He made strange noises, and, as noted in a letter from Alderman Robert Heyrick to his brother Sir William,[1] he would beat himself with inhuman strength, yet somehow remain unharmed.
He called for John Smith to be questioned, and had little trouble determining the child was fraudulent.
Due to the Leicester Boy case, and others like it, many judges were wary of trusting anyone, especially children, in claims of witchcraft.
The two judges associated with the cases had their reputations seriously damaged, and the story was transformed into a satirical comedy making fun of them in The Devil Is an Ass by Ben Jonson.
During the time of the witch trials, it was not difficult to rile people up over accusations of witchcraft.
Before the trial, John Smith began to have these strange fits during which he exhibited inhuman levels of strength.
No number of men could hold the boy down, and he would beat himself, sometimes up to 300 times at once, all over his body without leaving a mark.
He listed off "horse, cat, dog, pullemar, fish, code"[2] and made out the animal's cries based on which was allegedly possessing him.
John Smith would cry out in pain and distress anytime they didn't chant: I such a one chardge the hors.
Allegedly, one of the six women, listed as anonymous, confessed to the jailer that she was "in concert with her familiar, and with the other accused witches, to torment Smyth.
The whole town wanted to rid themselves of Sarah Good, who was considered a homeless beggar.