Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 9 on 20/7/2003.

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Gone to the devil

DIANE MACLEAN LOOKS INTO THE STRANGE AND DISTURBING INSTANCES OF WITCH-HUNTS IN SCOTLAND

When Rabbie Burns wrote his poem Address To The Deil in 1785, he could afford to make light of the idea of ‘warlocks grim’ flying into the Galloway twilight. Scotland had burnt her last witch nearly 80 years previously, and the hysteria that had infected the country had died away.

Witch-hunting came to Scotland in the 16th century when The Witchcraft Act of 1563 pushed through by the newly-created Church of Scotland made it illegal both to practice sorcery or to consult a witch. It remained on the Statute books until 1736.

It the intervening years, it is estimated that some 2,000 to 3,000 witches were either strangled or burnt to death.

At the time, belief in magic was widespread. Most villages had a ‘cunning woman’, whose knowledge of herbs and wise reputation made her the first port of call for many villagers seeking help. These women were said to cure illness, find lost objects and intercede with spirits. On the negative side, they could also use curses and cause great harm to either you or your livestock.

There was also a commonly-held belief in witches – people who had made an alliance with the devil enabling them to get up to all sorts of mischief. Witches could curse too, but they could also fly using twigs or branches and even shape-shift, changing into animals at will in order to travel great distances to attend witches sabbats. Although there were instances of male ‘wizards’, as Christine Larner wrote in her book Enemies of God: “The witch was old, ugly and fema.....

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By Diane Maclean

Section : Bizarre Scotland

Page number : 74