La Tia Casca may have been the last witch to be killed in Trasmoz, but the tradition of witchcraft seems to be alive and well in the Spanish village. They rounded her up and threw her into a deep well, on top of which we are actually standing.” So they blamed La Tia Casca, as she was thought to be strange and secretive. “A deadly epidemic had broken out and neither cure nor explanation was found. “This is La Tia Casca, the last witch to be killed in Trasmoz, in 1860,” Ruiz said. Crossing the courtyard, we came to a platform dominated by a wrought-iron sculpture of a woman. But before an outright war could erupt, the matter was taken up by King Ferdinand II, who decided that Trasmoz’s actions were justified.īack in the castle, Ruiz led me down the steep steps of the tower, which has been restored to house a tiny witchcraft museum and a collection of black magic paraphernalia such as brooms, black crucifixes and cauldrons. In response, Pedro Manuel Ximenez de Urrea, the Lord of Trasmoz, took up arms against the monastery. The disputes with Veruela continued for many years, finally coming to a head when the monastery started diverting water from the village instead of paying for it. The wealthy community of Trasmoz, a mix of Jews, Christians and Arabs, didn’t repent – which would have been the only way to remove the excommunication. This meant that they weren’t allowed to go to confession or take the holy sacraments at the Catholic church. So when rumours of Trasmoz as a haven for witchcraft started to spread beyond the village boundaries, the abbot of Veruela seized his opportunity to punish the population, requesting that the archbishop of Tarazona, the biggest nearby town, excommunicate the entire village. It was also lay territory, which meant it didn’t belong to the surrounding Catholic dominion of the Church, and by royal decree didn’t have to pay dues or taxes to the nearby monastery of Veruela – a fact that angered the Church.
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