Britain's Last Witch

From Today In History with The Retrospectors The Retrospectors

Celebrated medium Helen Duncan was arrested on 19th January, 1944, when, midway through one of her séances, an undercover policeman dramatically revealed her "spirit" to be nothing more than… herself draped in white fabric. Initially charged with minor fraud, her case took a wild turn when she became the last woman imprisoned under the 1735 Witchcraft Act. Duncan’s trial, steeped in wartime paranoia and media frenzy, spotlighted her peculiar career, from her regurgitated "ectoplasm" performances to an unfortunate séance where she revealed the sinking of a British warship, inadvertently ruffling governmental feathers. Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Duncan’s "physical manifestations" worked (it’s not for the faint-hearted); consider why public sentiment was on her side, even from Winston Churchill himself; and explain what happened to a controversial bronze bust of Duncan, initially donated to her hometown of Callander… Further Reading: • ‘The Strange, Freakish Story of Britain's 'Last Convicted Witch'’ (Vice, 2017): https://www.vice.com/en/article/helen-duncan-the-strange-freakish-story-of-britains-last-convicted-witch/ • ’The truth about the UK's last witch Helen Duncan’ (The National, 2018): https://www.thenational.scot/news/16209915.truth-uks-last-witch-helen-duncan/ • ‘Alan Crossley talks about his experiences of materialisation seances with Helen Duncan and Alec Harris’ (The Psychic Times, 2007): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuEBASIrDGk Love the show? Support us! Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content. Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices