On Wednesday night, 4th Feb 2026, our Zoom talk was about Witches in Lincolnshire and given by Rory Waterman. Rory has been heading up a fascinating folklore project in Lincolnshire and his talk entitled ‘Witchcraft in Lincolnshire Folklore’ is based on just one aspect of his research.
Rory is Professor of Creative Writing and Modern Literature at Nottingham Trent University. He lectures on the BA Creative Writing, BA English, the MA Creative Writing and supervises PhD students working in and on modern and contemporary literature and/or creative writing. He is a prominent press critic and commentator; he is also the author of four acclaimed collections of poetry, three critical monographs, and the editor of several volumes and anthologies.
The talk was very interesting and informative about witches and the people affected by them. During the 16th & 17th Centuries “Witch Mania” was affecting England, with the number of Witch Trials taking place in high numbers; the outcome meant a lot of people (mainly women) were found guilty and executed.
A lot of the accounts of witchcraft are in folklore, as they were not written down at the time; some have many variations of a theme common to many countries. Here a few screenshots of the talk.
Many thanks Rory, for your talk. Please keep in touch, as we enjoyed it very much.
