Episode 35. The Murder of Anne Walker: the evolution of a ghost story

Welcome to Episode 35 of the podcast – the first episode of Year 3! 

In the year 1632, two men were convicted of the murder of Ann Walker at the Durham Assizes. One of the men was her uncle, a wealthy Yeoman named John Walker who also stood accused of making her pregnant, and the other was a friend of his, Mark Sharp, a miner originally from Lancashire. 

So why, in a time of murder, superstition and witchcraft, does the execution of Walker and Sharp stand out? Basically, its because both men were convicted on the testimony given by a local miller, who had been given all of the incriminating evidence, from the location of Anne’s body, to the location of the murder weapon and blood soaked clothing belonging to the murderer allegedly by the ghost of the murder victim.

So two men were executed on the testimony of an apparition…

This episode is a deep dive into the case of Anne Walker, including looking at the work of John Webster, a 17th century debunker of witchcraft who studied and wrote about the case, sparking a response from Dr Henry More…