Case file · High strangeness
The Denham exorcisms
In 1585–86 Jesuit priest William Weston and others performed secret exorcisms on servants at Sir George Peckham's house in Denham, Buckinghamshire, and at Hackney.
1585 CE · 51.58, -0.50 · status: disputed
The account
The Catholic priests used the 'possessions' as proof of their faith. In 1603 the Protestant Samuel Harsnett attacked them as frauds, and Shakespeare took the names of devils for King Lear from his book.
The sceptical view
Witnesses later said they had been coached; the case became a key part of Protestant propaganda.