This 2022 episode covers Helen Duncan, sometimes described inaccurately as Scotland’s last witch, or the last person imprisoned for witchcraft in Britain, or the last person to be tried under the UK’s 1735 Witchcraft Act.

This 2022 episode covers Helen Duncan, sometimes described inaccurately as Scotland&rsquo;s last witch, or the last person imprisoned for witchcraft in Britain, or the last person to be tried under the UK&rsquo;s 1735 Witchcraft Act.

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Listen to this collection of top episodes from iHeartRadio and iHeartPodcasts. 

Listen to this collection of top episodes from iHeartRadio and iHeartPodcasts.&nbsp;

Podcasts from iHeartRadio

SYMHC Classics: Helen Duncan

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/552ca6ad-0114-4ad3-a085-b4f20154daf7/transcript

Tracy shares her surprise at discovering some of the details of Montague Summers's life. Holly talks about bickering within the Society for Psychical Research.

Tracy shares her surprise at discovering some of the details of Montague Summers's life. Holly talks about bickering within the Society for Psychical Research.

Behind the Scenes Minis: I Keep No Monkey

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c7ea19aa-06ee-434c-97d0-b4f201543142/transcript

Major Edward Moor reported strange bell ringing at his home in Great Bealings in 1834. Was it a poltergeist, a hoax, or something else?

Research:
Briggs, Stacia, and Siofra Connor. “Weird Suffolk: Poltergeist activity at Great Bealings.” East Anglia Daily Times. Feb. 1, 2019. https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/21445662.weird-suffolk-poltergeist-activity-great-bealings/
Britannica Editors. "Mysore Wars". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Feb. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/event/Mysore-Wars
Cohen, Daniel. “In Search of Ghosts.” Dodd, Mead. 1972. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5708323M/In_search_of_ghosts.
Hall, Trevor Henry. “New Light on Old Ghosts.” London. Gerald Duckworth & Co. 1965.
Moor, Edward. “Hindu Infanticide.” London. J. Johnson. 1811. Accessed online: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=W7YIAAAAQAAJ&rdid=book-W7YIAAAAQAAJ&rdot=1
Moor, Edward. “The Hindu Pantheon.” London. 1810. Accessed online: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nnc1.cu58661581&seq=7
Moor, Edward. “Suffolk Words and Phrases: Or, An Attempt to Collect the Lingual Localisms of that County. 1823. J. Loder. London. Accessed online: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=6BMLAAAAQAAJ&rdid=book-6BMLAAAAQAAJ&rdot=1
Moor, Edward. “Bealings Bells: The Suffolk Poltergeist Mystery.” Woodbridge. John Loder. 1841. (Reprint.)
Moor, Edward. “To the Editor of the Ipswich Journal.” Ipswich Journal. March 1, 1834. https://www.newspapers.com/image/390311876/?match=1&terms=Bealings&search-id=adc3c27c-67f1-4077-9a3e-ee9434b6159f&search-rank=6
Podmore, Frank. “On Poltergeists.” Journal of Society for Psychical Research. June 1899. https://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/zPodmore1899JSocPsyRes2.pdf
Stephen, Leslie, ed. “Dictionary of National Biography.” Volume 38. 1885-1900. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati38stepuoft
“To the Editor of the Ipswich Journal.” Ipswich Journal. March 8, 1834. https://www.newspapers.com/image/390311986/?match=1&terms=Bealings&search-id=89f037b5-7abe-4ea6-a92e-093ecb6de2e6&search-rank=2
Willin, M. “Trevor Hall.” Psi Encyclopedia. 2021. https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/trevor-hall

