Origin
Matthew Hopkins was England's self-titled Witchfinder General, whose obsession with uncovering witches led to the execution of around 300 presumably innocent women between the start of his crusade in 1644 and his demise in 1647.
Creation
Matthew Hopkins is a genuine historical figure, whose infamy grew from his brutal methods of "proving" suspects to be witches, and from his treatise, The Discovery of Witches, published the year he died. This volume helped spread his methods far afield, including their usage during the Salem Witch Trials. The illustration of Hopkins on his book has defined his visual in subsequent media appearances, including several novels, a movie (where he was portrayed by Vincent Price), comics and audio plays such as The Scarifyers. Parodies and pastiches of him also appear in various places, such as the first series of the British sitcom Blackadder, and Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's novel Good Omens.
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