they merely appeared to happen to the people who were present?

00:33:32It's fairly hard to imagine a fire at your feet which two minutes ago simply wasn't there, my Lord.

00:33:37I experienced that.

00:33:38I must say that what strikes me as odd about these phenomena, as you choose to call them, is that in nine cases out of ten, they appear to be absolutely pointless.

00:33:53Fortunately, evil spirits appear to have only limited powers over matter, my Lord.

00:33:58Therefore, they harass more than positively harm.

00:34:01Evil spirits?

00:34:02Now, you strike a difference between evil spirits and good spirits, as in the Middle Ages?

00:34:09By their fruits you shall know them.

00:34:11Yes, I think we can do without the texts for the time, Miss Father.

00:34:15My meaning really is, my Lord, that there is black magic and white magic.

00:34:21White magic is, well, holiness, you might say, the fruit of sanctity.

00:34:26Saints down the ages have always contrived to produce similar effects, but, of course, beneficial ones, you know, healing people, averting disasters.

00:34:36Yes, but surely in Christian belief they do these things through the power of God.

00:34:40Exactly, my Lord, God being the supreme spirit, the life source of all other spirits.

00:34:44And the evil spirit?

00:34:46Christian tradition has always testified to an aboriginal calamity, in which it appears that certain spirits separated themselves from God.

00:34:59Now, this separation was final and irrevocable, so that up to the present day, these spirits war with the good.

00:35:08Their leader is the prince of evil himself, Satan, sometimes called the devil.

00:35:14Father Gorranswig, you are not going to tell this court that you believe in the existence of the devil.

00:35:21My Lord, one of the devil's most ancient titles is the father of lies.

00:35:29It is he who desires that people should not believe in him.

00:35:34It is when he is forgotten, that is when he does his best work.

00:35:38When his servants, the practitioners of black arts, most perfectly perform his will.

00:35:44Ten years ago, in Africa, there was a young man of my acquaintance, highly educated,

00:36:03who had broken with the superstitions of his tribal people and become a Christian.

00:36:07He was outspoken in his denunciation of heathen practices, particularly that of life cursing.

00:36:15But one day, he heard that, in fact, the witch doctor of his tribal village had put a curse on him.

00:36:22He sickened.

00:36:22And despite the ministrations of highly qualified doctors, and my own ministrations as a priest, died within 48 hours.

00:36:34To the end, he insisted that he was not suffering from the effects of the curse and had merely caught a chill from which he would soon recover.

00:36:41Thank you, Father Garman's way.

00:36:44And do you believe that this young man was telling you the truth?

00:36:47I know he was.

00:36:48He was a very conscientious person, always trustworthy.

00:36:53So you're saying, are you, that a person need not be particularly susceptible by nature to suffer the effects of a witch's curse?

00:36:59Not necessarily, no.

00:37:01Is the case of the young man in Africa an isolated one?

00:37:04Well, there are many others, well attested.

00:37:07The best established of them are detailed in Chapter 10 of my book, Powers of Darkness.

00:37:12I see.

00:37:13Thank you very much, Father Garman's way.

00:37:15Wait there, please.

00:37:16Father Garman's way, in the reliably attested cases of death by cursing of which you speak, is there by any chance one involving a white man?

00:37:24A white man?

00:37:25You mean a European?

00:37:27Oh, I do beg your pardon.

00:37:28Perhaps I should have said Caucasian.

00:37:29It's true, there seems little that can be firmly attested with Europeans.

00:37:35Then perhaps we might be forgiven for thinking there was something cultural involved.

00:37:39I don't follow.

00:37:40Well, if only Africans, Asians and Pacific Islanders can be said to have died as a result of cursing,

00:37:45then may we not justifiably conclude it is in fact something peculiar to Africans, Asians and Pacific Islanders.

00:37:51So what then, in the case of a European who's alleged to have died as a result of cursing?

00:37:56But you've just stated that there is no such case.

00:37:58Ah, but we seem to be being informed in this courtroom that we are in the presence of the first such case.

00:38:05But you and I know, Father, that this cannot be.

00:38:09Therefore, death must be related to other factors.

00:38:12Psychosomatic, autosuggestion.

00:38:14I don't see that.

00:38:15Things can be assessed only as they happen.

00:38:18Preferring the outlandish to the more probable explanation.

00:38:21No.

00:38:21Oh, come, Father, you're not telling us that Charles Laker's death was inflicted by a witch who derived her power from illicit traffic with old horny.

00:38:29I know nothing of the precise case you mentioned.

00:38:32I was speaking in the abstract.

00:38:34Well, you made the devil sound singularly concrete.

00:38:38How does he look, incidentally?

00:38:40Has in his best portraits with tail and pitchfork.

00:38:44I think I'd better treat that question with the contempt it deserves, don't you?

00:38:48As of your wish.

00:38:50Now, Father, surely it's heretical Christianity, isn't it, to believe in a dual principle of good and evil?

00:38:55Who on earth said anything about a dual principle of good and evil?

00:39:00Christian belief is that the devil is a fallen angel, created, dependent for existence on God, just like everything else in the universe.

00:39:09Permitted to practice and perform only by God's good pleasure.

00:39:14That's very odd, isn't it?

00:39:15I mean, if God is a good spirit, why does he permit an evil one to operate at all?

00:39:21We don't really know enough about these things.

00:39:23There are mysteries involved.

00:39:25Immense mysteries, the whole question of good and evil, the question of free will.

00:39:32There are mysteries, all right, and far from the least is the fact that an otherwise highly intelligent man should ask the court to believe such unmitigated nonsense.

00:39:45I saw that young man in Africa die.

00:39:50He didn't want to.

00:39:51I dare say Charles Laker didn't want to either.

00:39:55But they both did.

00:39:57Now, is that something a man does to himself?

00:40:02Take away his own life against his will?

00:40:06Thank you, Father.

00:40:10No further questions.

00:40:12No re-examination, my lord.

00:40:15You may leave the witness stand, Father Garnsby.

00:40:19That concludes the case for the prosecution, my lord.

