Amy Searle from THE CAGE - MOST HAUNTED WITCH PRISON joins us LIVE to talk about one of the most reportedly Haunted Homes in the UK.
The Cage in St Osyth was once a medieval prison and temporary 'home' to many women, including England’s most notorious witch Ursula Kemp, who was accused of witchcraft and hanged in 1582.
Back in the 16th century, witch-hunts were common and popular. Ursula Kemp, a young nursemaid and healer, was well known by the local folk for her special ability of removing curses from those who believed they'd been hexed and for making and selling potions to cure the sick. She was said to be a fine woman and a good mother to her son Tom. After a local woman accused Ursula of witchcraft and went to Lord Brian Darcy of St Osyth Priory with her complaint, the infamous St. Osyth witch trials began. Fourteen women were dubbed witches and the ones who were executed left behind young children who, tarred with the same brush as their mothers, perished alone.
The Cage would have been the last place these children would have seen their mothers. This was where they would be kissed goodbye. Inside The Cage, the accused women would hold their children for the final time before being carted off for unfair trials and inevitable execution. Perhaps that’s why The Cage still holds the spirits of these 'witches' and their children - echoes of the pain and sorrow trapped forever within the four cold walls of this desolate place.
Over the last 400 years, tragedy, suicide and death have plagued the residents and owners of The Cage. Is this just coincidence? Or is it because of a curse that can never be lifted?
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