In 1590, King James VI (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) of Scotland took a personal interest in the prosecution of a coven of witches from North Berwick who were accused of trying to assassinate him and his new bride Anne of Denmark with the use of Black Magic.
There is a story about a witch from Yarrow. Each night a young boy was transformed into a horse when a local witch slipped a magical bridle over his head whilst he slept. She would ride the boy to her sabbat. One night the boy’s older brother tricked the witch and managed to bridle her instead.
The Hill of Fare was the scene of a battle in 1562 between George, the 4th Earl of Huntly and Mary Queen of Scots, his first cousin. Huntly’s wife had been in consultation with the witches of Strathbogie who told her that Huntly would be lying in the Tollbooth at Aberdeen without a wound on his body by nightfall.
Fairies / Folklore / Occult / Scottish Fairies / Witchcraft
by Ian · Published August 12, 2008 · Last modified November 4, 2018
Isabel (Isobel) Gowdie was a young housewife from Auldearn in Nairnshire who is remembered not just for being tried as a witch, but for her detailed confession. Her trial was in 1662 and what makes her confession so interesting, apart from the detail, is that is that it was supposedly taken without the use of torture.
King Duff (930AD-966AD) was son of King Malcolm I and succeeded King Indulf to the throne of Alba (Scotland) in 962AD. Culen, son of Indulf attempted to take the throne in battle but failed. However King Duff fell ill shortly afterwards and in his weakened state could not govern the country properly and rebellions began to break out.
Occult / Occult Biographies / Witchcraft
by Ian · Published August 6, 2008 · Last modified November 19, 2018
Immortalised by Shakespeare, Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester was accused of trying to assassinate King Henry VI using witchcraft; a crime for which she received life imprisonment and perhaps left a ghostly legacy.
Pots and Pans above Greenfield, was once thought to have been a Druid place of worship, and old maps mark the site of a ‘Druid’s Altar’. Just where the Druid’s Altar was is unclear, but it is generaly believed to be the rounded depressions found on top of the giant boulders of Millstone grit (the actual pots and pans) on the crest of the hill.
The local church made from the distinctive stones taken from Hadrian’s Wall dates back to Saxon times. The churchyard holds the grave of Margaret Teasdale who died aged ninety-eight in 1777. Items found in her home after her death led the locals to believe she had an interest in the occult and she has been regarded as a witch since then.
Apparitions / Hauntings / Road Ghosts / Witchcraft
by Ian · Published July 22, 2008 · Last modified December 31, 2018
On a minor road between Wilden and Ravensden a strange figure dressed in black has been seen in broad daylight.
The figure has been identified as a witch with a malevolent character.
Directions: The haunted road is a minor road off the B660 between Ravensden and Wilden
A hill called Galley Hill on the outskirts of Luton was in former times the site of a gallows, where public executions would have taken place.
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