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ilovemesomevincentprice · 25 days

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Vincent Price as Witchfinder Matthew Hopkins

Witchfinder General/The Conqueror Worm (1968) dir. Michael Reeves

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enchantedchocolatebars · 1 month

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The Bloodied Dagger

Original story

Ao3 version

A small crowd was gathered in the center of town and was in awe as they witnessed THE Matthew Hopkins tying up an odious "witch".

The wicked wench pleaded for the great general to let her go, proclaiming her false innocence to him.

However, the woman was rightfully disregarded.

Witches were quite notorious for spinning lies and telling tall tales, and Hopkins was well-informed of that fact.

He was a man of God, after all.

"Look at those arms," a young woman in the crowd comments about the witchfinder to her friend, who nods in agreement.

Both women simultaneously exhale a sigh of infatuation as they begin to view Hopkins through a "crush filter", their pupils now taking on the shape of red hearts.

"He has the eyes of righteousness," a burly man would state out of admiration.

"Oh, that Matthew Hopkins is steamier than a stew in July~," another woman who was crushing on the general said with a giggle, fanning herself with her hand.

"I could kiss him!" a thrilled man shouts, to which the other townspeople fully support his excited statement.

To them and the other residents living in Gravesfield, a formal and friendly kiss between two gentleman was not a problem.

Standing among the chatty crowd was Philip, the teen's smile growing immensely as he watched his idol bring the "witch" to justice.

He aspired to be a great witch hunter just like him.

Once she was fully tied around her midsection, Hopkins wastes no time shoving the woman to the ground.

He then places a triumphant foot on her.

The crowd celebrates this heroic action with a loud cheer as Philip quickly rushes over to Hopkins.

"Mr. Hopkins, that was AMAZING!" he said, his blue eyes sparkling with inspiration.

A cocky chuckle is released by Hopkins at the compliment.

'Ah, the youth and their praise,' he thought to himself.

His ego loved it.

"Well, what can I say?" he began. "I do what must be done."

He grabs the end of his rope.

"Now, I must be off. This she-devil needs to be condemned for her heinous crimes."

As he starts heading towards the outskirts of town, a crooked dagger slips out of Hopkins's holder.

Upon seeing this, Philip immediately goes to pick the weapon up.

"Mr. Hopkins, you dropped this!"

"Hm?"

After halting, Hopkins turns around and spots his dagger in the boy's hand.

"Keep it," he said with false humility, causing Philip to gasp as he continued.

"A generous gift from me to you." He had plenty other daggers that looked exactly the same at home.

"Protect yourself against any wild witches you might come in contact with," he told Philip.

Philip gave a second gasp.

He couldn't believe it.

Matthew Hopkins, the greatest witch hunter of all time, was giving him his knife... as a gift?!

Philip could faint.

He wasn't going to, but he could have.

Philip nods. "I will! Oh, Mr. Hopkins, I am truly honored to have this!"

Hopkins chuckled.

This kid was something else.

"You should be!" he shouts back with a smug expression.

And with that, the general continues his way through town.

As he gazes at his new dagger, Philip squeals with pure delight.

He planned to keep it forever and couldn't wait to show it off to Caleb, but first, he had to clean off the blood that stained the metal.

He was certain it belonged to a witch.

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weirdlookindog · 11 months

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Matthew Hopkins - Witchfinder General, (born, Wenham, Suffolk, Eng.—died Aug. 12, 1647)

"Between the years 1644 and 1646, Hopkins and his associates are believed to have been responsible for the deaths of 300 women. And in the days when an average farm worker’s wage was just 6 pence a day, it is estimated that Hopkins may have collected fees of around £1000 for his gruesome services.

Hopkins even wrote a short pamphlet detailing his witch-hunting methods: ‘The Discovery of Witches’, which was published in 1647. His own end however, is far from clear; some accounts say he drowned undergoing his own “swimming trial” after being accused of witchcraft himself..."

historic-uk.com

#witchfinder general #matthew hopkins #history

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let-us-cultivate-our-garden · 8 months

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I'm writing a wittebane's fanfiction and I can't find anything about how old one had to be in order to join witch hunts. It's just all about the victims--which is important don't get me wrong but I can hardly find anything on the witch hunters end other then the famous guys like Hopkins. Was their ever a recording of a specific age requirement to join the witch hunts?