00:40:21Ah, Mr. Lutterby.

00:40:23For my first witness, I call the defendant, Adelaide Vincent.

00:40:27What is your religion?

00:40:48I think I'd better affirm.

00:40:51Please read aloud the words on this card.

00:40:54I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

00:41:03You are Adelaide Sarah Vincent and you live at 4.0 in Crescent, Fulchester.

00:41:08Yes.

00:41:09Are you what is known as the maiden of a witch coven here in Fulchester?

00:41:12I am.

00:41:13How long have you been the maiden?

00:41:15For a period of five years.

00:41:17How did you rise to this position, if that's the way to put it?

00:41:20It isn't, actually.

00:41:22You don't have to climb the ladder in witchcraft.

00:41:24There's no hierarchy as there is in organized religion.

00:41:28There are simply those who have studied the black arts and become proficient in them and those who haven't.

00:41:33I came to live in Fulchester five years ago.

00:41:36I quite soon made contact with people who were interested in what I could do.

00:41:40The coven grew out of that.

00:41:41I see.

00:41:41And how often does the coven meet, Miss Vincent?

00:41:43Well, there are the sabbats, the major feasts of the year.

00:41:47You've already heard about those.

00:41:49Sabbats are always held out in the open, but in secret places.

00:41:52Then there are other minor feasts, generally celebrating some sacred time or the feast of an ancient god.

00:42:01Some of those I hold in my home.

00:42:03Anonymity is important as far as the members of the coven are concerned, isn't it?

00:42:06Yes.

00:42:07One's true personality doesn't matter.

00:42:09Only the one that one assumes.

00:42:11There's power in a name.

00:42:13Taking on the identity of a god or spirit attracts that influence toward you.

00:42:17And secrecy about the coven's activities, that's imposed too, isn't it?

00:42:21Secrecy is a most serious obligation.

00:42:24Betraying it can lead to consequences.

00:42:26How else are you employed, Miss Vincent?

00:42:28How do you make a living?

00:42:30I don't work, if that's what you mean.

00:42:31There's no need for that.

00:42:33Being maiden of the coven is enough to support me.

00:42:35You mean the coven members make contributions towards your upkeep?

00:42:39You could put it like that, yes.

00:42:40Well, is there not, in fact, a fee payable by all who join?

00:42:44The men who join pay a fee.

00:42:46Ours is a coven of women.

00:42:48Our power is based on the female principle.

00:42:51The men pay something to support the women.

00:42:53All the women?

00:42:54The assistants, yes, they get a little.

00:42:56But the lion's share, that goes to the maiden?

00:42:59Yes.

00:43:01What sort of fees are payable?

00:43:03Well, they cannot be less than £200.

00:43:06They can be as much as £1,000.

00:43:09Considerable sums.

00:43:09Who decides exactly?

00:43:11I do, according to whoever it might be.

00:43:13And then are further monies payable?

00:43:15Yes.

00:43:17£2 to £5 for minor feasts,

00:43:19up to £20 for sabbats.

00:43:21And then if a member wants me to do something special for him,

00:43:25foretell the future or try to influence his personal destiny,

00:43:28then there are separate charges for that.

00:43:30It all sounds like extremely lucrative business.

00:43:33Oh, it is.

00:43:34It's not a crime to make money.

00:43:36Miss Vincent, would it be true to say

00:43:38that that is the main reason you practice witchcraft,

00:43:41for the financial rewards it brings?

00:43:42Well, Miss Vincent,

00:43:48you heard your counsel's question, didn't you?

00:43:53Yes, it's true.

00:43:55I wouldn't bother with the whole damn stupid business

00:43:57if it weren't for the great amount of money it brings.

00:43:58I mean, I do need a great deal of money.

00:44:00I can get through large quantities of it.

00:44:02Are you saying, then,

00:44:03that you don't actually believe in witchcraft, Miss Vincent,

00:44:06that it's all a pretense with you

00:44:08just to enlarge your bank balance?

00:44:10It's as much nonsense

00:44:11as you ever heard put together in one dimwitted package,

00:44:15a mixture of supposition, credulity, wishful thinking.

00:44:20Would you have powers, surely?

00:44:21Well, it's been testified that you have.

00:44:23You can produce extraordinary effects.

00:44:25You can even conjure up the devil.

00:44:27It's amazing how easy it is to have powers

00:44:29when you're among people who need to believe

00:44:31that you possess them.

00:44:33There have to be certain skills, of course.

00:44:37A few conjuring tricks,

00:44:39a little elementary astrology,

00:44:41and then a forceful personality.

00:44:44I don't wish to appear vain,

00:44:47but when I'm all dressed up and working at full strength,

00:44:49I do impress people as being a remarkably formidable female,

00:44:53a Lady Bracknell of the spells and filters.

00:44:55Did you always think witchcraft a load of nonsense?

00:45:01No.

00:45:01In the beginning, I was genuinely attracted to the idea of the occult.

00:45:05It seemed logical to believe that there should be invisible forces

00:45:09behind what one could actually see and touch,

00:45:13dark powers.

00:45:14But I hadn't been involved with it long

00:45:17when I realised what a calculated hoax it all was.

00:45:20There are no such things as spirits,

00:45:21good or bad.

00:45:23The whole system is designed to play upon people's gullibility.

00:45:28Suppose I mumble a few words of prophecy at a coven.

00:45:32Well, then the next day,

00:45:33perhaps they find that some of the words of the spirit message are coming true.

00:45:38Or they may have an unexpected run of good luck.

00:45:40They think that I've done it and are overcome with awe.

00:45:43Have you never in your life as a witch

00:45:45produced a genuine effect?

00:45:47Never once.

00:45:49Miss Vincent,

00:45:50can you curse the life of another?

00:45:55The fact about poor Charles Laker

00:45:57was that he was really gullibility personified.

00:46:01I had grave doubts about letting him enter the coven in the first place,

00:46:04but his money was a very healthy shade of green.

00:46:06You see,

00:46:10when somebody,

00:46:11when a member

00:46:12betrays the coven as he did,

00:46:15well, then he has to be cursed.

