About 140 witch trials were held in Finnmark in the 17th century between 1601 and 1692[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] in what is sometimes considered as the worst persecution in times of peace in Norway according to Rune Hagen.
Four witches led by Dorthe in the shape of a dove, an eagle, a crow and a swan were to have opened their "wind-knots" over the sea to make a boat sink, but the plot supposedly failed because the crew had prayed to God.
The children told many stories, and the priest had a hard time making them say the catechism when they were in the "trollkvinnefengeselhullet" (the "witches-hole") in the fortress, where witches were kept awaiting verdict.
Ingeborg Iversdatter[14] confessed during interrogations on 26 January 1663 that she and Sølve Nilsdatter had celebrated Christmas 1662 in Kiberg with Maren Olsdatter and Sigri Klockare while incarcerated in the witches-hole.
The two adult women had argued, and Sølve had become so drunk that Satan had a hard time getting her on her feet and back to jail later that night.
Satan had showed her "a great water" down in a black valley, which began to boil when he blew fire through a horn of iron.
She confessed nothing under torture, except for one story which did not satisfy the court: she claimed that she had once eaten a fish she had been offered by a woman who had been executed for sorcery in 1653, and may have consumed some magic at that occasion.
Sölve Nilsdotter then said that Ingeborg was just as much a witch as the rest of them, that she had made a boat get lost at sea, and that it was in fact she who had taught them to avoid revealing anything.
On 25 June 1663 the last accused witches, Magdalene from Andersby, Ragnhild Endresdatter[17] and Gertrude Siversdatter,[18] along with her daughter Kirsten Sørensdatter, were brought from the witches-hole.
Maren Olsdatter told the Court of Appeal judge that Anne Rhodius had misled her to lie against other people, denouncing them for witchcraft.
According to a document in the archives of the Regional Governor of Finnmark, the Court of Appeal Judge, Mandrup Scønnebøl, sentenced Maren for having lied on herself and others, to stay for some time at the workhouse in Bergen.
The novel blends historical facts with fiction, exploring themes of persecution, superstition, and survival in the harsh conditions of Norway at the time.