Major Edward Moor&nbsp;reported strange bell ringing at his home in Great Bealings in 1834. Was it a poltergeist, a hoax, or something else?
Research:
<ul>
<li>Briggs, Stacia, and Siofra Connor. &ldquo;Weird Suffolk: Poltergeist activity at Great Bealings.&rdquo; East Anglia Daily Times. Feb. 1, 2019. https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/21445662.weird-suffolk-poltergeist-activity-great-bealings/</li>
<li>Britannica Editors. "Mysore Wars". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Feb. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/event/Mysore-Wars</li>
<li>Cohen, Daniel. &ldquo;In Search of Ghosts.&rdquo; Dodd, Mead. 1972. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5708323M/In_search_of_ghosts.</li>
<li>Hall, Trevor Henry. &ldquo;New Light on Old Ghosts.&rdquo; London. Gerald Duckworth &amp; Co. 1965.</li>
<li>Moor, Edward. &ldquo;Hindu Infanticide.&rdquo; London. J. Johnson. 1811. Accessed online: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=W7YIAAAAQAAJ&amp;rdid=book-W7YIAAAAQAAJ&amp;rdot=1</li>
<li>Moor, Edward. &ldquo;The Hindu Pantheon.&rdquo; London. 1810. Accessed online: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nnc1.cu58661581&amp;seq=7</li>
<li>Moor, Edward. &ldquo;Suffolk Words and Phrases: Or, An Attempt to Collect the Lingual Localisms of that County. 1823. J. Loder. London. Accessed online: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=6BMLAAAAQAAJ&amp;rdid=book-6BMLAAAAQAAJ&amp;rdot=1</li>
<li>Moor, Edward. &ldquo;Bealings Bells: The Suffolk Poltergeist Mystery.&rdquo; Woodbridge. John Loder. 1841. (Reprint.)</li>
<li>Moor, Edward. &ldquo;To the Editor of the Ipswich Journal.&rdquo; Ipswich Journal. March 1, 1834. https://www.newspapers.com/image/390311876/?match=1&amp;terms=Bealings&amp;search-id=adc3c27c-67f1-4077-9a3e-ee9434b6159f&amp;search-rank=6</li>
<li>Podmore, Frank. &ldquo;On Poltergeists.&rdquo; Journal of Society for Psychical Research. June 1899. https://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/zPodmore1899JSocPsyRes2.pdf</li>
<li>Stephen, Leslie, ed. &ldquo;Dictionary of National Biography.&rdquo; Volume 38. 1885-1900. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati38stepuoft</li>
<li>&ldquo;To the Editor of the Ipswich Journal.&rdquo; Ipswich Journal. March 8, 1834. https://www.newspapers.com/image/390311986/?match=1&amp;terms=Bealings&amp;search-id=89f037b5-7abe-4ea6-a92e-093ecb6de2e6&amp;search-rank=2</li>
<li>Willin, M. &ldquo;Trevor Hall.&rdquo; Psi Encyclopedia. 2021. https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/trevor-hall</li>
</ul>

Major Edward Moor reported strange bell ringing at his home in Great Bealings in 1834. Was it a poltergeist, a hoax, or something else?

Bealings Bells

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a2bf10c3-75c3-4716-a967-b4ef011bcbd7/transcript

Montague Summers wrote numerous books on witches, werewolves, vampires, black magic, and ghosts, and he edited and published numerous works and claimed to be a clergyman. But who was he, really?

Research:
"(Alphonsus) (Joseph-Mary Augustus) Montague Summers." Merriam Webster's Biographical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, 1995. Gale OneFile: Fine Arts, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1680086368/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=03e855eb. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.
Babcock, R.W. “The Reverend Montague Summers as Editor of Otway.” PMLA, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Sep., 1933). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/458356
Batley, Rebecca. “A Sacred Order for Sexual Outsiders.” G&LR. March-April 2025. https://glreview.org/article/a-sacred-order-for-sexual-outsiders/
Britannica Editors. "Oxford movement". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Aug. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/event/Oxford-movement. Accessed 8 October 20
Davies, Robertson. "Summers, (Augustus) Montague [name in religion Alphonsus Joseph-Mary] (1880–1948), literary scholar, occultist, and eccentric." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. October 04, 2012. Oxford University Press. Date of access 7 Oct. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-39387
De Beer, E.S. “Mr. Montague Summers and Dryden's Essay of Dramatic Poesy.” The Review of English Studies , Oct., 1932, Vol. 8, No. 32 (Oct., 1932). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/508177
Doherty, Bernard. “From Decadent Diabolist to Roman Catholic Demonologist: Some Biographical Curiosities from Montague Summers’ Black Folio.” Literature & Aesthetics 30 (2) 2020.
Frank, Frederick S., editor. “Montague Summers : a bibliographical portrait.” Montague Summers : a bibliographical portrait. 1988.
Hillard, David. “UnEnglish and Unmanly: Anglo-Catholicism and Homosexuality.” Victorian Studies, Winter, 1982, pp. 181-210. https://anglicanhistory.org/academic/hilliard_unenglish.pdf
Hume, Robert D. “The Uses of Montague Summers: A Pioneer Reconsidered.” Restoration: Studies in English Literary Culture, 1660-1700, Fall 1979. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43291376
Learning Services Team. “The Mysterious Montague Summers.” London Borough of Richmond and Thames Libraries. 10/31/2017. https://libraryblog.lbrut.org.uk/2017/10/montague-summers/
Montague Summers Papers, GTM-110501. Georgetown University Manuscripts. https://findingaids.library.georgetown.edu/repositories/15/resources/12229 Accessed October 07, 2026.
O'Sullivan, Gerard. “The Manuscripts of Montague Summers, Revisited.” Antigonish Review, Fall 2009, Issue 159.
Sugg, Richard. “Blood Libel: The Origins of a Conspiracy Theory.” History Today. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/blood-libel-origins-conspiracy-theory
Summers, Montague. “The Vampire In Europe True Tales Of The Undead.” With foreword by Father Brocard Sewell. University Books. 1968.
Summers, Montague. “The Vampire, His Kith and Kin.” New Hyde Park, N.Y., University Books. 1960.
"The mysterious Montague Summers." Bristol Post [Bristol, England], 14 Apr. 2020, p. 8. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A675410096/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=28734f51. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.
Weeks, Jeffrey. “Coming Out: Homosexual Politics in Britain from the Nineteenth Century to the Present.” London. Quartet Books. 1977.
Workman, Richard et al. “British Sexological Society: An Inventory of Its Records at the Harry Ransom Center.” Harry Ransom Center. https://research.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/findingAid.cfm?eadID=01214