Well, the thing is witch hunting was not a formal profession. Unless you're Matthew Hopkins who managed to make a career out of it, witch hunters could be anyone with a lot of time, resources, and the ability to draw out false confessions (i.e. torture). Witchcraft was considered to be a felony punishable by death so any "witch-hunters" would be people like politicians, local magistrates, lawyers, ministers, basically anyone in a position of power. It would be their job to investigate accusations of witchcraft (perjury was also a crime so there had to be sufficient "evidence") and then proceed to put the accused on trial, witness would then come in with their evidence, and the court would decide the accused's fate.

The image of a lone witch hunter moving from town to town looking for witches is largely inspired by Hopkins. For the most part, witch hunts were communal: neighbors would accuse neighbors, rival families would target each other, and god help you if you were a slave or a woman with a sharp tongue, then everybody would come after you. It also didn't matter what age you were if you wanted to accuse someone of witchcraft; Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, whose strange fits and outbursts kickstarted the whole Salem Witch Trials, were aged 9 and 11 respectively.

It is also important to remember that witch hunts typically happen during times of great turmoil, Hopkins rose to power during the English Civil War and Salem's witch hunts occurred years after the disastrous King Philip's War which led to more refugees populating the region. There are, of course, a variety of complex reasons why witch hunts happen but they do not happen when a population is fed, healthy, and happy.

During times of crisis, anyone in a position of power can be a self-appointed "witch-hunter" and start a campaign targeting the community's most vulnerable members.

#asks #history #witch hunts #salem witch trials #witchcraft #matthew hopkins #colonial america #american history #the owl house

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contremineur · 7 months

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The Bury St Edmunds witch trials were conducted intermittently between the years 1599 and 1694 in the town of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England. The 1645 trial, 'facilitated' by the Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins, saw eighteen people executed in one day. The judgment in the 1662 trial by the future Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Sir Matthew Hale, acted as a powerful influence on the continuing persecution of witches in England and similar persecutions in the American Colonies.

image and abridged text from here

#witchcraft #matthew hopkins #salem witch trials #witch trials #suffolk #bury st edmunds

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drachenfalter · 2 years

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So yeah, Philip/Belos being directly inspired by Matthew Hopkins and trying to emulate him makes perfect sense in the historical context.

Not only did Hopkins lead the worst spree of witch hunts in the English speaking world of his time, his book in which he describes his experiences and methods as a witch hunter was an important factor in starting the Connecticut Witch Trials in 1647.

If Philip became a witch hunter in mid 17th century colonial America, he probably learned his methods from Hopkin's book, "The Discovery of Witches".

And this makes me wonder if Philip initially planned for his diary to become the basis for his own book on witch hunting, following in the footsteps of his idol.

(That is, until he decided he wanted to go even bigger than Hopkins, and wipe out an entire civilization of witches by any means necessary.)

#the owl house #philip wittebane #matthew hopkins #toh speculation #toh meta #toh spoilers #emperor belos

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yourbustedkneecaps · 11 months

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here’s the commission for @witch-huntergeneral for my artistic take on Matthew Hopkins the witch hunter

hope you enjoy!

#art commission #witch huntergeneral #digital art #oil painting #matthew hopkins #witch hunter

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captainsamta · 8 months

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I was bored

#digital art #digital painting #digital drawing #digital illustration #illustration #artwork #art #artists on tumblr #witchfinder general #matthew hopkins

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clatterbane · 5 months

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Just reminded of this classic when it showed up in the latest Esoterica video.

I just wanted to hug all of the imps as soon as I saw it. Really effective as propaganda, that.

Jarmara in particular can come live with me, anytime. Shame the artist didn't show us Griezzdl Greedigutt*, or the other few members of that crew.

