John Stearne (c. 1610–1670)[1] was an associate of self-styled "Witchfinder General" Matthew Hopkins, who was active during the English Civil War.[2] The duo's activities were heavily fictionalized in the 1968 horror film Witchfinder-General (U.S. title: The Conqueror Worm). Stearne was known at various times as the witch-hunter,[3][4] and "witch pricker".[5]
Raised in Long Melford, Suffolk,[6] Stearne later became a land owner at Lawshall near Bury St Edmunds.[7] He met Hopkins, who was 10 years' his junior, in Manningtree and appointed him as his assistant. As a result of Stearne's accusations, a trial was held in Chelmsford in July 1645 for 29 people accused of witchcraft and sorcery.[8] Of these, four had died in prison prior to the trial[8] and 15 or 16[9] were subsequently hanged. Nine who had been convicted of conjuring spirits were reprieved.[10]
Within a year of the death of Matthew Hopkins, John Stearne retired to his farm and wrote A Confirmation and Discovery of Witchcraft.
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