by Mandrake » May 28th, '12, 21:24
Just a few thoughts to add to the deserved praise heaped on Witchfinder already.
On first opening the parcel containing Witchfinder you’ll probably wonder where the catch is, let me assure you there is no catch. No, I mean literally, there is no catch on the box! Instead the contents are kept secure by a band of very rough string, very reminiscent of the kind of string used to tie the sacking bags which contained the corpses of the executed 'witches' of the Parish, no hallowed ground or fine oak coffins for these unfortunates. Thoughtfully, the string is tight enough to keep the box closed but loose enough to be slipped off ready for the guilt or innocence of the victim to be determined. The Old Testament pages are marked well and were all the justification needed by Matthew Hopkins and his cohorts. You need to arrange your own justification for whatever you do to your chosen victim. The witch brands are indeed heavy cast metal and will readily find extra uses as markers or tokens in other dark effects. The bag containing these brands is the same rough sacking as mentioned above and a definite odour of an exhumation accompanies it. The Guilt or Innocence parchment scraps are superbly produced, I’d certainly recommend buying the extra alternative set so you can make the result Guilty or Innocent depending on the occasion, the people around you and, of course, the blackness of your mortal soul.
The method is very straightforward and utilises a classic principle which leaves you free to spin the tale and the web of suspicion to your heart’s content. The more enlightened purchasers will certainly kick their favourite search engine into action to learn more about the background, you may want to reveal that the title of Witchfinder General was never officially bestowed on Hopkins but it was a title he wore like a close fitting dark and fetid mantle. You may want to explain that he didn’t work alone but had several assistants carrying out these gruesome activities. You might also want to mention that between 1645 and 1647 in the general East Anglian area, just over 300 souls were accused of witchcraft and put to death. That’s almost six executions every week...... If you perform this with the ending as supplied, be ready to reassure everyone that such dark judgments no longer have any validity in our more enlightened times but they should steer clear of ducking stools, black cats and besom brooms – just to be on the safe side....
Yes, Witchfinder is priced at a serious level but still represents fantastic value for money for anyone into the Darker Side of things, or perhaps those thinking of dipping a cautious toe into the pool of bizarre presentations.