00:46:17It is required.

00:46:18It follows.

00:46:20But I never heard of anybody in the present day

00:46:22actually suffering any ill effects

00:46:24from being cursed by a witch.

00:46:27Charles must have been one of those rare people

00:46:29who obligingly swallow it all.

00:46:31He was slightly deranged, of course.

00:46:33and all those accusations he made

00:46:35about sex orgies at these sabbots,

00:46:37they're quite fanciful.

00:46:39I know Anne Silk has said exactly the same thing,

00:46:42but as to her...

00:46:43She's a true witch!

00:46:43She knows that!

00:46:44She has great power!

00:46:46Silk, you must sit down and keep quiet.

00:46:47She killed Charles Laker.

00:46:48I shall have to ask you to leave the court.

00:46:49She killed Charles Laker because he wants to tell the truth.

00:46:52And now because I tell the truth,

00:46:53she'll try and kill me!

00:46:55The case of the Queen against Vincent

00:47:22will be resumed tomorrow in the Crown Court.

00:47:25Adelaide Vincent

00:47:55the witch of Fulchester

00:47:56is accused of the manslaughter of Charles Laker.

00:47:59It is alleged that being the maiden of a witchcraft coven,

00:48:02she did curse his life,

00:48:04thereby bringing about conditions

00:48:05that directly or indirectly led to his death.

00:48:09Anne Silk, a coven member and assistant to Miss Vincent,

00:48:12has testified that Charles Laker's betrayal of the coven

00:48:15to a journalist, Terry Saxon,

00:48:17was justified since the sex orgies

00:48:19which he maintained took place at Grand Sabbats

00:48:22actually did occur,

00:48:23the women of the coven being forced to participate in them.

00:48:27Adelaide Vincent, for her part,

00:48:29has denied any such sex orgies ever took place.

00:48:33She's further said that she practices as a witch

00:48:35only for the money it brings her

00:48:36and does not for a moment believe in her own supposed powers.

00:48:40This denial has had a most extreme effect on Anne Silk.

00:48:43I wish to make it quite clear

00:48:46that I will not tolerate hysterical behaviour during this trial.

00:48:51If Miss Silk is unwell, she will receive medical attention.

00:48:55For the rest, I must ask the jury to disregard this interruption

00:48:57as unwarranted.

00:49:00Thank you, Mr. Lotterby. You may continue.

00:49:03Thank you, Willard.

00:49:04So, Miss Vincent, these sex orgies simply never took place?

00:49:07No. The whole idea is preposterous.

00:49:09Sex has absolutely nothing to do with your ceremonials.

00:49:13Well, you have to remember

00:49:15that the whole basis of nature religion,

00:49:17and that's all that witchcraft is,

00:49:19is response to the forces around you.

00:49:21The earth, the sun and the stars, and so forth.

00:49:24Well, there are forces within one, too.

00:49:26A powerful one, and one of these is sex.

00:49:29Are you saying, then, that at your ceremonial,

00:49:31certain individuals might perhaps choose

00:49:33to seek sexual experience on their own account,

00:49:36and you wouldn't prevent them from doing so?

00:49:38That is exactly the way to put it.

00:49:41Mind you, we'd expect them to observe

00:49:43a certain discretion about what they were doing.

00:49:45Sex in public is no part of witchcraft activities.

00:49:48That's why it's ridiculous to talk of orgies.

00:49:50But Anne Silk testified to them quite categorically, Miss Vincent,

00:49:54and Charles Laker contacted a journalist

00:49:56to make the fact of them public.

00:49:58I have known of Anne Silk's jealousy of me for some time.

00:50:02She does want to take over the Covenant.

00:50:04That is why she lies.

00:50:05Charles Laker thought that by practising witchcraft,

00:50:09he would improve his business or something,

00:50:11that he'd suddenly find himself wealthy.

00:50:12And what did he find?

00:50:14He found himself poorer by the amount of his admission fee,

00:50:17without even the opportunity of being able to recoup his losses.

00:50:20So then he began to take against those things

00:50:22he particularly disliked,

00:50:23most obviously the nudism.

00:50:25Nudism?

00:50:26Well, nakedness is an essential part of witchcraft ceremonial.

00:50:30It signifies surrender to nature.

00:50:33You start the sub at clothed, but later on disrobe.

00:50:36And Charles Laker was offended by this?

00:50:38He was horrified by it.

00:50:40He really was a most repressed little man.

00:50:43But something happened then

00:50:45that can only be described as the most appalling luck.

00:50:48A member of the coven offered him sex.

00:50:50Offered him sex?

00:50:51What was the outcome of that?

00:50:53Well, Charles ran screaming to the nearest newspaper

00:50:55to hold a scandal for him.

00:50:56You see, not only was he offered sex, which shocked him,

00:50:59but he was offered it for money.

00:51:01You're saying somebody,

00:51:02one of the assistants in your coven,

00:51:04suggested that Charles Laker should enjoy her favours

00:51:06and that he should pay her for them.

00:51:08Is that usual?

00:51:09Well, no.

00:51:10Far from it.

00:51:12I was astounded when I heard.

00:51:13I had no idea we had anything like that going on in our midst.

00:51:17Apparently, there had been other instances.

00:51:20And the whore in question was Anne Silk.

00:51:22My lord, I object.

00:51:23Even if this accusation were true,

00:51:25which I have every reason to doubt,

00:51:26it has surely nothing to do with this case.

00:51:28On the contrary, my lord, it is entirely relevant.

00:51:31It will show that Miss Anne Silk

00:51:32had an additional motive

00:51:34for fabricating her story of sex orgies,

00:51:37that of covering up her own private activities.

00:51:39But Charles Laker told the journalist Terry Saxon

00:51:42of these orgies quite independently, Mr. Lotterby.

00:51:46But Charles put it like that to Saxon

00:51:48because he was emotionally upset at the time, my lord.

00:51:50And then Anne Silk took up the cry to get at me.

00:51:54I see.

00:51:57I'm anxious to avoid a situation, Mr. Vincent,

00:52:00in which the court has to trust

00:52:02either your word or that of Miss Silk.

