| Matthew Hopkins' Witch-Pricking Pin | |
|---|---|
| |
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Origin |
Matthew Hopkins |
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Type |
10 cm long brass pin |
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Effects |
Will draw blood from liars, but will bend to avoid pricking the innocent |
|
Downsides |
None |
|
Activation |
Asking the target a question and pricking with the needle |
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Collected by |
Unknown Warehouse 10 Agents |
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Section |
|
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Date of Collection |
1566 AD - 1725 AD |
| [Source] | |
Origin
Matthew Hopkins was a self-appointed witch hunter and scam artist in England in the 1640s. Along with his partner he "tested" and convicted over 300 women during his 3 year career. His methods were akin to torture, and were used later in the famous Salem Witch Trials in the American colonies. Some of his pioneered methods were "the floating test", where the victim would be tied to a chair and thrown into a river. Those that floated were guilty of witchcraft while those that sunk were innocent. Another one was to find a "witch mark", an odd marking on the body that wouldn't draw blood or cause pain when pricked with a pin.
Usage
The pin is imbued with the desire for truth, but unlike its owner it doesn't want to hurt the innocent. When a subject is questioned and then pricked with the pin the needle will either pierce the skin if the subject is lying, or curl to avoid hurting the subject when the truth is told. It is essentially a tool of interrogation, or a painful lie-detector.
Collection
The pin was collected during the time of Warehouse 10, and historical documents of the collection are sketchy.