I really must get a scan of this, in an ancient book about Lancashire, my dad (who typically reads things like this) found a record of a Mrs Alice Nutter, who was tried and executed as a witch on the information reported by a fellow witch, James Device. Her house was still there and visitable when the book was written, I really must look this up !

Pterry, ever the one for those little details...

Edit : Looked it up, it's apparently a well-known story, and yes, she did invent mad people !
Pendle witch trials - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I seem to recall reading something about her once in the Annotated Pratchett File (APF) on L Space.

Ah, the things you miss by not being from the UK. The wiki article says they were some of the most famous witch trials in England, and I've never heard of them. Hmph. What use is history class if you can't connect it to a Pratchett book, eh?

The Lancashire Witches, by Harrison Ainsworth, is the book to read, once you can get your head round the dialect.

I took history at school (England), the American Wild West was one of the topics covered - very useful in deepest darkest Cambridgeshire!

Twas very interesing, especially when you think of the amount of films/books etc that have been made for what is realtively a short period in time. Bodes well for the Discworld... Looking forward to the new film whenever its released, and can't wait for a witches book to be transferred to live action film.