Matthew Hopkins: The Witch Finder General

Between 1644 and 1647, Matthew Hopkins—self-styled “Witch Finder General”—conducted a reign of terror across East Anglia that resulted in the execution of over 300 people accused of witchcraft. His methods were brutal, his standards of evidence virtually nonexistent, and his motivations a mixture of fanaticism and profit. Hopkins was responsible for more witch executions than all other English witch hunters combined, creating a legacy that exemplifies the worst excesses of witch-hunt hysteria.

Background

Little is known of Hopkins’s early life. He was born around 1620, the son of a Puritan minister. He appears to have been unsuccessful as a lawyer before finding his true calling in witch hunting.

In 1644, Hopkins claimed to have overheard a group of women discussing their meetings with the devil. This alleged discovery launched his campaign against witches—a campaign that would consume the remaining years of his life.

The Campaign Begins

Hopkins began his witch-hunting activities in Manningtree, Essex, in 1644. Working with his associate John Stearne, he accused thirty-six women of witchcraft. The resulting trials led to nineteen executions in a single day.

The success at Manningtree established Hopkins’s reputation. Communities throughout East Anglia invited him to identify witches in their midst. Hopkins charged substantial fees for his services, making witch hunting profitable as well as pious.

Methods

Hopkins employed several methods to identify and convict witches:

Pricking: Alleged witches were searched for “witch marks”—blemishes or moles that supposedly did not bleed when pricked. Prickers used retractable needles to fake the absence of bleeding.

Swimming: Accused individuals were bound and thrown into water. If they floated, they were guilty (having rejected the water of baptism); if they sank, they were innocent (though they might drown). This test was based on the premise that witches could not sink.

Sleep deprivation: Suspects were walked continuously for days without sleep, a form of torture that often produced confessions and hallucinations that were interpreted as supernatural.

Watching: Accused witches were watched for visits from their “familiars”—demonic spirits in animal form. Any insect or animal that approached during the long vigil was taken as evidence of supernatural association.

The Toll

Hopkins’s campaign lasted approximately three years. During this period, he and his associates were responsible for:

Over 300 executions, primarily by hanging (burning was not the usual English method)

Hundreds more accusations that did not result in execution

Confessions extracted through torture and sleep deprivation

Accusations that targeted vulnerable populations—the elderly, the poor, the eccentric

The death toll represented more than half of all witch executions in English history.

Geographic Scope

Hopkins concentrated his activities in East Anglia—Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and surrounding counties. The region was strongly Puritan, and the civil war disrupted normal legal constraints, creating conditions favorable to witch hunting.

Hopkins traveled from town to town, offering his services and receiving payment for each witch identified. The financial incentive encouraged thoroughness—and perhaps creativity—in finding witches.

The End

Hopkins’s career ended as abruptly as it began. By 1647, resistance to his methods had grown. Some towns refused his services. Critics questioned his techniques. A pamphlet attacking his practices appeared.

Hopkins retired in 1647 and died shortly afterward, probably of tuberculosis. Legend claims he was subjected to his own swimming test and found guilty, but this is almost certainly apocryphal.

John Stearne, Hopkins’s associate, continued witch hunting briefly before also retiring. He wrote a book defending their methods but could not revive the campaign.

Assessment

Hopkins represented the confluence of several factors:

Religious fanaticism that created genuine fear of witchcraft

Civil war disruption that weakened legal protections

Financial incentives that rewarded finding witches

Torture methods that guaranteed confessions

A charismatic individual willing to exploit these conditions

His campaign demonstrates how quickly witch-hunt hysteria can develop given the right circumstances.

Legacy

Hopkins’s methods influenced witch hunting well beyond England. His techniques traveled to colonial New England, where they would be employed at Salem decades later. His standardization of testing methods created a template for identifying witches.

The East Anglia witch hunt remains a cautionary example of what happens when accusations alone become evidence, when torture produces confessions, and when fear overrides justice. Hopkins, the Witch Finder General, left a legacy of death that still haunts English history.