Witch Hunt

In 1944, just weeks before D-Day, one of the most sensational trials of the century knocked the war clean off the front pages. Helen Duncan, the most celebrated medium of her time, stood accused of witchcraft under a 1735 act. Her powers drew international audiences, but when she revealed a naval loss that had been kept secret, the military reacted strongly. Her seances were seen as tantamount to informing and she was raided, charged, found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment.

Secret History reconstructs the life and trial of a woman whose uncanny access to information from ‘the other side’ posed such a threat to the government. The film asks was she fraud, spy or, as many believe, a spiritualist martyr?

 

A TWENTY TWENTY TELEVISION Production