Bateman, Mary (1768–1809)
Bateman, Mary (1768–1809)
British murderer known as the Yorkshire Witch. Born Mary Harker in Aisenby, Yorkshire, England, in 1768;executed on March 20, 1809; daughter of James Harker (a farmer); married John Bateman, around 1792; children: one.
Mary Bateman, the notorious Yorkshire Witch, found her victims among the uneducated and naive villagers of 18th-century England, who were at once awed and terrified by her reported supernatural powers. Her life of crime began at age five with the theft of a pair of shoes. Later, in a bizarre twist on the woman as witch theme, Bateman employed phony witchcraft schemes to extort large sums of money from her victims, leaving them penniless and too frightened of evil retributions to report her to the authorities. Her crime spree finally ended in 1806, when a sinister plot involving poisoning resulted in the death of a young woman. In a sensational trial, Bateman was found guilty of murder and sentenced to hang. But Mary Bateman plied her trade right up until her trip to the gallows, swindling fellow prisoners with lies about releases and stays of execution. Following the execution, her body was displayed in order to raise money for charity. Evidently, thousands filed by for a look and some even paid for strips of her skin, cut off and sold as charms to ward off evil spirits.
Barbara Morgan , Melrose, Massachusetts