* Though that may be me. I could probably be fairly described as sorta grizzled by this point, and also a greedyguts. Which my Nana still used half-jokingly about animals and kids who were particularly prone to gobbling down food with some gusto.

#art #woodcuts #early modern #matthew hopkins #imps #witch craze #england

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nerves-nebula · 1 year

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Tumblr users are very much into the following: getting me interested in Matthew Hopkins

Anyway I think it’s sooo funny his downfall was like a callout thesis paper pointing out that he had no real skills and also that he cost too much money

#nnstuff #matthew hopkins #I’m oversimplifying but it’s funny

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ilovemesomevincentprice · 17 days

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Bang bang...

Vincent Price on the set of The Witchfinder General (1968)

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twistedtummies2 · 1 year

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The Price May Be Right - Number 21

Welcome to “The Price May Be Right!” I’m counting down My Top 31 Favorite Vincent Price Performances & Appearances! The countdown will cover movies, TV productions, and many more forms of media. Today we focus on Number 21: Matthew Hopkins, from Witchfinder General.

“Witchfinder General” – also released as “The Conqueror Worm,” in a pointless attempt to connect this movie to Vincent Price’s popularity in Poe-based creations – is generally considered to be one of Price’s darkest and most disturbing movie appearances. And that’s saying a lot! The film is a sort of combo of a biopic and a horror story, presenting a heavily fictionalized account of the last days in the life of the infamous Matthew Hopkins. Hopkins was a professional witch hunter, who in the course of just three years, was believed to have been directly responsible for the torture and execution of more than a hundred people. It is generally an accepted belief that Hopkins was an opportunistic and murderous con-artist, who used the excuse of witch hunting as a means to earn a profit…at the expense of many innocent lives. The plot of the movie specifically focuses on Hopkins and his lieutenant, John Stearne (played by Robert Russell), in their persecution of a family living in Suffolk, England. The heinous acts they commit against this family ultimately lead to the pair’s downfall. At the time, the movie received mixed reactions from critics and audiences alike, mostly due to its graphic violence and more provocative scenes. The movie was released in 1968, at a time when increasing bloodthirstiness and sensuality in horror was only just starting to become more widely and openly accepted. In years since, people have become much more openly positive towards the film, largely due to Price’s performance in the role of the wicked witch hunter. Many consider this to be one of Vincent’s most subtle and scary performances. He plays Hopkins with an icy, almost mechanical coolness. In Price’s own words, the character was meant to be a “low-key, very laid-back, menacing” sort of villain: that is exactly what he presents to us. Hopkins is somewhat similar to the character of Frollo from Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame: a cold-hearted and sadistic scoundrel who uses the excuse of doing the Lord’s work as a way of permitting his evil deeds. The difference is that Hopkins’ belief in what he’s doing as righteous is ambiguous, at best, while Frollo believes he is truly in the right. Both are zealots, but Hopkins is arguably the worst sort: the kind of person who, for all his justifications, simply does what he does for profit and pleasure, and is allowed to continue without reproach. Interestingly, while Price had nothing but praise to offer the film following its release, making this movie was not a fun ride for the actor. He and the director – Michael Reeves – had a stormy relationship. Reeves, by all accounts, never wanted Vincent in the movie to begin with. However, the studio producers – who wanted to inject a bit more star power into the picture – insisted on Vincent being cast. The two were at each other’s throats throughout the production process. Famously, during an argument with Reeves, Vincent blurted out, “I’ve made eighty-seven films!” The director looked him dead in the eye, and calmly replied: “I’ve made three good ones.” Sorry, Vincent. Even I’ve kind of got to admit, that burn must have needed some strong ointment to heal. XD Tomorrow, the countdown moves into the Top 20! We’ll be covering my Number 20 choice, so stay tuned!

#list #countdown #best #favorites #top 31 vincent price performances #the price may be right #vincent price #actors #acting #movies #film #horror #witchfinder general #matthew hopkins #number 21

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weirdlookindog · 11 months

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