Day 14 - Malin Matsdotter

What goes around comes around. Malin Matsdotter was a Swedish widow of Finnish descent who was accused by her own daughters of being a witch. But in this case, there was no sorcery involved; instead, the daughters' charge was that she abducted their children and took them to a satanic sabbath. Malin, along with Anna Simonsdotter Hack, were the last victims executed for being witches during the great Swedish witch hunt of 1668-76, often referred to as "The Great Noise." What makes Malin Matsdotter unique is that she's considered the only witch in Swedish history to have been burned alive.

Normally, witches were decapitated or hanged to death before their bodies were burned at the stake (which was Anna Simonsdotter Hack's fate), but it appears Malin's refusal to admit to her guilt made the authorities less gracious in their sentencing.

Unlike her fellow death mate, Anna, who humbly asked for forgiveness (although never really admitting to being a witch), Malin firmly maintained her innocence and her goings out made history. In the end, she refused to shake hands with her daughters, and as one of them called out for her to repent, "[Malin] gave her daughter into the hands of the devil and cursed her for eternity." As the flames covered her body, she reportedly did not scream nor did she appear to be in pain — for the locals, it was further proof she was a witch.

Nonetheless, shortly after her death, one of her daughters was convicted of perjury and she, too, was forced to walk through death's door.

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