Gideon Planke

17th century witch-fynder, thought to be mostly ACTIVE in Shropshire and Hereford, subsequently used in mid 19th century Shropshire folklore to enforce good behaviour on unruly children before bedtime.

'''`And when the pricking time did tell, the fynder came from fiery hell, to rid this earth of monstrous beasts, lay them down for devils feasts. And now a ghoul, he wanders still, to find the child that bears him ill, for Gideon Planke will fynde you out, he is coming, have no doubt.'''

Whilst no evidence testifies to his afterlife notoriety, subsequent researches via entries in parish registers do give credence to the theory that a Gideon Planke was operating under the supposed auspices of a Parliamentary mandate to `fynde' in South Shropshire, after fleeing Suffolk in 1648, following a vilent argument with John Stearne, former accomplice to Matthew Hopkins, the self-styled Witchfynder General, responsible for so many deaths in Essex and Suffolk during the previous two years. Local lore has it that Planke was eventually killed by an angry mob, and his body left tied to a tree as a warning to other would-be `fynders'