00:52:04Now, Mr. Lotterby,

00:52:06am I to take it

00:52:07that, like the prosecution,

00:52:09you've been unable to find any other members of the coven

00:52:11to come forward and give their evidence?

00:52:13The cloak of anonymity

00:52:15has proved impossible to penetrate, my lord.

00:52:18But I must say once again

00:52:21that I find it very difficult to believe

00:52:23that Miss Vincent couldn't know the identities

00:52:25of the members of a circle

00:52:27of which she is the leader.

00:52:29Miss Vincent,

00:52:30perhaps you could speak to his lordship's point.

00:52:32From the beginning with me,

00:52:36people are known only by pseudonyms.

00:52:38The object of that is precisely to avoid

00:52:40the possibility of public confrontation,

00:52:43such as this trial.

00:52:45People still have some odd ideas about witchcraft.

00:52:47I can't run the risk of betraying my members.

00:52:49I didn't know Charles Laker

00:52:52as Charles Laker

00:52:53till all this began.

00:52:55And Anne Silk

00:52:55has always been Demeter to me.

00:52:56Nothing more.

00:52:58So Charles Laker

00:52:59was simply hysterical

00:53:00in speaking to Terry Saxon

00:53:01of sex orgies of the Grand Savas.

00:53:04Yes.

00:53:04And he was brought to this

00:53:06state of mind

00:53:07by what can only be called

00:53:08soliciting on the part of Anne Silk.

00:53:10Yes.

00:53:10No, no, it lies!

00:53:12Miss Silk,

00:53:13I must impress on you

00:53:14that the court cannot be responsible for you.

00:53:16I mean,

00:53:17if you insist on remaining

00:53:20when you work obviously not well,

00:53:21that's your own business.

00:53:23But there will be no more interjections.

00:53:25Now, is that understood?

00:53:28On the night of November the 1st,

00:53:31Miss Vincent,

00:53:31did you conduct a certain ceremony

00:53:33at your home?

00:53:34Yes.

00:53:35I conducted a ceremony

00:53:37whereby I cursed the life of Charles Laker

00:53:39for betraying the coven.

00:53:41I was assisted by Anne Silk.

00:53:43Yes, this must have been for you

00:53:44a quite meaningless ceremony.

00:53:45Oh, yes, it was.

00:53:48But it was necessary

00:53:49that the coven

00:53:49should know it had been done.

00:53:53Of course, I didn't for a moment

00:53:55imagine it could possibly do him any harm.

00:53:57It was quite extraordinary what happened.

00:53:59I couldn't believe it when I heard.

00:54:02Thank you, Miss Vincent.

00:54:03No further questions.

00:54:05So, Miss Vincent,

00:54:07you are a practicing witch

00:54:08who doesn't believe

00:54:09a single article of the witch's creed.

00:54:12So to say, yes.

00:54:13You think it's all nonsense

00:54:14and wishful thinking

00:54:15and you only bother with it

00:54:16because it happens to make you

00:54:17a lot of money.

00:54:18Yes.

00:54:19And it does make you

00:54:20a lot of money, doesn't it?

00:54:21Or rather,

00:54:22it did until today.

00:54:25I'm sorry.

00:54:26Well, as a result of your

00:54:27fearless confession here in court,

00:54:29you can hardly return

00:54:30to being maiden of the coven,

00:54:31can you?

00:54:32Your honesty will have had

00:54:33the effect of cutting you off

00:54:34without a penny.

00:54:36I am on oath

00:54:36to tell the truth here,

00:54:37I believe.

00:54:38Is not that the priority?

00:54:39Ah, capital sentiments,

00:54:41Miss Vincent,

00:54:41capital sentiments.

00:54:42But let's talk about

00:54:43that income

00:54:44that you've sacrificed.

00:54:46Very substantial.

00:54:47Two hundred to a thousand pounds

00:54:49joining fee.

00:54:50Up to five pounds

00:54:52for a minor festival

00:54:53and twenty for a sabbat

00:54:54and all this

00:54:55for nothing whatsoever

00:54:56in return.

00:54:57Well, not nothing, no.

00:54:59I went through all the forms

00:55:00conscientiously

00:55:01and I conducted

00:55:01all the ceremonies.

00:55:02Yes, but you created

00:55:03no genuine effects,

00:55:04did you?

00:55:04You tell us,

00:55:05you made no real magic.

00:55:06No, that's true.

00:55:08Absolutely no end

00:55:09to human gullibility,

00:55:10is there?

00:55:11A touch of amateur

00:55:11conjuring here,

00:55:12you assure us,

00:55:13a smattering of astrology there.

00:55:16Just what were people

00:55:17paying these huge sums

00:55:18of money for?

00:55:22Haven't you rather

00:55:23understated the role

00:55:25of sex in witchcraft,

00:55:27Miss Vincent?

00:55:28No.

00:55:29It's really little more

00:55:30than dancing naked

00:55:31around an open fire

00:55:32like a lot of

00:55:32abandoned girl guides.

00:55:34Oh, apart from a few

00:55:35private arrangements

00:55:37on the side

00:55:37who concern no one

00:55:38but the couples involved.

00:55:40Well, that's how it is.

00:55:40However you try

00:55:41to garble it,

00:55:42we're not afraid of sex.

00:55:44We don't make it

00:55:44the be-all and end-all.

00:55:45So Anne Silk

00:55:46is lying there.

00:55:47Yes, of course he is,

00:55:48to discredit me.

00:55:48And Charles Laker

00:55:49was making everything up,

00:55:50talking out of a

00:55:51crippling repression.

00:55:53Yes.

00:55:54But all the literature

00:55:55on witchcraft

00:55:56throughout the ages

00:55:57has stressed the importance

00:55:58of sex in the ceremonials,

00:56:00Miss Vincent.

00:56:00You don't deny that, surely?

00:56:02Most of the literature

00:56:03on witchcraft

00:56:04since the Middle Ages

00:56:05is completely biased.

