Scotland’s Witch Scare

The first notable witch hunt in Scotland lasted 7 months in the year 1597. Historians believe that approximately 400 people were accused and at least half of them were executed.Records were not properly kept during that time so the information is scarce. King James VI was adamant about killing witches believing that they were out to get him, specifically. He published his book “Daemonologie” as he announced the witch hunt in 1597 and he is, most likely, the reason proper records were not kept. Record keeping did not become a regular occurrence until the mid 1600’s Alexander, 2015). The book by King James later became the inspiration for Shakespear’s “Macbeth”. 

In Scotland, the average amount of witch persecutions reached 4 to 5 times more than Europe. In 1662 a woman confessed to having met the devil multiple times in various forms. Her name was Janet McNichol, a resident of the Isle of Bute. 13 years later, she was strangled and her corpse burnt, the average end to an accused witch (O’Sullivan, 2019).

Throughout the entirety of the witch hunt era of Scotland, approximately 3,837 people were known to have been accused of witchcraft and only 3,212 of these people have been identified leaving another 625 people unnamed. Other accounts estimate higher numbers around 4,500 to 30,000. These higher numbers however, are based on speculation rather than research and fact. Some records provide very detailed information while others are vague and leave substantial gaps in reliable information (Brewster, 2020). 

Of the known cases, it has been discovered that only 305 trials were recorded, including sentencing. Of these, ,205 were executed, 52 were acquitted, 27 were banished, 11 were declared fugitives, 6 were excommunicated 2 were outlawed, 1 was to be imprisoned for life and 1 other was sentenced to public humiliation. 98 were recorded to have successfully fled from their execution sentences, suggesting that 67% were successfully executed. These numbers however, are only based on less than a tenth of known accusations due to the unreliable recording of trials (Brewster, 2020). 

Most of these known cases were women approximated to be somewhere around 84%. Of all known accused, 7% were under 20 years of age, 30% were between ages 20 and 40, 53% were between 40 and 60 years old, 11% were older that 60 (Brewster, 2020). 

The accused were usually the victims of quarrels with neighbors and the neighbors deemed them witches if they experienced some sort of misfortune after the argument. The neighbors would lie, claiming bespellment and other malicious spiritual acts (Brewster, 2020). 

The persecutions lated for 173 years between 1563 and 1736. Despite rumor, midwives and healers were not the common target for accusations, nor were poor women, In fact, the majority fell into the middle class of the socio-economic class. Tortures were most likely used to obtain confessions Sleep deprecation was the most common method of torture as it eventually led to hallucinations (Brewster, 2020). 

You may remember that scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail where they decide that if the woman floats, she is a witch. This was also a common practice, though more in England than in Scotland, as ridiculous as it may seem (Brewster, 2020). 

There were four main types of evidence used to persecute alleged witches:

1. Confession Evidence

• This was often obtained through torture. The torture would typically continue until the victim would admit to a pact with the devil or using witchcraft to harm neighbors.

2. Neighbor’s Testimony

• This was the evidence where the arguments with neighbors would be used

3. Other ‘witches’ testimony

• When interrogated and tortured, witches were often demanded to name other witches that would then be arrested and interrogated. This mainly happened during the periods of intense witch hunting.

4. The Devil’s Mark

• This mark was believed to be obtained by a pact with the devil. It was believed to be either a blemish or an insensitive spot that would be discovered by poking around the witches body with a pin.

Despite the rumors that floated around at the time, these following statements were proven false (some obviously so):

• Witches did not meet in groups of thirteen
• They did not worship the devil even though many were tortured into saying they did
• Many theories have alluded to drug induced hallucinations as part of the witch hunts but this was also proven false. 
• Witches looked like regular women but were often portrayed as strange and grotesque.
• Scotland did not follow the common theories of broomsticks and black cats

(Brewster, 2020)