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SEASON OF THE WITCH : Ursula Kemp – The Witch of St. Osyth | Folklore and Witchcraft

Author
Sarah Powell and Tobie Jones
Published
Thu 04 Sep 2025
Episode Link
https://bio.link/twwp

As summer wanes and the nights grow long, we turn to tales of witches, curses, and the old ways that never truly died. For centuries, harvest time has carried its own magic: charms for fields, blessings for homes, and darker stories of those who bent nature to their will.


Healer and midwife Ursula Kemp became the focus of fear in St. Osyth, Essex, when neighbourly disputes and misfortune spiralled into witchcraft accusations in 1582. Pressed by magistrate Brian Darcy—and with testimony from her young son—Kemp confessed to directing animal “familiars,” was convicted at the Chelmsford Assizes, and hanged.


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Research Links:

https://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/occult/ursula-kemp-and-the-st-osyths-witches/

https://engole.info/ursula-kemp-witch/

https://www.stosythmuseum.co.uk/buildings/the-cage

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-14/haunted-house-that-housed-witches-in-medieval-times-for-sale/11208806

https://www.mamamia.com.au/st-osyth-cage/


Sarah and Tobie xx


"Spacial Winds," Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licenced under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licence

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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