Mary Bateman was an accomplished liar from a young age, and when she grew up, she started using that talent as a way of making money. Passing herself off as a witch, she tricked paranoid and gullible customers into handing over their hard-earned money in exchange for predictions and potions. But unfortunately, not every one of the Yorkshire Witch's customers lived to tell the tale. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What should listeners know before diving into this case?
Due to the nature of this case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of murder. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen. In 16th century England, some people believed witchcraft was behind any bad fortune like plagues, poor harvests, or even death. It went so far that Parliament passed a law that made witchcraft a crime.
Between 1560 and 1700, 513 people, usually poor women, were put on trial for witchcraft, 112 of which were put to death. The laws were repealed in 1736, but sorcery was still in the public consciousness nearly 60 years later when a woman named Mary Bateman became known as the Yorkshire Witch. The charms she crafted certainly convinced many of her magical power. But was Mary a sorceress?
Chapter 2: Who was Mary Bateman and why is she significant?
Or just a scammer? I'm Vanessa Richardson, and this is Serial Killers, a Spotify podcast. You can find us here every Monday. Be sure to check us out on Instagram at Serial Killers Podcast. We'd love to hear from you. If you're listening on the Spotify app, swipe up and give us your thoughts. This week, we're examining the story of Mary Bateman.
Known as the Yorkshire Witch, Mary started out innocently enough, telling fortunes to wealthy women in her village. But soon, Mary learned how she could use her supposed powers to lie, steal, and even kill. Stay with us.
Hello, everyone. I'm Carol Costello, a former CNN anchor and national correspondent. In 2011, a religious con man on the run from the law killed three men using the Craigslist ad to lure his victims. But had the Ohio Craigslist killer faced justice for crimes he was accused of before the murders, those killings would never have happened.
This is a story about the law of redemption and how a con man used the Bible to exploit our criminal justice system. Carol Costello presents The God Hook as a co-production of Evergreen Podcasts and Jack Paul Productions. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm going to tell you now, Mary Bateman's death is well remembered. But despite this, the details surrounding her birth are frustratingly vague. All we know is that she entered the world in December 1767 or January 1768. Let's imagine that the winds blew a bit more ominously that day, as the people of Assenby, England welcomed the wicked cries of a future witch.
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Chapter 3: What led Mary Bateman to become a con artist?
In childhood, Mary was nothing if not mischievous. Born to farmers, she was the third of six children, which might have left her feeling overlooked as she tended to her wide array of daily chores to support her family. Perhaps it was a reaction to a lack of parental attention and frustration with her tiresome life that led Mary to wickedness at a young age.
Like another certain well-known witch, Mary couldn't resist a beautiful pair of shoes. In 1773, when she was just five, she laid eyes on a particularly stunning leather pair. She promptly stole them, then stashed them in her father's barn. Her efforts to hide her loot suggest that Mary understood what she did was wrong, so we know she had a moral compass.
It's just that she didn't ever seem interested in following it. Months later, young Mary retrieved the loafers from her secret storage spot and brought them to her parents. She acted like she just happened to find them and pick them up. Of course, that was a total lie. Even at this young age, Mary was already displaying some worrisome tendencies.
For three days every July, Mary's parish was transformed by the Topley Fair. Visitors and locals alike loitered down cobbled streets between the troves of trinket stalls, food vendors, and street performers. Usually buttoned-up people tossed aside their regular ethics to make the most of the frivolity. Men fought in public brawls and boisterously courted maidens.
Meanwhile, the streets teemed with merchants eager to make a quick buck. Among them were a few who fascinated Mary. Every year, these visitors traveled to the annual event to help others spend their money. Mary watched, enchanted, as they sold potions and told fortunes.
These were tricks of a trade Mary didn't yet fully comprehend, but she did understand that their exaggerated stories were lucrative. So Mary started telling myths of her own. We don't know exactly what kinds of stories she told the locals in her small town, but by the time she was 12, she'd earned a reputation as one of Assenby's most notorious liars.
Eventually, her lying got so bad that her parents didn't know what to do with her. At their wit's end, they sent Mary off to the bustling town of Thirsk to work for a family as a maid in 1780. But Mary, who was around 12 years old, had no intention of changing her ways. In fact, her new job did little to incentivize any improvement in her behavior at all. She woke every day before sunrise.
She washed floors, lit fires in all the rooms, emptied chamber pots, fetched hot water, and prepared the kitchen for breakfast, all before her employer woke up. She had to complete her chores without question, and if she didn't do them properly, Mary faced the risk of a beating. Other girls of Mary's station accepted these terms in exchange for room and board.
For them, such difficult circumstances were simply a fact of life. But Mary wasn't so resigned to such an existence. She tended to her responsibilities well enough, but when no one was around, she likely stole things. And if her mistress ever questioned her about it, she lied to weasel her way out of punishment.
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Chapter 4: How did Mary Bateman exploit the fears of others?
But providing a specific recipe for success likely instilled in her victim a temporary sense of power over her fate as well. Dr. Ellen J. Langer termed this very phenomenon the illusion of control. Published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Langer's research explains how people are able to expect a higher likelihood of a positive outcome than logic would allow.
In other words, during situations where the outcome is unknown, illusions of control grant people a greater sense that they have influence over what happens to them. Though Mrs. Greenwood couldn't personally control what happened to her husband, she could fulfill Mary's request, thinking it might help him. So with her instructions clear, Mrs. Greenwood leapt into action.
But she wasn't fast enough, and Mary was eager for her payday. So she announced that Mrs. Greenwood would take her own life if she didn't save her husband. Now terrified for her own life as well as her husband's, Mrs. Greenwood secured most of the ingredients for Mary's spell, but she couldn't get her hands on the gold. That's when Mary encouraged her to simply steal it.
Luckily, this particular request triggered Mrs. Greenwood's better judgment. She realized Mary was tricking her and walked away. Maybe a little humiliated, but somewhat wiser too. Mary's next victims wouldn't be so lucky. Barzillai Stead was a nervous man. After failing in the business world, he worried that his creditors would soon come to his door, seeking money he didn't have.
With nowhere else to turn, Barzillai brought his concerns to Mary. Of course, she had little interest in helping him find solutions to his problems. True to form, Mary exploited Barzillai's fears, charged him for mystical advice, and then convinced him to join the army. But like every great magician, Mary was a master of misdirection. As it happened, Barzillai wasn't her main priority.
The real subject of her latest scheme was the desperate man's pregnant wife, who we'll call Roberta. Shortly after convincing Barzillai to enlist, Mary told Roberta that her husband was having an affair. She claimed to know that Barzillai had impregnated this woman and that he would soon run away with her. Roberta was mortified and heartbroken.
Naturally, Mary promised her that mystical intervention was the answer to her woes. To seal the deal, Mary called in the help of Mrs. Moore. Mary told Roberta that Mrs. Moore would screw down Barzilai's lover so she was no longer in the picture. But it could only happen if Roberta paid three crowns.
According to author Sommer Strevens, this would have been over a week's wages for a skilled craftsman at the time. And, impatient as ever, Mary told Roberta that she only had until Barzillai left for the military to act. Otherwise, all hope would be lost. Though Roberta and her husband were already struggling financially, she decided it was best to invest in the help of Mary and Mrs. Moore.
So she scraped together the cash. Then there was just one other ingredient the witch needed, two lumps of coal. According to Mary, they were to be placed on the doorstep of Barzillai's mistress. Mary told Roberta that when the other woman found the coal at her door, she'd bring them to her fire. That's when magic smoke would rise up and taint all of the woman's fresh clothes.
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