Anna Klemens (1718-1800) was a beggar in her village of Horsens, Denmark. She was the last woman lynched for sorcery in all of Scandinavia.

She was beaten to death by a group of 6 men in an effort to “spill her witch blood” after extensive interrogation and torture. Ordering these men to commit this heinous murder was a “cunning woman” aka “quack doctor” named Anna Pauline Holck. Holck travelled from village to village claiming to cure bewitched people.

Holck was executed for the murder (beheaded), and the men were banished (really???).

These beatings were quite common, because legal courts had stopped executing witches in Denmark around 1722. Small towns across the country began taking matters into their own hands- as was the case with Dorte Jensdatter.

I’m going to do some more digging into this Holck woman- she sounds horrible. Intriguing, but horrible.