Montague Summers wrote numerous books on witches, werewolves, vampires, black magic, and ghosts, and he edited and published numerous works and claimed to be a clergyman. But who was he, really?
Research:
<ul>
<li>"(Alphonsus) (Joseph-Mary Augustus) Montague Summers." Merriam Webster's Biographical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, 1995. Gale OneFile: Fine Arts, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1680086368/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&amp;sid=bookmark-GPS&amp;xid=03e855eb. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.</li>
<li>Babcock, R.W. &ldquo;The Reverend Montague Summers as Editor of Otway.&rdquo; PMLA, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Sep., 1933). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/458356</li>
<li>Batley, Rebecca. &ldquo;A Sacred Order for Sexual Outsiders.&rdquo; G&amp;LR. March-April 2025. https://glreview.org/article/a-sacred-order-for-sexual-outsiders/</li>
<li>Britannica Editors. "Oxford movement". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Aug. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/event/Oxford-movement. Accessed 8 October 20</li>
<li>Davies, Robertson. "Summers, (Augustus) Montague [name in religion Alphonsus Joseph-Mary] (1880&ndash;1948), literary scholar, occultist, and eccentric." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. October 04, 2012. Oxford University Press. Date of access 7 Oct. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-39387</li>
<li>De Beer, E.S. &ldquo;Mr. Montague Summers and Dryden's Essay of Dramatic Poesy.&rdquo; The Review of English Studies , Oct., 1932, Vol. 8, No. 32 (Oct., 1932). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/508177</li>
<li>Doherty, Bernard. &ldquo;From Decadent Diabolist to Roman Catholic Demonologist: Some Biographical Curiosities from Montague Summers&rsquo; Black Folio.&rdquo; Literature &amp; Aesthetics 30 (2) 2020.</li>
<li>Frank, Frederick S., editor. &ldquo;Montague Summers : a bibliographical portrait.&rdquo; Montague Summers : a bibliographical portrait. 1988.</li>
<li>Hillard, David. &ldquo;UnEnglish and Unmanly: Anglo-Catholicism and Homosexuality.&rdquo; Victorian Studies, Winter, 1982, pp. 181-210. https://anglicanhistory.org/academic/hilliard_unenglish.pdf</li>
<li>Hume, Robert D. &ldquo;The Uses of Montague Summers: A Pioneer Reconsidered.&rdquo; Restoration: Studies in English Literary Culture, 1660-1700, Fall 1979. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43291376</li>
<li>Learning Services Team. &ldquo;The Mysterious Montague Summers.&rdquo; London Borough of Richmond and Thames Libraries. 10/31/2017. https://libraryblog.lbrut.org.uk/2017/10/montague-summers/</li>
<li>Montague Summers Papers, GTM-110501. Georgetown University Manuscripts. https://findingaids.library.georgetown.edu/repositories/15/resources/12229 Accessed October 07, 2026.</li>
<li>O'Sullivan, Gerard. &ldquo;The Manuscripts of Montague Summers, Revisited.&rdquo; Antigonish Review, Fall 2009, Issue 159.</li>
<li>Sugg, Richard. &ldquo;Blood Libel: The Origins of a Conspiracy Theory.&rdquo; History Today. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/blood-libel-origins-conspiracy-theory</li>
<li>Summers, Montague. &ldquo;The Vampire In Europe True Tales Of The Undead.&rdquo; With foreword by Father Brocard Sewell. University Books. 1968.</li>
<li>Summers, Montague. &ldquo;The Vampire, His Kith and Kin.&rdquo; New Hyde Park, N.Y., University Books. 1960.</li>
<li>"The mysterious Montague Summers." Bristol Post [Bristol, England], 14 Apr. 2020, p. 8. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A675410096/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&amp;sid=bookmark-GPS&amp;xid=28734f51. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.</li>
<li>Weeks, Jeffrey. &ldquo;Coming Out: Homosexual Politics in Britain from the Nineteenth Century to the Present.&rdquo; London. Quartet Books. 1977.</li>
<li>Workman, Richard et al. &ldquo;British Sexological Society: An Inventory of Its Records at the Harry Ransom Center.&rdquo; Harry Ransom Center. https://research.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/findingAid.cfm?eadID=01214</li>
</ul>

Montague Summers wrote numerous books on witches, werewolves, vampires, black magic, and ghosts, and he edited and published numerous works and claimed to be a clergyman. But who was he, really?

Montague Summers

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f45b670b-b390-4fc1-8fc0-b4eb013881fd/transcript

SYMHC Classics: Helen Duncan

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