pickingill was brought to wider public attention in the early 1960s by the folklorist eric maple. as part of his research into beliefs regarding folk magic and witchcraft in nineteenth-century essex, maple had interviewed a number of canewdon residents and collected their stories about pickingill and his reputation as a cunning man. according to their accounts, pickingill attracted visitors from around essex seeking his magical help, for which he did not charge. they attributed to him the power to control animals, to command imps to do his bidding, and to wield power over either six or nine malevolent witches who lived in canewdon. it was also claimed that he was able to coerce assistance and beer from local residents by threatening to place a curse upon them or their belongings. although it has been suggested that local people were inventing claims to please maple, many of which were based on older tales regarding the essex cunning man james murrell, subsequent research by historian ronald hutton has confirmed aspects of the folklorist's original accounts.