The bizarre story of a Leeds housewife and the 'spirit' of a witch
It was a bizarre claim which connected a ‘spirit’ of a woman burned at the stake and a young Leeds housewife.
Lynn Flavin claimed in August 1970 that a ‘spirit’ said to be that of a woman who was burned at the stake as a witch more than 200 years previous had spoken to her through the medium of a ouija board.
The 22-year-old from Beeston said she was "very frightened" when the witch told her how she had been put to death for casting a spell.
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"The message that was spelt out came from a woman called Mary Pannal,” said Miss Flavin. “She said she was a good witch who dealt in medicine."
The witch was said to haunt the Castleford area of Yorkshire, where other strange occurrences involving ouija boards had been reported.
Records reveal Mary Pannal lived in Ledston where she had a reputation as a cunning woman or witch.
She was accused of witchcraft following the death of a young child named William Witham - the squire of Ledston Hall - in 1593 to whom she had administered a herbal mixture.
She was subsequently executed for witchcraft in 1603 although the location and method of her death are unclear - she was either hanged in York after her trial or burnt at the stake near Castleford.
* The Ouija also known as a Ouija board, spirit board, talking board, or witch board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the Latin alphabet.