The Priest, the Witch
Logline
The true story of the 1851 Cideville witch trial lies buried in history. A witch named Thorel Felix, in revenge for the jailing of his coven leader, pronounced a hex upon two adolescent boys who lived with Father Jean Lariat in Cideville, France. Soon strange noises began in Lariat's parsonage. First he forced Felix to apologize to the boys. A local seigneur, Robert de Saint Martin, devised experiments to determine the poltergeist's source. Then Lariat and another priest tried an exorcism without success and a well-known occultist, the Marquis de Foursin, performed séances. Finally Father Lariat, half-crazed by the relentless noise, went to the farm where Felix was a shepherd and beat the witch to the ground. He thought he had won. But Felix struggled to his feet and pronounced upon Lariat the most modern of hexes: "I sue you. I sue you for slander and assault." What followed may be history's only trial where a witch was the plaintiff, not the defendant. The Priest, the Witch and the Poltergeist is a novel based on this incredible story. It brings to life the battle between Felix and Lariat and tells of the witch's meeting maid Eve Thérigny of the seigneur's estate, who fell in love with his subversive courage. And it just may be that the causes of the poltergeist are stranger than anyone living during the Industrial Revolution could foresee.
Genre
Gothic, Historical Fiction, Horror
Short Summary
Three parts: the hex, the poltergeist and the trial
Setting
Cideville, a small town in Normandy, and Paris
Based on a True Story
Yes
Plot - Premise
Rebellion Against 'The One'
Plot - Other Elements
Twist
Mature Audience Themes
Substance Abuse
Main Character Details
Name: Thorel Felix
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Blunt, Crazy, Heartthrob, Masculine, Secretive, Uneducated, Lone Wolf, Perseverance, Underdog
Additional Character Details
Name: Father Lariat
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Role: Antagonist
Key Traits: Decisive, Educated, Manipulative, Strong Moral Code, Desperate, Greedy, Insecure, Power-hungry, Religious
Additional Character Details
Name: Eve
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Role: Logical
Key Traits: Adventurous, Beautiful, Desperate, Faithful, Heroic, Romantic, Skillful, Underdog, Complex, Modest, Perseverance
Additional Character Details
Name: Robert de Saint Victor
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Role: Skeptic
Key Traits: Modest, Strong Moral Code, Complex, Confident, Decisive, Educated, Honorable, Leader