Tales of witchcraft have been the source of entertainment for centuries, but when the tales jump into reality, a new type of wickedness emerges. Such was the case in the Scottish witch trials. The witches of Fife serve as a reminder that the stories we watch for entertainment on television have a dark, and deeply painful past.
What’s even more mysterious than the history itself is the stories these women spun surrounding their supposed confessions. It seems, they are still bewitching us… after all these years.
Promo: Haunted Happenstance
THE KINGDOM OF FIFE
Fife was home to Scotland’s capital for six centuries. It is rich with history and is still dotted with cathedrals, castles, and historical landmarks. It was the ancestral home of Scottish monarchs and is enchanting with its rocky coastline and lush greenery.
THE GREAT WITCH HUNT OF SCOTLAND
The Great Witch Hunt of Scotland occurred between March and October 1597, a hunt for all those who practiced witchcraft was encouraged by James VI. More than 4,000 people (men and women alike) were accused of witchery between 1563-1736. Scholars believe that around two-thirds of those charged were executed.
THE PITTENWEEM WITCH TRIALS
Sixteen-year-old Patrick Morton had a habit of telling wild stories. And those tall tales would take the lives of three people in the quaint fishing village of Pittenweem in the Neuk of Fife, Scotland.
He first accused Beatrix Layng of sending wicked thoughts to torture him. You see, Beatrix Layng had visited Patrick, who was the son of a blacksmith, to ask him to make her some nails. When he refused, because he already had an urgent order, she walked away, murmuring words of revenge. The next day, Patrick saw a bucket of water and burning coal outside of the woman’s house. He took that as a sign that she was casting a spell on him. He claimed that he immediately felt weak and faint. After this sight, he claimed that his health continued to deteriorate. He refused to eat, and people claimed to see fingernail scratches on his body. He eventually grew so weak that he couldn’t get out of bed, and he claimed to see the devil himself sitting at the foot of his bed.
At the time of the accusations, there was a pamphlet circulating about the details of demonic possession of the eleven-year-old girl Christian Shaw, who was at the crux of the Paisley witch trials. The local minister had read the pamphlets to the boy just before these accusations began.
Unbelievably, no one questioned his story, and Beatrix was arrested.
Beatrix and the other accused were tortured to extract confessions. She was kept awake for five days straight before she finally confessed. One letter said “The ministers have used a great deal of barbarous severities to extort confessions from those poor unhappy creatures.” While in custody, she admitted to making spells with buckets of water and hot coals, as well as putting needles through a wax figure of her victim. She even claimed that she’d met and bargained with the devil who came to her in the form of a black dog. She said she knew he was the devil because he shape-shifted in front of her. She went on to say that she offered him her daughter and granddaughter, who was only six years old at the time.
Beatrix remarkably survived the severe torture that was able to extract such a tale and was finally freed. She then immediately retracted her statement, only to get beaten and thrown into the village stalks. She was then placed in the dungeon of the jail and served five months of solitary confinement. After she was finally freed, she only lived a few months longer. Her death was a direct result of the months of ill-treatment she endured.
Thomas Brown was also accused. He was arrested and starved to death in a dungeon.
Janet Cornfoot was another victim of these accusations. She somehow managed to flee at first. This outraged the people so much that every house was searched. And she was re-captured. She was beaten and dragged to the sea. Her hands and feet were bound with a rope and fastened to her waist. The rope was attached to a boat out at sea, and a group of men held the other end. She was swung back and forth, into the water, until she almost drowned. She was bound, beaten, stoned, and eventually crushed to death under a pile of heavy rocks. And as if that wasn’t enough, a horse and cart were driven over her several times. Her body was then thrown into a communal grave known as “Witches Corner.”
Others were accused of witchery by Patrick, as well, but they were all freed. The truth would come to light, as it always does, though, because he would eventually be exposed—and confessed–as the liar he was, but he never suffered any punishment for his horrendous actions.
MARGARET AITKEN, THE GREAT SCOTTISH WITCH, THE GREAT WITH OF BALWEARIE
But perhaps the most infamous Scottish witch is Margaret Aitken. She was arrested in Fife in April of 1597 for witchcraft and would later plead guilty after being severely tortured. Desperate to save her own life, she claimed to be able to identify a fellow witch by looking into their eyes. She agreed to work for the commission to hunt and help bring other witches to execution in exchange for her life.
She made good on her promise and was the cause of the execution of many women. Although the exact number is unknown, it’s believed to be in the hundreds. But she was exposed as a fraud in August of 1597. A prosecutor had grown suspicious of her claims, and he brought women she’d already condemned back to her the next day in a different dress, and she then declared them innocent. She was then burned at the stake.
LILLIAS ADIE
It’s can hard to fathom why women would confess, often telling strange and elaborate stories about their witchery, but under extreme torture, people are likely to say anything if it means the pain will stop.
In 1704, Lillias Adie, an older woman, was accused of making her neighbor sick. She told the ministers and elders that she was indeed a witch and that she had met the devil in a cornfield and taken him as her master and lover. She also claimed that they had led others in a wild dance, under an unearthly blue light. She called these people out by name. As time went on, her tales grew stranger and more outlandish, but everything she said was accepted as proof that she indeed was a witch who’d made a pact with the devil. She died in prison without ever facing a trial.
WITCH PRICKERS
The people of Scotland were desperate to snuff out witchcraft from their communities. During this time, there were professional witch prickers, people who were well-paid to find the “Devil’s Mark” on an accused witch. They would use a long steel needle to poke and prod the women’s bodies, searching for the spot where they would be immune to pain. They knew that repeated prodding of the same place would render the area insensible.
One famous witch pricker was from Fife. The Reverend Allan Logan was a local minister who became famed in all of Scotland for his ability to hunt down and detect witches. Lore has it that he would stop in the middle of his communion services, point his finger, and yell: “You witch—wife rise from the Tabled of the Lord.” The accused woman often responded to his accusation by running out the church, probably in utter fear, only to be arrested outside.
THE WITCH OF FIFE IN FOLKLORE
The Witch of Fife shows up in folklore, as well. We know by now that all great tales are passed from generation to generation. In James Hogg’s narrative poem, The Queen’s Wake, a series of bards contribute stories to a competition organized by Mary, Queen of Scots.
In it, the eighth bard sings of a man who follows his witch wife to the bishop’s house to drink his wine. The wife warns her husband not to drink too much, but he does it anyway and falls asleep. He’s caught by the bishop’s guards and is sentenced to burn at the stake. Right before he burns, his wife uses her sorcery to save him. And he vows never to practice witchcraft again.
It seems the Witches of Fife are still enchanting readers and historians with their stories. History is a wicked beast.
Music by Kevin MacLeod and Epidemic Sound (paid licenses).
Written and narrated by Vanessa K. Eccles.
Research assistance by Whitney Zahar.