00:56:07Do you know what

00:56:08the witch has been

00:56:08in European society?

00:56:10The scapegoat.

00:56:11So-called respectable people

00:56:12have always had

00:56:13their little bits of sex

00:56:14on the side,

00:56:14but society considered it evil.

00:56:16Therefore a victim

00:56:17had to be found,

00:56:18someone on whom

00:56:19the rest could heap

00:56:20all their sins,

00:56:20the witch.

00:56:21An interesting theory.

00:56:23The sorry truth.

00:56:24Have you ever had sex

00:56:25with any of the male members

00:56:26of your coven

00:56:27that is savage,

00:56:27Miss Vincent?

00:56:31I'm not going to answer

00:56:32that kind of question.

00:56:33Well, your refusal

00:56:34may be taken as assent.

00:56:35It comes out of a sick mind.

00:56:38Only the men

00:56:39in your coven

00:56:39it seems pay.

00:56:40The women are all assistants.

00:56:42Girls of the house

00:56:43might be a better interpretation

00:56:44sets a splendid example

00:56:46by the matter.

00:56:46My lord,

00:56:47these inferences

00:56:47are entirely unjustified.

00:56:49Not necessarily.

00:56:50I think we see

00:56:50the true picture now.

00:56:51Miss Vincent

00:56:52controls what might be

00:56:53described as

00:56:53an esoteric brothel

00:56:55where under the cloak

00:56:56of natural religion

00:56:57men who are so disposed

00:56:59can come and experience

00:57:00the delights

00:57:01of group sex.

00:57:03And that is what

00:57:03they pay the astronomical

00:57:04fees for

00:57:05and that is why

00:57:06none of them

00:57:07can be found

00:57:07to give evidence today.

00:57:09And that is why

00:57:09Charles Laker was cursed

00:57:11because he knew the truth

00:57:13and was about to tell it.

00:57:15My lord,

00:57:15is counsel for the prosecution

00:57:17to be allowed

00:57:17to make speeches

00:57:18to the court like this?

00:57:19Well,

00:57:22Mr. Lotterby,

00:57:24while being grateful

00:57:25to you

00:57:26for being reminded

00:57:27of the rules

00:57:28of evidence,

00:57:29I must say,

00:57:32on balance,

00:57:33I think Miss Vincent

00:57:34should answer that.

00:57:35My sex life

00:57:41is my own business.

00:57:42I don't sell myself,

00:57:44but obviously

00:57:45I take lovers

00:57:46if and when

00:57:47it pleases me.

00:57:48As to the rest,

00:57:49it's absurd.

00:57:51I discovered

00:57:51Anne Silk

00:57:52was taking money

00:57:52for sex

00:57:53and I was deeply shocked.

00:57:54Nothing like that

00:57:55had happened

00:57:55in our coven before.

00:57:56Never.

00:57:57Very well,

00:57:58Miss Vincent.

00:57:59Let's come to the

00:58:00cursing ceremony

00:58:00of Charles Laker.

00:58:02You've testified

00:58:03this was a meaningless

00:58:04ceremony for you,

00:58:04quite without significance.

00:58:06Yes.

00:58:06And that the last thing

00:58:07you expected

00:58:07was that anything

00:58:08would have an effect.

00:58:10The last thing.

00:58:11Yet that can hardly

00:58:12be the truth,

00:58:12can it,

00:58:12Miss Vincent,

00:58:13for even if you

00:58:14didn't believe

00:58:14in your powers

00:58:15in the matter,

00:58:16you surely did know

00:58:17how susceptible

00:58:18Charles Laker was.

00:58:20Terry Saxon has told us

00:58:21how he saw Laker

00:58:22at your knees,

00:58:23on his knees,

00:58:24begging you not

00:58:25to curse him.

00:58:26And you'd only

00:58:27threatened to do so then.

00:58:28Well,

00:58:28I can't help that.

00:58:29It had to be

00:58:30gone through with.

00:58:31What people choose

00:58:32to do to themselves

00:58:33is no concern of mine.

00:58:34To do to themselves?

00:58:35Yes,

00:58:35to themselves.

00:58:36Charles Laker.

00:58:38Saxon was cursed too,

00:58:39wasn't he?

00:58:39It didn't affect him.

00:58:40Ah,

00:58:40but you knew full well

00:58:41it wouldn't get

00:58:42the same effect there.

00:58:43Did you not curse

00:58:44Terry Saxon

00:58:44in order to detract

00:58:45from the attention

00:58:46you knew the effect

00:58:47would have on Laker?

00:58:48What does that mean?

00:58:49Well,

00:58:49have you ever heard

00:58:50of something called

00:58:51transfer hypnosis,

00:58:53Miss Vincent?

00:58:53No,

00:58:53I haven't.

00:58:55Come,

00:58:55come,

00:58:55it's your stock in trade.

00:58:58Isn't it the suggested

00:58:59scientific basis

00:59:01as such curses

00:59:02as actually

00:59:03have the effect?

00:59:04Curses never

00:59:05have an effect.

00:59:06Well,

00:59:06Father Garman's way

00:59:06seems to think they do

00:59:07and he's had wide

00:59:08experience in the field.

00:59:09Of course,

00:59:10you do have to have

00:59:11the right subject.

00:59:13One,

00:59:13sympathetic to hypnosis

00:59:14in general,

00:59:15but then you have told us

00:59:16that people found you

00:59:17a very formidable female.

00:59:20Charles Laker

00:59:20particularly perhaps.

00:59:22Well,

00:59:22that's absurd

00:59:22and even if it were true

00:59:23it's nothing to do with me,

00:59:24I simply went through

00:59:25the motions

00:59:26at the cursing ceremony.

00:59:27No curse of yours

00:59:28has ever had any effect

00:59:29in the past?

00:59:30No.

00:59:31You yourself

00:59:32earlier drew attention

00:59:33to the fact

00:59:34that you are on oath,

00:59:35Miss Vincent.

00:59:36Will you now

00:59:37formally swear

00:59:38before whatever gods

00:59:40you hold sacred

00:59:41that you have told

00:59:42no lie here today?

