Matthew Hopkins in popular culture

Matthew Hopkins (ca. 1620–1647) was an English witchhunter whose career flourished during the time of the English Civil War. Between 1644 and 1645, Hopkins and his associates were responsible for the deaths of more accused witches than had been executed in the previous 100 years.^[1]

In fiction

Literature

• Hopkins found recognition in popular culture almost immediately. Already in the 17th century, Jacob Bright composed a poem mocking Hopkins that became popular among royalists and Catholics, shown below:

• Witchfinder General, a 1966 novel by Ronald Bassett
• The Devil on the Road, a 1978 novel by Robert Westall in which Hopkins makes a late appearance
• Sarum, the 1987 novel by Edward Rutherfurd, features Hopkins making a brief appearance in Wiltshire, where he becomes involved in a family quarrel and in an apparent attempt to frame Margaret Shockley as a witch.
• The Minister's Daughter, a 2005 novel by Julie Hearn, sees Hopkins called in to help "prove" that a teen girl has impregnated the minister's daughter with the devil's seed. The minister's daughter has invented this story as an acceptable way of explaining her out-of-wedlock pregnancy, yet even Hopkins has difficulty in believing the outlandish tale.
• Good Omens (1990), by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, parodies Hopkins' title through the characters of Newton Pulsifer, entitled "Witchfinder Private" and "Witchfinder Sergeant" Shadwell of the Witchfinder Army, of which Hopkins is said to be the last General.
• Witch hunt, a 2012 horror/thriller novel by Syd Moore, deals with a young woman who has growing visions of Hopkins and his victims. The book suggests a fictional end to Hopkins in that he flees England for New England in 1647 and continues his prosecution of witches there.

Theatre

• "The Witchfinder Project", a short musical by Ipswich-based composer Amy Mallett.

Film & TV

• Witchfinder General, (US: The Conqueror Worm) a 1968 film based on Bassett's novel starring Vincent Price as Matthew Hopkins.
• The Lords of Salem had Udo Kier playing the part of Matthew Hopkins, but his scenes were deleted.
• Whitechapel in the detective's 4th series a serial killer likened to Matthew Hopkins is killing 'alleged' witches in modern day London.

In music

• Hopkins (The Witchfinder General) is a song by the doom metal band Cathedral, from the album The Carnival Bizarre.
• Witchfinder General is a Doom Metal band from England.
• Witchfinder General is a song by the heavy metal band Saxon from the album Lionheart.
• Darren Hayman's 2012 concept album The Violence is partially based on Hopkins's witch trials in Essex.

In other media

• Matthew Hopkins was used to advertise Walkers Square Crisps. Several of his witch-hunting methods were parodied (notably ordeal by water). His catchphrase was "'Tis not normal". Commemorative square pogs featuring Hopkins were also released to coincide with the adverts.^[2]
• He made an appearance as a "mystery guest" on the BBC show Russell Howard's Good News. In Puritan garb, Hopkins accused Howard of being a follower of the Devil.^[3]
• The character of The Paedofinder General in the comedy series Monkey Dust is based on the modern film portrayal of the Witchfinder General.
• In the MMORPG RuneScape, the Botfinder General is based on Matthew Hopkins. The role played here is sentencing and then permanently banning accounts that are accused of macroing.
• The title character of the Witchsmeller Pursuivant episode of Blackadder is derived from Hopkins's role as "Witchfinder General".
• Steve Coogan plays a character based on Matthew Hopkins called 'Witch locater Captain Tobias Slater' from episode 6 'Scream Satan scream!' of the BBC comedy series Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible, first aired 17th December 2001.

References

Notes

Bibliography