Stisted is a civil parish, Church of England parish, and former manor near Braintree, Essex, England. Andrew Motion, a former Poet Laureate, was raised there. In 1589 the village came to notice when a local woman, Joan Cunny, who was about 80, was accused of witchcraft. She admitted that she had made a circle and made prayers to the devil. Spirits had mat…Stisted is a civil parish, Church of England parish, and former manor near Braintree, Essex, England. Andrew Motion, a former Poet Laureate, was raised there. In 1589 the village came to notice when a local woman, Joan Cunny, who was about 80, was accused of witchcraft. She admitted that she had made a circle and made prayers to the devil. Spirits had materialised and she had allowed them home with her and she confessed to feeding them. She had two daughters and the three of them were accused by one of her grandsons. One of her daughters was spared, the other was imprisoned and Cunny was hanged in Chelmsford on 5 July 1589 in line with a 1563 law.
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