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The Vardø Witch Trials

The Vardø Witch Trials

The Witches’ Hole | EP 5

Oct 23, 2026 · 37m

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About this episode

When a new governor, Christoffer Orning, and a well-born Danish exile, Anna Rhodius, arrive in Vardø, a darker idea takes hold: once the Devil has a foothold in a family, he will not let them go. Now the young daughters of accused women are brought before the court. I finally go to Mount Domen, long believed to be the entrance to Hell, where the women were said to hold their witches’ gatherings. Then I visit the long-feared witches’ hole. Along the way, Professor Liv Helene Willumsen guides us through the court books to find out how the chain of accusations came to reach the girls. And I talk to Anya Bergman, author of The Witches of Vardø, about her own reading of Anna Rhodius. Find me on…