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But even if the insertion of the needle caused her to scream in agony, the examiners could accuse her of faking the pain and condemn her anyway. Thus no matter what she did during the test, she couldn't prove her innocence.
A Devil's Mark is also called a Devil's Seal or Witch's Mark. In some areas it was also called a Witch's Tit, because a mole or wart can resemble a small nipple, and a tiny percentage of people even have a small third nipple on their bodies. Some examiners even thought that the mark could be invisible, and if nothing was found in the initial search, they would begin sticking the needle into random spots on the suspect's body to try to find an insensitive area.
The era of the large-scale witch hunts began in the 15th century and continued for more than 200 years. It started in the Catholic areas of Europe but soon spread into Protestant areas as well. Most of the victims were old women, but some younger women, as well as some men, were also killed. Their punishment was dictated by the bible, for Exodus 22:18 says "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" [King James Version). By the time the organized persecutions ended, tens of thousands of people had been tortured into confessing and then burned alive.
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This drawing by the 17th-century Dutch artist Jan Luyken shows the execution of a group of suspected witches. Each suspect was tied to a post and burned alive as the flames leaped up onto her body.
