Brita Zippel, also called Britta Sippel (died 29 April 1676) was an alleged Swedish witch, known as "Näslösan", one of the victims of the Katarina witch trials during the great witch hunt known as "Det Stora oväsendet" ("The Great noise") in Sweden between 1668-1676. Together with her sister Anna Zippel.
Background
Brita Zippel was born into a wealthy family. Her father, who was of German descent and a master of ball sports, founded "Lilla Bollhuset", a building for sports for the upper classes. Her two brothers were sports instructors for the gentlemen of the court and the king, Charles XI.
In 1669, at around 30 years old, she married a brick-master named Galle and had two children with him. Brita had a reputation for being temperamental and having poor self-control. Her husband had been advised not to marry her. Her own sister, Anna, told him her sister was a "wicked woman". He was told that Brita was the kind of person who "put her pies under the pot when she cooked", meaning that she used sorcery. Her husband had a promising career when they married, but after about four years, he suffered terribly from syphilis, which confined him to bed and ruined him financially. By 1675, her husband was insane. He had not been listed in his profession since 1673, and his family lived in poverty.
Brita was called "Näslösan" (Noseless), because her husband's disease made him lose his nose. She survived mostly on the charity of her sister, Anna Zippel. Her brothers, the sports instructors of the court, no longer acknowledged either sister because of an argument over an inheritance. Her children were left to beg in the streets. Her lack of self-control caused many arguments, leading neighbors to shun her. Her former membership in a different social class alone would have been cause for suspicion.
Brita Zippel was tried for sorcery three times: in 1668, in 1674, and in 1675. In 1668 the master mariner Cornelius accused her of having cursed his ship, and having Satan throw him off his horse three times. She was acquitted, as he could present no proof and her reputation was yet not so bad. The court fined Cornelius for slander. In 1674, a girl accused her of sorcery, but the court again set her free, as they considered the witness insane. By this time, the period of the Swedish witch trials had begun after the accusation of Märet Jonsdotter. In 1670, churches began to use the "witch-prayer", and in 1675, the real witch frenzy arrived in Stockholm. Brita was naturally the first woman to be talked about as a witch.
Trial
Inspired by the Gävle-Boy, Johan Johansson Griis, some children claimed they had been abducted and taken to Witches' Sabbath of Satan in Blockula by witches, making their parents hysterical. Watch-houses were set up to protect children, and Brita's name became the one most mentioned, together with her sister and her sister's friend Anna Månsdotter. The children claimed the two sisters and Månsdotter attacked them in the watch-houses by night. The parents ran in the directions the children pointed and chopped at the walls with axes in search for the attacking witches. One parent produced hairs—later displayed in court—which he claimed he had cut from Brita. The parents appealed to the authorities, who set up a special witch commission to investigate. Brita reacted to the rumors with rage. She hunted the rumor-spreading children in the streets, slapping them and telling them to go to hell. This did not help her cause.
The commission brought in the children of Brita Zippel and her sister Anna to be questioned. In front of their mothers, they said their mother and aunt often took them to Satan. Brita Zippel reacted by attacking her sister in a rage.
The rumors about Brita Zippel increased. The commission repeatedly brought her in for questioning. When a ship burned in the harbor, people blamed her for the loss of life. Rumors said she visited the gallows at night to steal clothes of the hanged. Children claimed they had seen her playing dice with her sister in Blockula to decide which of them would set fire to the royal palace, and Brita won. When she stayed at home from one of the questionings, the children claimed she was tired after having been whipped by the Devil. When the authorities examined her, they saw a spot on her back. A doctor later examined her and confirmed that she had the fever and that he could not find any mark, but the damage had been done.