Helen Duncan: What Britain's Last Witch Was Tried For in the Mid-20th Century

After the end of World War I, interest in magic, fortune telling and spiritualistic sessions awoke in Europe. People looked to the future with anxiety and had difficulty finding their way in the new, post-war world. Thousands of charlatans and outright swindlers felt very at ease on this wave. But among the magicians and witches there were also extraordinary individuals who deserved special attention. Among them, without a doubt, is Helen Duncan, who was nicknamed "the last witch of Great Britain".

Helen Duncan was born in Callander, Scotland in 1897. Her family believed in witchcraft, spirits and spells, which laid the foundation for Helen's future interests. She first declared her psychic abilities as a child, but few were interested. Duncan was able to really develop her abilities only after she was 20.

In the early 1920s, Helen Duncan began performing in theaters and clubs, demonstrating the summoning of spirits. In her performances, the key role was played by "ectoplasm", which allegedly flowed from her mouth and helped spirits materialize. The woman medium fell into a trance, communicating with the souls of the dead. Her constant interlocutors were the spirits of a certain Peggy and Albert. The British traditionally loved ghosts and flocked to séances.

Helen's performances impressed audiences and she successfully toured Great Britain. In the post-war years, there were people in every city who had lost loved ones. They were glad for any way to learn something about their fate. Spirits summoned by Helen sometimes gave answers to the questions of the suffering.

Many understood that Helen Duncan was just a skilled hoaxer and there was no talk of any magic. She was often criticized and ridiculed in the press. Photographer Harvey Metcalf took pictures at one of the performances, which clearly showed the hand-made origin of the "spirits." Metcalf said that they were made of papier-mâché and rags.

Later, the London Spiritualist Alliance conducted a detailed analysis of Helen's arsenal. They stated that the ectoplasm was made from paper, gauze, and egg white. Despite numerous revelations, Duncan's popularity did not wane. The medium successfully gave performances even after the start of World War II. But the artist got carried away and "conjured" problems for herself.

In 1941, during one of the spiritualistic seances, Helen Duncan announced that she was communicating with the spirit of a sailor from the battleship Barham. This ship sank, but information about this had long been classified and was not subject to disclosure. It was unclear how Duncan had received this information. Did she really have extrasensory abilities? Or maybe it was a matter of espionage or disclosure of state secrets?

In 1944, Helen Duncan was arrested. The charges brought against her were ridiculous and only made people smile. But soon the authorities remembered the Witchcraft Act of 1735. According to this ancient act, which no one used for a long time, a person could be accused of falsely claiming to have magical powers.

The trial of the woman, who was immediately dubbed "Britain's last witch," attracted national attention. Even Winston Churchill commented on the case. Duncan was found guilty and sentenced to nine months in prison. She became the last person to be subject to this archaic law. Incidentally, it was only repealed in 1951.

Duncan served her short term behind bars. After her release, she gave several interviews to the press. Helen promised never to engage in spiritualism and magic again and to find another occupation. But the "witch" could do nothing else and, in order to make ends meet, soon took up her old ways. She could no longer even dream of her former success, but the seances still somehow fed her.

Helen Duncan performed spiritualistic seances until her death in 1956. This woman is assessed differently today. Some consider her a charlatan who did not disdain the opportunity to make money on someone else's grief. There are also those who are sure that Helen had real abilities. Why not, because no one has ever figured out how she learned about the death of the ship "Barham".