00:59:43Your name is Daniel Rocco

00:59:55and you are

00:59:56a medical practitioner

00:59:57living in 24A Argyle

00:59:59called London.

01:00:00I am.

01:00:01Were you at one time

01:00:01a conjure man,

01:00:03a priest of the voodoo cult?

01:00:06I was.

01:00:07In my youth in Jamaica

01:00:08I was much attracted

01:00:09to the idea of magic.

01:00:12I studied with

01:00:13a famous practitioner.

01:00:14His name was Jimbo Baines

01:00:15and after a while

01:00:17I began to see

01:00:17the stupidity

01:00:18of what I was doing.

01:00:19Old Jimbo

01:00:20was a complete fraud.

01:00:22I turned to medicine.

01:00:23I've written a number

01:00:24of papers

01:00:24on demonic possession,

01:00:26cursing, spells,

01:00:26trances and so forth

01:00:28which has been published

01:00:29in scientific journals

01:00:30in England

01:00:31and the United States.

01:00:32I see.

01:00:33Well,

01:00:33we should be concerned here

01:00:34only with cursing,

01:00:35Dr. Rocco.

01:00:35Now,

01:00:36can you tell us please

01:00:37in your view

01:00:37does cursing

01:00:38actually produce an effect?

01:00:40Well,

01:00:40something produces

01:00:41any effect

01:00:42but it certainly

01:00:43isn't the cursing.

01:00:44Certainly isn't.

01:00:44No.

01:00:46I've seen healthy men

01:00:47lie down and die

01:00:48all because they believe

01:00:50some fool of a bitch

01:00:51doctor has put a death

01:00:52curse on them.

01:00:53There was one case.

01:00:54It was what finally

01:00:55turned me from voodoo

01:00:56of an old woman

01:00:58in a village

01:00:58who had received

01:00:59a message

01:00:59that her husband

01:01:00who was separated

01:01:01from her

01:01:02had put a death

01:01:03curse on her.

01:01:04She died.

01:01:04There was nothing

01:01:04anyone could do.

01:01:06Then it was discovered

01:01:07that the fellow

01:01:08who had brought

01:01:08the message

01:01:09had got the name wrong.

01:01:11There was another

01:01:11old woman

01:01:12also estranged

01:01:13from her husband

01:01:13who had been cursed

01:01:14but the first one

01:01:16died anyway.

01:01:18I see.

01:01:19Did this event

01:01:20lead you to any

01:01:20conclusions

01:01:21about cursing,

01:01:22doctor?

01:01:23Together with

01:01:24some other instances,

01:01:24yes.

01:01:25It became to me

01:01:26clear that the

01:01:26motive power

01:01:27for the operation

01:01:28of the curse

01:01:28comes from

01:01:29within the subject

01:01:30not from anything

01:01:31outside,

01:01:32strictly from its inside.

01:01:33Personal dreads,

01:01:34fears,

01:01:35worries, etc.

01:01:36In other words,

01:01:37death is brought

01:01:37about psychosomatically?

01:01:39Positively.

01:01:40In every case.

01:01:41Is this the same thing

01:01:43as what is called

01:01:44transfer hypnosis?

01:01:45Oh, no, no.

01:01:46For transfer hypnosis

01:01:47there must be an agent.

01:01:49I am saying

01:01:49there doesn't really

01:01:51need to be

01:01:52any agent at all.

01:01:53It isn't even necessary

01:01:54for the witch doctor

01:01:55to pronounce the curse,

01:01:56only for the subject

01:01:56to believe he has

01:01:57pronounced it.

01:01:58Anyway,

01:01:59how is it possible

01:02:00to bring about death

01:02:01by hypnotic means

01:02:02if I hypnotize you?

01:02:03I can't make you

01:02:05do anything

01:02:06you wouldn't do

01:02:06in your normal state.

01:02:07I can't make you

01:02:08rob a bank

01:02:08unless you're

01:02:10a natural-born bank robber

01:02:11so how can I

01:02:11make you die?

01:02:13Most people

01:02:14don't want to die,

01:02:14do they?

01:02:15It doesn't make sense

01:02:16at all.

01:02:17Well,

01:02:18mumbo-jumbo.

01:02:19These personal dreads,

01:02:20fears and worries

01:02:21you speak of

01:02:22is causing the subject

01:02:23to fall ill, doctor.

01:02:24Now, are these

01:02:24of a particular nature?

01:02:26Yes,

01:02:26there are invariably

01:02:28dreads and fears

01:02:29of the world unseen,

01:02:31the spirit world.

01:02:32But if you don't believe

01:02:33in the spirit world

01:02:34then it's pretty hard

01:02:34for you to be affected

01:02:35by cursing.

01:02:37Well,

01:02:38it's been suggested

01:02:38to this court

01:02:39that a spirit world

01:02:40does in fact exist

01:02:41and that there is even

01:02:42such a being

01:02:43as the devil.

01:02:44Well,

01:02:45when it comes to spirits

01:02:47I take mine

01:02:48in a glass

01:02:49with a little soda.

01:02:51But old Jimbo Baines

01:02:53is a racket

01:02:53he had conjured up

01:02:54the devil

01:02:55from time to time.

01:02:57It's funny,

01:02:57but I,

01:02:58well,

01:02:58I just couldn't

01:02:59seem to see him.

01:03:00Thank you, doctor.

01:03:02That's all.

01:03:04Dr. Rocco,

01:03:06not all medical men

01:03:07or men

01:03:08who have studied

01:03:08black magic

01:03:09seem to share

01:03:11your contempt

01:03:12for the world

01:03:12of spirits,

01:03:13do they?

01:03:14Well,

01:03:15what people believe

01:03:16or don't believe

01:03:16is no concern of mine.

01:03:18My meaning

01:03:18is that you can't

01:03:19brush away

01:03:20soberly held views

01:03:21by making fun of them.

01:03:22However,

01:03:23considering your notions

01:03:24on the mechanics

01:03:25of cursing,

01:03:25if it's true

01:03:26as you suggest

01:03:27that a person

01:03:28activates it all

01:03:29himself,

01:03:30then why does

01:03:31the agent

01:03:31bother to pronounce

01:03:32the curse at all?

