The Strange Case of Hellish Nell: The Story of Helen Duncan and the Witch Trial of World War II

The Strange Case of Hellish Nell is a great book about the strange but true case of Helen Duncan who was the only person to be prosecuted during World War II under the Witchcraft Act of 1735. Duncan was a medium or spiritualist who had a tendency to reveal state secrets during seances that suggested that she was on the side of the Nazis and had somehow corrupted folk in the British government to give her information that was supposed to be kept secret. However, the British government was unable to discover just how she was getting her information and the only way that British law enforcement could come up with to silence her was to bring her up on charges of witchcraft. What were these secrets that the British government wanted kept out of Duncan's seances? Ship movements including those related to the forthcoming invasion of France. What specific secret that Duncan leaked during a seance sparked the British government's action against her? The battleship HMS Barham had been sunk in the Mediterranean Sea and the British government withheld this information from the public for fear that it would damage public morale. However, during a seance, Duncan revealed that the Barham had been sunk. To this day it is unknown how Duncan came by this information and it seems unlikely that her naming the Barham as being sunk so soon after it was sunk could have been a coincidence. In any event, The Strange Case of Hellish Nell is a great book about a bizarre subject.

For those of you who, like myself, enjoy bizarre stories, "The Strange Case of Hellish Nell" will be your cup of tea. In the style of the non-fiction novel popularized by Truman Capote in "In Cold Blood" and Norman Mailer in "The Executioner's Song", the book traces the extraordinary life of Helen Duncan, highlighting her 1944 trial for "witchcraft", all of this documented by voluminous footnotes, and adds what Shandler calls "constructed" dialogue and states of mind that flesh out and enliven the documented record. One of the ironic details of the story is that while the driving force behind the criminal prosecution was the fear that her channeled spirit Albert would reveal war secrets surrounding the imminent Normandy landings, the statute under which she was indicted actually accused her of being a fraudulent medium. So the government labored to prove she was a charlatan and phony while secretly fearing she was just legitimate enough to apprehend and reveal real secrets. If she were truly guilty of being a fraud, she would be technically guilty but no real threat to government secrecy. On the other hand, if she were innocent, she might be acquitted of the charges but would represent quite a real security risk. This cognitive dissonance adds humor and complexity to the "strange case". One interesting sidelight is that even though Duncan was convicted, the preponderance of testimony under oath tended to establish that far from being a fraud, she could actually channel deceased spirits. The book thus adds a bit of second-hand evidence to the life-after-life debate. My one reservation is that the tone went back and forth between broad comedy and pathos. Many of the dramatis personae are portrayed as stock comic characters, but Helen Duncan was physically and emotinally abused and incarcerated for six months, which are hardly laughing matters. So, is this a comedy or a tragedy? Maybe, like life, it's both. But overall, this is a fun read and a stranger than fiction truly bizarre tale.

In 1944 as Allied Forces prepared for D-Day, one Helen Duncan was in Britiain's highest criminal court - facing charges of witchcraft. She was the country's most controversial psychic - and a grandmother - and channeled spirits who seemed to know too many military secrets. Strangely her seances were revealing to-secret British intelligence - and authorities wanted her silenced. Her diaries, personal papers, interviews, and declassified documents contribute to psychologist Nina Shandler, Ed.D.'s survey of 'Hellish Nell' and her strange talents. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

A book that if it hadn't led to a prison sentence would go down as comedy. It is early 1944. Helen Duncan is being tried for WITCHCRAFT! Yes, Witchcraft and in 1944. The law, you see, put into effect in 1735 is still in effect. Oh well! This only proved the second of her mother's prophecies - 'You'll be tried as a witch.' Not only was she tried, she was convicted and put in jail. Come on, you gotta be kidding. Nope - tried, convicted, jailed. Nell was a spiritualist. She contacted a dead Spirit named Albert. On May 24, 1941 Albert speaking through her said, 'A great British battleship has just sunk.' At that time the Navy itself wasn't aware that the Bismark had just sunk HMS Hood. Neither did the German Navy know as the Bismark was keeping radio silence. Later in November 1941 the battleship HMS Barham was sunk by a U-boat in the Med. later that November Helen reported that a ghost-like creature appeared, wearing a sailor's cap that read HMS Barham. The creature hovered around a young woman and said, 'Sorry Sweetheart, my ship sank in the Mediterranean. I've crossed over to the other side.' Meanwhile, the Royal Navy began a cover up including forged Christmas cards from the dead crewmen to prevent the Germans from finding out that the Barham was sunk. These two incidents led the authorities to fear that Helen would talk about other things like the D-Day landings, so they tried her and put her in jail. The report of the trial was classified 'CLOSED UNTIL 2046.' A good way to keep things secret. But this is England, land of freedom, fair judges and all that. Still it's true, and fascinating reading.

OK - I'm biased - the author, Nina Shandler, is my wife....Still, I had a good view of what went into this book and it is meticulously researched (over 1500 footnotes)and written in a style that the Boston Globe called "riveting and cinematic." The Strange Case of Hellish Nell is a fascinating book that tells the bizarre story of Britain's second-longest trial during WWII - the prosecution of Helen Duncan under the Witchcraft Act of 1735! Hellish Nell, as she was nicknamed, was the most popular medium in wartime England and her penchant for divulging military secrets while in trance brought her to the attention of MI5. The trial that followed was truly hilarious and quite unbelievable at times. I'm not going to tell you what happened - you'll have to read the book to find out. I promise it's fun and interesting.