In the summer of 1603, Engelberte Hechts was accused of having put 8 girls staying with her in the "Maagdenhuys" (see location Maagdenhuys) under a spell. The girls suffered convulsions, sudden paralysis and hysterical seizures. Following an unsuccessful exorcism by the canons of St. Gummarus, the Council of Brabant decided to arrest Hechts.
Although Hechts sat in prison (see Prisoners' Gate location) the girls continued to have seizures. But doubts grew about their behaviour. In October, Pastor Peter Flamen left the Sion Monastery located on this site. He saw 6 girls from the Maagdenhuys, two of them writhing uncontrollably on the ground. When the girls noticed they were being watched, they immediately stood up. They were likely practising their next 'seizure'.
The bench of aldermen of Lier heard similar testimony from neighbour Marie Verhagen. When she asked the girls if they were feeling better, Lynken Blylevens, the youngest at 4 years old, immediately started to roll on the floor screaming. But when Lynken saw the carriage that would take them to Brussels, she happily leapt up.
Eele van den Hove, who was Hechts' maid, sarcastically remarked that the girls only had seizures during the week, never on Sundays or holidays. The same thing was confirmed in the testimony of Anna Nick, a 14-year-old girl who, like her peers from the Maagdenhuys, claimed to have been put under a spell. Following a second interrogation, she admitted that she had lied, to avoid having to go to work.
Read the historical background here
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