Kiss, Bewitchment by a

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Kiss, Bewitchment by a

Florence Newton, a notorious Irish witch of the seventeenth century, was on several occasions accused of bewitching people by means of a kiss. The first was a maid who refused alms to her. About a week later the witch kissed her violently, from which time the servant suffered from fits and was transported from place to place, first being carried mysteriously to the top of the house, then being placed between two feather beds, and so on. The witch was also said to have caused the death of David Jones, who stood sentinel over her in prison, by kissing his hand, and by the same means brought about the death of the children of three aldermen of Youghall, county Cork. Newton was tried at Cork Assizes in 1661.

Sources:

Seymour, St. John. Irish Witchcraft and Demonology. 1913. Reprint, New York: Causeway Books, 1973.