MALEFICARUM
QUESTION VI, Concerning witches who copulate with devils
synopsis: plague, PERSECUTION and witches
Illness and death has struck onto Reverend Samuel Parris's home. The Reverend's sweet daughter, Elizabeth, has fallen to an illness. All throughout Yorktown; crop, livestock and child suffer from plague and misfortune.
Susanna Walcott, the servant under Reverend Parris’s home since infancy: has been accused by her own Mistress of inflicting illness onto Elizabeth Parris through witchcraft. Susanna has been close to Betty since they were small girls - to Susanna, Betty was her closest friend.
Amidst accusations, Susanna decides to flee Yorktown: terrified to be put under court for an evil she would never commit to her dearest friend.
Maleficarum is the story of a girl's attempt to flee the violence and cruelty surrounding witch-hunts: uncovering that the greater evil infesting Yorktown is not the accused "witches" - but the hysteria and narrow-mindedness of her hometown.
literature inspiration
Malleus Maleficarum: a 1486 book written by two German Dominican Heinrich Kramer that outline the threats of the devil in witchcraft, as well as the common identifiers of someone who was being used as a devil’s “human agent”.
The word Maleficarum means harmful magic, or witchcraft, and this manual was to be used to hammer out such practices. The Malleus Maleficarum documented beliefs about witches and then enumerated ways to identify witches, convict them of the charge of witchcraft, and execute them for the crime. Most accused witches were women, and most men accused of witchcraft were accused on the basis of being associated with "evil" women.
"When women stepped outside their prescribed roles, they became targets. Too much wealth might reflect sinful gains. Too little money demonstrated bad character. Too many children could indicate a deal with a devil. Having too few children was suspicious, too.”
- Thesis on the gendered history of Witch Hunts
behind maleficarum:
pre production
pre production phase:
storyboard draft
Maleficarum - Team
Lucinda Hogue
Creator, Cinematographer
Lucinda Hogue is a young, creative writer/director as well as being a highly skilled media technician with several years of experience in using industry grade equipment.
Maria Pineda Meneses
Creator, Editor
Maria Pineda Meneses directed and edited this project, utilising various software and visual effects to form evocative imagery.
Isabella Kerrigan
Head of Costume
Isabella had the responsibility of costuming this production. In order to ensure historical accuracy all of the Puritan dresses, chemises, bonnets and aprons were home made.