scottish wizardry
When you think of “witch”, what comes to mind? A wart-faced old lady in a black dress with a broom? Really, all it took was a birthmark or a freckle, or singing and dancing outside, or just an accusation from someone who could get you executed as a witch.
Although there have been stories of witchcraft since the beginning of time, the persecutions did not begin until the 16th century. The Witchcraft Act of 1563 made it illegal for anyone to be or associate with a witch. The first great persecution, the North Berwick trials, began in 1590 with King James I and VI. Returning from Denmark with his new wife, a powerful storm nearly kills them. The King believed that witchcraft was the cause of the storm and had almost 100 people arrested. Many were tortured and burned alive.
The Forfar witch-hunt of 1661 and the Auldearn trials of 1662 were prolonged by accusations made by “witches” to save themselves. At the Aberdeen Trials, 7 women were accused of using magic to murder other people and using body parts of the victims to create potions. The Pittenween trials of 1704 were based on the word of a 16-year-old boy. Each of the defendants was tortured. One was even crushed to death under large stones. It was later discovered that the boy had made it all up.
The Renfrewshire trials of 1695 began when 11-year-old Christian Shaw caught a maid drinking forbidden milk and threatened to tell his mother. The maid told the girl that the devil would take her to hell. Christian began having fits and visions, claiming that the maid was torturing her. He vomited up feathers, hay, wax, stones, even an ember. There were accounts of her floating around her room and moving things around without touching them. He also accused several others of witchcraft. More than 20 men, women and children were imprisoned and examined by “witch prickers”. Several children and a minister were found dead on the morning of the trials. Fourteen of the defendants were found not guilty. The rest were hanged and burned. Christian was cured after the executions.
The Witchcraft Act was abandoned in 1736. It is estimated that over 4,000 people were executed for witchcraft in Scotland alone. Only 4 “witches” are recorded as having been executed in Ireland and only 3 in Wales. So for those of you with freckles or birthmarks (like me), be thankful that things have changed!