Editing Spectral evidence (section)

{{Short description|Reported supernatural visions used as legal testimony}}
'''Spectral evidence''' is a form of legal evidence based upon the testimony of those who claim to have experienced [[Vision (spirituality)|visions]].

Such testimony was frequently given during the [[Witch trials in the early modern period|witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries]]. The alleged victims of [[witchcraft]] would claim to have been tormented by the spectral images of certain named members of the community; this was taken as evidence that those named were witches, and had given the [[Devil]] permission to assume their appearance.{{sfn|Craker|1997|page=332}} If accepted by a court, this testimony was virtually impossible to refute.{{sfn|Weisman|1984|page=104}} However, spectral evidence was rarely used to secure a conviction, as theologians were unable to agree that the Devil could not take on the shape of an innocent person.{{sfn|Le Beau|1998|pages=33–34}} The debate about the validity of spectral evidence rose to a climax with the [[Bury St Edmunds witch trials|Bury St Edmunds witch trial]] of 1662, and the [[Salem witch trials]] of 1692–93.