01:03:33Why does he not

01:03:33just pass the word

01:03:35around that he

01:03:35has done so?

01:03:36But in the majority

01:03:37of cases,

01:03:38the agent does

01:03:38believe he's responsible,

01:03:40you see.

01:03:40That's the complication.

01:03:41And if he believes

01:03:42he's responsible,

01:03:44he is responsible.

01:03:46I'm sorry?

01:03:47Well,

01:03:47surely whatever it is

01:03:48that is activated

01:03:49comes from,

01:03:51it is activated

01:03:52from an understanding

01:03:53received from

01:03:54outside.

01:03:55One simply

01:03:56doesn't wake up

01:03:56one morning

01:03:57and find that

01:03:58a death wish

01:03:58is taking over.

01:04:00One has to be

01:04:00under the impression

01:04:01that one has been

01:04:02cursed.

01:04:03Cursed?

01:04:04And isn't that

01:04:05really the same thing

01:04:06as transfer hypnosis,

01:04:07doctor?

01:04:07The agent is quite

01:04:08truly bending

01:04:09the subject

01:04:10to his will

01:04:11by merely letting

01:04:12him know

01:04:13he's been cursed.

01:04:14But how about

01:04:15the case I quoted

01:04:15where the wrong person

01:04:16got the message

01:04:17he'd been cursed?

01:04:18The right one

01:04:19didn't die later,

01:04:20you know,

01:04:20when the error

01:04:21had been discovered.

01:04:23So the transfer hypnosis

01:04:24takes an odd

01:04:25direction there.

01:04:26Precisely,

01:04:26Dr. Rocco,

01:04:27but then did not

01:04:28the woman who

01:04:28believed she'd been

01:04:30cursed actually die?

01:04:33Yes.

01:04:34Thank you,

01:04:35doctor,

01:04:35that's all.

01:04:36No re-examination,

01:04:38my lord.

01:04:38You may leave

01:04:39the witness box,

01:04:40Dr. Rocco.

01:04:41That concludes

01:04:42the case for the

01:04:42defence,

01:04:43my lord.

01:04:45Lorded counsel,

01:04:46before we proceed

01:04:48to the summing up,

01:04:49there are one or two

01:04:50matters on which

01:04:51I am not

01:04:51completely satisfied.

01:04:52One of the

01:04:54cornerstones

01:04:55of the defence's

01:04:56case is that

01:04:58the witness

01:04:58Anne Silk

01:04:59is accused

01:05:00of offering

01:05:01herself for

01:05:02money to

01:05:03members of the

01:05:03coven.

01:05:04Now this was

01:05:05not put to her

01:05:06during her

01:05:06cross-examination.

01:05:08Therefore,

01:05:09I'd like to put

01:05:09that to Miss Silk

01:05:10now.

01:05:11I do not feel

01:05:12satisfied that

01:05:13the jury has

01:05:14all the evidence

01:05:15available to them

01:05:16for making a

01:05:17decision.

01:05:19Miss Silk,

01:05:20you will re-enter

01:05:21the witness box.

01:05:30Miss Silk,

01:05:31I repeat,

01:05:31I am ready to

01:05:32call an adjournment

01:05:33if you feel you

01:05:34should seek medical

01:05:35aid again.

01:05:37A doctor

01:05:38can do no good.

01:05:42Well now,

01:05:43Miss Silk,

01:05:43I have particularly

01:05:44to ask you

01:05:45whether there is

01:05:46any part of your

01:05:47previous testimony

01:05:48which you would

01:05:49like to change.

01:05:49and remember

01:05:50you were still

01:05:51on oath?

01:05:52No,

01:05:53I want to

01:05:55change nothing.

01:05:57You still say,

01:05:57do you,

01:05:58that the Grand

01:05:59Sabbaths were in

01:06:00fact sexual

01:06:01orgies into

01:06:02which the women

01:06:02were forced

01:06:04to enter

01:06:04by Miss

01:06:05Vincent?

01:06:07Yes.

01:06:08And you say

01:06:09this under oath?

01:06:11Yes.

01:06:11Now,

01:06:13as to the

01:06:14testimony of

01:06:15Miss Vincent

01:06:16that in fact

01:06:17at the

01:06:18Sabbaths

01:06:18you offered

01:06:19sexual favours

01:06:20to various

01:06:21males present

01:06:22including Charles

01:06:23Laker

01:06:23and demanded

01:06:24money for the

01:06:25same.

01:06:27It's a lie.

01:06:30You have

01:06:30never,

01:06:32as a member

01:06:33of the

01:06:33coven,

01:06:34indulged in

01:06:34any form of

01:06:35prostitution?

01:06:36No.

01:06:41You may

01:06:41leave the

01:06:42witness box.

01:06:49Members of the

01:06:50jury,

01:06:51there is only

01:06:52one real

01:06:53question to

01:06:54ask yourselves

01:06:54today and

01:06:56that is,

01:06:57is Adelaide

01:06:57Vincent

01:06:58responsible for

01:06:59the death

01:06:59of Charles

01:07:00Laker?

01:07:00I submit

01:07:02that the

01:07:02answer to

01:07:02this question

01:07:03is yes.

01:07:05You may

01:07:06think perhaps

01:07:07that Adelaide

01:07:07Vincent genuinely

01:07:08is a witch

01:07:09with remarkable

01:07:10powers who

01:07:11put a curse

01:07:12on Charles

01:07:13Laker and

01:07:14he sickened

01:07:14and died.

01:07:15In that

01:07:15case you

01:07:15have no

01:07:16problem.

01:07:17But you

01:07:18may be in

01:07:18doubt about

01:07:19the reality

01:07:19of witches

01:07:20and evil

01:07:21spirits.

01:07:23In this

01:07:23case I

01:07:24ask you to

01:07:25remember that

01:07:26Charles Laker

01:07:27does not seem

01:07:28to have shared

01:07:28your doubts

01:07:29and Adelaide

01:07:30Vincent knew

01:07:31this and

01:07:32calculatedly

01:07:33played on

01:07:34his doubts

01:07:34and fears.

