With pretty streets and waterside views, Manningtree looks an unlikely setting for one of the darkest chapters in Essex's history.
But the small town has a chilling connection to the witch persecutions of the 17th century.
Sitting beside the River Stour in north Essex, Manningtree today is an attractive and peaceful place to spend an afternoon.
Its historic centre is packed into a relatively small area, while the waterfront provides views across the Stour and towards neighbouring Suffolk.
But behind the picturesque surroundings lies a much darker story.
Manningtree is closely connected to the notorious witch-hunting activities of Matthew Hopkins, the self-styled "Witchfinder General", who moved to the town in the early 1640s.
His activities against people accused of witchcraft began in Manningtree during the turbulent years of the English Civil War.
Nearly four centuries later, that history makes the town a particularly fascinating place to explore around Halloween.
A town with centuries of history
Manningtree's story stretches considerably further back than the events for which it would later become infamous.
The town was granted a market charter in 1238 and later prospered through industries including the wool trade and shipping.
Many buildings in its centre have Georgian façades which conceal earlier origins, adding to the historic character visitors encounter today.
However, it was events beginning in 1645 that would leave Manningtree with one of the darkest legacies of any Essex town.
The witch persecutions
Among the first people to become caught up in the accusations was Elizabeth Clarke, a disabled woman from Manningtree.
She was accused of witchcraft in 1645 and subjected to "watching", with people monitoring her in an attempt to obtain evidence.
Her case became part of the witch-hunting activities associated with Matthew Hopkins, who went on to become synonymous with the persecution of people accused of witchcraft across East Anglia.
The events provide a stark contrast with the quiet town visitors encounter today.
It can be tempting, particularly around Halloween, to turn historic witch trials into spooky tales and folklore.
But behind Manningtree's connection to witchcraft were real people who were accused, persecuted and, in some cases, executed.
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Remembering the victims
Today there has been an effort to ensure those victims are remembered.
Manningtree is among the locations included on the Tendring Witch Heritage Trail, alongside St Osyth, Walton-on-the-Naze and Harwich.
In Manningtree, a decorative bench and information board tell the story of Elizabeth Clarke.
The heritage project was developed with expert advice from Alison Rowlands, professor of European history at the University of Essex, and focuses attention on the people accused, tried and executed during the witch persecutions.
It provides visitors with a way of discovering the remarkable history behind the streets they are walking through while remembering the human cost of what happened.
A different kind of Halloween visit
Manningtree's setting makes its history all the more striking.
Today it is a picturesque waterside town, surrounded by the neighbouring communities of Lawford and Mistley, with its historic streets just a short distance from the River Stour.
Over the centuries, the area's dark history has inevitably inspired ghost stories and legends, including tales surrounding Matthew Hopkins himself.
But those stories belong to folklore rather than established historical fact.
The documented events which took place in and around Manningtree are chilling enough without embellishment.
Nearly four centuries after the witch persecutions began, Manningtree has transformed into a very different place.
Yet its connection to one of the darkest periods of Essex history remains.
And while visitors arriving on an ordinary day may see little more than an attractive historic town beside the water, at Halloween its past gives Manningtree an altogether more haunting quality.
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