Ann Maeve
They came for her one night in 1625. Her name was Ann Maeve, a strikingly beautiful Irish nursemaid who worked in the countryside around Exeter. No one knows where she lived permanently. At sixteen years old, she narrowly escaped a witchcraft trial thanks to the intervention of a wealthy and influential merchant, John Rowe. But nothing came without a price in those days. Rowe had no intention of marrying Ann, as she had hoped in gratitude for his help—she was of humble origins, and he desired only a night of passion. Naturally, she refused, sparking the wrath of her would-be abuser. On the 21st of September 1625, they came for her again, dragging her to a secluded spot in the countryside. Seven men raped her, mocked her, and told her that since she was so keen to marry John Rowe, she would indeed be wed—to the worms beneath the earth. They placed a white veil on her head, a crown of flowers atop it, and hanged her. John Rowe claimed he had proof that Ann Maeve was a witch who had...