01:07:36This amounts

01:07:37to responsibility

01:07:38for his death

01:07:39ladies and

01:07:39gentlemen.

01:07:40This amounts

01:07:41to manslaughter.

01:07:43I ask you

01:07:44to find the

01:07:45defendant guilty

01:07:46as charged.

01:07:49My lord,

01:07:50members of

01:07:51the jury,

01:07:52fortunately we

01:07:53don't live in

01:07:54the 16th century.

01:07:55The name of

01:07:55our city is

01:07:56not Salem

01:07:57and we

01:07:58don't hold

01:07:58court under

01:07:59the witch

01:07:59finder

01:08:00general.

01:08:01So we

01:08:02won't waste

01:08:02time weighing

01:08:03up in

01:08:03ponderables.

01:08:04There are

01:08:05no true

01:08:05witches,

01:08:06there are

01:08:06no effective

01:08:07curses,

01:08:08all that is

01:08:08superstition,

01:08:09pure and

01:08:10simple.

01:08:11There is

01:08:12however,

01:08:14auto-suggestion.

01:08:16Now,

01:08:16you have heard

01:08:17how it is

01:08:17possible for

01:08:18persons of a

01:08:19certain type

01:08:19to kill

01:08:20themselves out

01:08:21of an

01:08:21excessive sense

01:08:22of dread.

01:08:23Perhaps this

01:08:24is what

01:08:24happened to

01:08:25Charles Laker.

01:08:26Perhaps he

01:08:26believed he

01:08:27was cursed

01:08:28and died

01:08:29as a result,

01:08:29perhaps.

01:08:31The prosecution

01:08:32certainly has not

01:08:33proved that this

01:08:33happened,

01:08:34and even if it

01:08:35had, it

01:08:35wouldn't affect

01:08:36my client,

01:08:37because Adelaide

01:08:38Vincent is a

01:08:39self-confessed

01:08:39charlatan.

01:08:41She had no

01:08:41reason to believe

01:08:42that Charles Laker

01:08:43could have been

01:08:44affected in any

01:08:45way at all by

01:08:46her ridiculous

01:08:47curse.

01:08:47case.

01:08:49Now, it

01:08:50seems,

01:08:50members of

01:08:50the jury,

01:08:51that Miss

01:08:52Anne Silk

01:08:52would have

01:08:53you believe

01:08:53that she

01:08:54is, at

01:08:54this moment,

01:08:55suffering from

01:08:56a malevolent

01:08:56spell placed

01:08:57on her by

01:08:58the defendant.

01:08:59Well, I'm

01:08:59sure you will

01:09:00treat this

01:09:00performance by

01:09:01a part-time

01:09:02actress with

01:09:03the contempt

01:09:03it deserves.

01:09:06Ladies and

01:09:06gentlemen,

01:09:07you have no

01:09:08alternative but

01:09:09to find Adelaide

01:09:10Vincent not

01:09:11guilty.

01:09:13Members of

01:09:13the jury,

01:09:14now falls to

01:09:15me to direct

01:09:16you as to the

01:09:16law in this

01:09:17case.

01:09:18First, I must

01:09:19remind you that

01:09:20the prosecution

01:09:21must prove their

01:09:22case beyond

01:09:23reasonable doubt

01:09:24and if they

01:09:25fail to do

01:09:26that, then you

01:09:27must bring in

01:09:27a verdict of

01:09:29not guilty.

01:09:30Now, the

01:09:30central issues

01:09:31in this case

01:09:32of manslaughter

01:09:33are as follows.

01:09:35First and

01:09:35foremost, and

01:09:37most importantly,

01:09:39the prosecution

01:09:40must show

01:09:43that the

01:09:43defendant caused

01:09:44the death of

01:09:45Charles Laker.

01:09:46Now, it's

01:09:46for you to

01:09:47decide what

01:09:48caused his

01:09:49condition at

01:09:50the time of

01:09:50death, whether

01:09:52as the defense

01:09:53suggests it was

01:09:53something which

01:09:54came purely from

01:09:55inside him, or

01:09:57whether as the

01:09:58prosecution suggests

01:09:59Miss Vincent does

01:10:01indeed possess these

01:10:02maleficent powers of

01:10:03which we've heard so

01:10:04much during this

01:10:04case.

01:10:05But even if you

01:10:05are satisfied of

01:10:06that, you must

01:10:08also be satisfied

01:10:09that when she, as

01:10:11she has confessed,

01:10:11cursed his life, she

01:10:16knew that what she

01:10:17was doing might or

01:10:18could cause his

01:10:20death.

01:10:22Now, if, on the

01:10:23other hand, you

01:10:24accept her statement

01:10:25that the spell was

01:10:27nothing more than a

01:10:28harmless, meaningless

01:10:30ceremony, well, then

01:10:32you must bring in a

01:10:33verdict of not

01:10:34guilty.

01:10:35Now, as to the

01:10:36evidence of Miss Silk,

01:10:38I must direct you to

01:10:39ignore her accusation

01:10:41that she is being

01:10:42cursed by Miss

01:10:43Vincent.

01:10:45You will now retire,

01:10:46please, and

01:10:47reconsider your

01:10:47verdict.

01:10:48All stand.

01:11:00Members of the

01:11:01jury, will your

01:11:01foreman please stand?

01:11:03Just answer this

01:11:04question, yes or

01:11:06no.

01:11:06Have you reached a

01:11:07verdict upon which

01:11:07you are all agreed?

01:11:08Yes.

01:11:09Do you find the

01:11:10accused Adelaide

01:11:11Vincent guilty or

01:11:12not guilty of

01:11:12manslaughter?

01:11:14Not guilty.

01:11:32Du de la

01:11:51a

01:11:51an

01:11:52an

01:11:53an

01:11:56a

01:11:56an

01:11:57an

01:11:58an

01:11:59an

Crown Court - To Suffer a Witch (1973)

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