Mary Adams (purported virgin)

Mary Adams (alleged death 1652) is a fictional character created for the purpose of the pamphlet The Ranters Monster, printed in London in March 1652. She is depicted as a self-proclaimed virgin mother who claimed to have been impregnated by the Holy Ghost and denied the teachings of the Christian gospel, and declared that she was to bring forth the Saviour of the World. The pamphlet describes her alleged blasphemies, subsequent imprisonment, a prolonged labour resulting in the birth of a stillborn, deformed creature, and her eventual demise, which involved suicide by ripping open her bowels with a knife. However, there is no historical evidence to support the existence of Mary Adams; she exists solely within the context of this pamphlet, likely intended to serve as a cautionary tale or to sensationalise religious themes of the time.