author

John Linwood Pitts

1836–1917

A careful chronicler of the Channel Islands, he is best remembered for preserving local language, folklore, and court records that might otherwise have faded from view. His work opens a window onto Guernsey’s history, from regional dialect poetry to the unsettling world of witchcraft trials.

1 Audiobook

Witchcraft and Devil Lore in the Channel Islands Transcripts from the Official Records of the Guernsey Royal Court, with an English Translation and Historical Introduction

Witchcraft and Devil Lore in the Channel Islands Transcripts from the Official Records of the Guernsey Royal Court, with an English Translation and Historical Introduction

by John Linwood Pitts

About the author

John Linwood Pitts was a 19th-century writer and editor associated with Guernsey and the wider Channel Islands. The surviving records found here identify him as the editor of The Patois Poems of the Channel Islands and The Sermon on the Mount and the Parable of the Sower, in the Franco-Norman Dialects of Guernsey and Sark.

He is best known today for Witchcraft and Devil Lore in the Channel Islands, a historical volume that draws on official records of the Guernsey Royal Court and presents them with English translation and introduction. The book shows his strong interest in local history, language, and folklore, especially the way older beliefs were preserved in legal and community memory.

Other listings also connect him with Guernsey and Its Bailiwick: A Guide and a Gossip, suggesting a broader role as an interpreter of island life for readers of his time. I could not confirm a reliable portrait image from the sources available here, so none is included.