The Strange Tale of The Campden Wonder

When William Harrison left his house on a calm midsummer evening of 1660, no one expected him to not return for two years, Except maybe William himself… Or maybe not. Equally surprising would have been the confessions that would follow of his murder from a trio of servants, one of whom was an alleged witch and none of whom can possibly have been guilty, given that the victim was very much alive. Later to become known as the Campden Wonder, this is the tale of a tightly bound mystery made up of lies, superstition and sensationalism that after 350 years is as bizarre today as it was in the seventeenth Century.

 

SOURCES

 

Clark, George (1959) The Campden Wonder. Oxford University Press, UK.

 

Lang, Andrew (1904) Historical Mysteries: The Campden Mystery. T. Nelson & Sons, UK

 

Overbury, Thomas (1676) A True and Perfect Account of the Examination, Confession, Trial, Condemnation, and Execution of Joan Perry, and her Two Sons, John and Richard Perry… Rowland Reynolds, London, UK

 

Tyus, Charles (1662) The Power of Witchcraft. The Three Bibles on London Bridge, London, UK

 

Clifford, P., 2020. The Campden Wonder - The Strangest "Murder" Case In English Legal History. [online] Campdenwonder.plus.com. Available at: [Accessed 26 June 2020].

 

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Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017

Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.