Joan Wytte
Joan Wytte was a Cornish woman known for her association with healing practices and folk traditions often linked to witchcraft in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although details about her early life are sparse, it is believed that she acquired healing skills typical of "cunning women" of her time. Wytte was recognized for her abilities in clairvoyance, divining, and a unique healing method known as clouties, where a piece of cloth from the patient is hung on a tree as a charm. Despite her controversial reputation, she did not face legal repercussions during her lifetime; however, her personality was marked by tumultuous behavior attributed to a painful wisdom tooth that ultimately led to her death in 1813 after time spent in prison due to her combative nature.
Wytte's legacy continued posthumously, becoming intertwined with local folklore. Her corpse was subjected to a séance and displayed in a museum until 1998, during which time disturbances were reported, believed to be caused by her restless spirit. The Cornwall Museum of Witchcraft eventually decided to give Wytte a proper burial, interring her remains in a nearby wood, while her empty coffin and a memorial stone now serve as a tribute to her life, attracting local visitors who honor her memory.
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Subject Terms
Joan Wytte
English witch, seer, and healer
- Born: 1775
- Birthplace: Bodmin, Cornwall, England
- Died: 1813
- Place of death: Bodmin, Cornwall, England
Cause of notoriety: Although Wytte never ran afoul of the legal establishment for her practice of witchcraft, her corpse was displayed as a museum piece until 1998.
Active: 1790’s-1813
Locale: Cornwall, England
Early Life
Little is known of Joan Wytte (WI-eht) during her early years, though it is fairly safe to assume that in her youth she learned some of the healing skills common to “cunning women” of her era. Several other Cornish women of about the same time frame are also remembered for skills associated with witchcraft. These include Dolly Pentreath (1692-1777), Tamsin Blight (1798-1856), and Granny Boswell (1813-1906).
Healing Career
Wytte was credited with several skills common to witches or “cunning women” of her day: clairvoyance, divining, and healing. Neighbors would come to her for help and advice. Wytte’s particular method of healing, clouties, is still used by pagans in Cornwall today. In clouties, a piece of cloth from the sick person’s clothing is made into a charm and hung on a tree branch. As the fabric decays, the person is supposed to become healed.
None of Wytte’s practices aroused enough attention for her to receive legal censure. Rather, a toothache led to her demise. After her death, an autopsy revealed a badly abscessed wisdom tooth. Apparently the agony it caused her made her quarrelsome and combative. These characteristics led to her being dubbed “The Fighting Fairy Woman of Bodmin.” Shortly before her death, Wytte got into a particularly fierce fight in which she reportedly threw people across the room; these assaults led to her being jailed. She died in 1813 as a result of poor treatment she received in prison.
Impact
Joan Wytte is most famous for what happened to her after her death, which augmented and perpetuated her legend. Her corpse was used as a prop for a séance and was then displayed in a Cornwall museum until 1998. Legend has it Wytte’s fiery spirit was no calmer in death than it had been in her pain-afflicted life. Witnesses to the séance claimed that the lid of Wytte’s coffin flew around the room, hitting people.
Her corpse’s next home, the Cornwall Museum of Witchcraft, allegedly experienced disturbances thought to be poltergeist activity. Local legend says that the museum brought in a witch to analyze the cause, which was traced to Wytte’s expressing her desire to rest in a peaceful spot. Museum of Witchcraft staff decided in 1998 to give Wytte a long-overdue burial, and her body was interred in a nearby wood. The empty coffin that once held Wytte is still displayed in the museum, along with a memorial stone stating that she is “no longer abused.” Local residents often place flowers on this memorial stone.
Bibliography
Briggs, Robin. Witches and Neighbors: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft. New York: Penguin, 1998. Examines court records of Wytte’s time and explores regional differences in attitudes toward and beliefs about witchcraft.
Davies, Owen. Cunning-Folk: Popular Magic in English History. New York: Hambledon, 2003. An examination of the tradition of cunning folk and the key social roles they played in nineteenth century British life. The author estimates that there were thousands of such individuals across the British isles. Illustrated, with a detailed bibliography and index.
Jones, Kelvin I. The Wise Woman: Her Lives, Charms, Spells, and Cures. Corpusty, Norwich, England: Oakmagic, 2000. Argues that the wise or cunning woman is not the same as a witch, as is commonly supposed.
Kieckhefer, Richard. Magic in the Middle Ages. 2d ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Examines how magic was practiced in the Middle Ages, including who practiced it. Surveys magic’s development and growth.