Scottish Witch Stories: The Facts & The Fiction

Every Halloween, plenty of children (and adults) across Scotland grab their broomsticks and dress up as witches. Lots of pointy hats, warts, cackling and cauldrons along with a healthy dose of eye of newt. It’s one of the classics costumes, but not so long ago, acting like a Scottish witch was nothing to joke about!

The lives of people accused of witchcraft were in real danger as a wave of paranoia swept the nation. Today, we have memorials, local landmarks and plenty of old tales to tell, but what’s the truth behind the stories? There’s probably no other element of Scotland’s varied folklore that’s quite as mixed up as this.

When it comes to Scottish witch stories, it’s time to separate the facts from the fiction.

What Is A Scottish Witch?

Scotland has a particularly harsh history when it comes to persecution of witchcraft. It stemmed from King James VI, believing that Scottish witches had attempted to sink his ship, while returning from Denmark with his new Queen Anne. He considered himself the Devil’s greatest mortal enemy, even writing a book on the subject called Daemonologie!

Things took a nasty turn after that, around 4000 people were captured and a large number subsequently executed. Innocent men and women were interrogated, tortured and sleep-deprived until they would confess to anything, just to make it stop. Birthmarks were considered witch spots and any neighbour with a gripe could be used as a witness.

There have been stories of Scottish witches around for much longer than that though. Take the infamous story of Macbeth and the Weird Sisters for example. While much of Shakespeare’s play is complete nonsense, this encounter comes from even earlier historical texts.

Not every Scottish witch story portrays them as forces of evil, there were some just as likely to help as they were to hinder. What we would now call a witch would often be seen as a source of knowledge or prophecy. Sometimes all they liked to do was pinch a little milk from their neighbour’s cows.

Before discovering the tragic true stories of alleged Scottish witches, there are some fascinating folk stories to explore.

Encountering The Witch of Laggan

A hunter was resting in an isolated bothy one night, with a hound by his feet when he heard a scratching at the door. There was a miserable looking black cat outside and to his surprise, it spoke! “I know you hate my kind, but I’ve given up my wicked ways! Please take pity on a poor witch.”

Moved by her plea, the hunter agreed, but she made one request. Tie up the growling dog with one of her hairs so she could relax without fear of attack. Wary of tricks, he discreetly tied the hair around his chair leg instead. As the cat sat by the fire, it seemed to grow bigger, although she claimed that was just her fur drying.

However, the witch soon filled the tiny room and screamed, “Foolish man! Your companion Raasay breathed his last tonight and you will soon follow!” Suddenly, the dog leapt at the enormous feline, the hunter using the distraction to grab his sword and stab it in the shoulder. It howled in pain and limped into the night.

In the morning, the hunter returned home to discover the Goodwife of Laggan was on her deathbed. He marched to her cottage and exposed her as the witch who had attacked him. She admitted everything, but renounced the Devil before dying in her bed.

At that moment, the hunter’s son saw a woman sprinting along the road. She asked if she would reach the church of Dalarossie by midnight, but he replied it was a long journey. Before long, two black dogs raced past followed by a man on a black horse. Soon, the horseman rode back with the woman across the saddle. The Goodwife’s soul hadn’t quite made the sanctuary in time to escape her master.

Joining The Witches Of Delnabo

A large farm at Delnabo had been split equally between three married tenants. They all worked equally hard, but for some reason, two allotments prospered greatly while the third lagged behind. The farmer’s wives sat together as they worked their chores and the poor man’s partner complained about their troubles. She wished there was something within her power to help.

The other two women smiled at each other. They told her to meet them long after dark, leaving a broom in her place. Instead, she told her husband every word and the farmer knew these were witches. He dressed in his wife’s clothes and hurried to the meeting spot. In the darkness, the excited women didn’t even notice that their companion wasn’t whom they were expecting.

They led him into the hills, until they came to a deep pool, lit by a hundred torches. Dozens of witches were speeding around in sieves, shrieking with laughter. Directly across, the Devil sat in the form of an enormous black dog and he was to wait while they spoke him. He could help speed them across by shouting encouragement in the name of the beast.

The two began to row their sieve, but the farmer had seen enough. He shouted, “Go then, in the name of the Best” and at the name of God, the dark magic was broken. Every torch went out and the unusual vessel holding his neighbours began to sink rapidly.

In the morning, he explained to the other farmers why they had brooms in their beds instead of their partners. Over the next months, with the devious spells broken, the third farm became far richer and thankfully none of them saw the Witches of Delnabo ever again.

The Farmer’s Wife of Deloraine

This Scottish witch legend shows a lighter side of folklore. A welcome reminder that not every tale of witchcraft results in death and not every witch was thought of as evil. You don’t even need to read the story, you can just sit back and listen to the Farmer’s Wife of Deloraine!

Lilias Adie – A True Scottish Witch Story

Sadly, Scottish witch stories aren’t limited to fictional tales. There were plenty of innocent people persecuted through fear and their stories deserve to be told as well. Such as Lilias Adie from Torryburn, just a few miles away from the popular village of Culross.

In 1704, Lilias was tried for witchcraft after being accused twice by unhappy neighbours. We don’t know much about her, but we can assume that she was an old woman living alone and therefore easy prey for the authorities.

After days of interrogation and torture, Lilias eventually confessed. She told them that the Devil had appeared to her, they had carnal relations and she had attended meetings of several witches. That was what the torturers wanted to hear! They wanted more names but as they pressed for information, the old lady died.

It was embarrassing to have their suspect die in custody and even worse that she hadn’t been put on trial yet. The people of Torryburn were left with a body they were convinced was a witch, but who hadn’t been convicted. Without the guilty verdict, she couldn’t be burned at the stake, but the community was still afraid the Devil would reanimate her corpse.

A regular grave was out of the question, so Lilias was buried on the beach between the high and low tide mark, not quite land or sea. The heavy slab was added just in case she did come back and try to dig her way free.

Much later, curio hunters desecrated her grave and stole pieces of the coffin and bones as trinkets. The location was only recently rediscovered and having never been found innocent, this is the only burial we have of a confessed Scottish “witch”.

The Mysterious Maggie Wall Witch Memorial

Reading this memorial just outside Dunning, it clearly marks the spot where Maggie Wall was burned as a witch in 1657. Or does it? This isn’t just a Scottish witch story, it’s a mystery as well!

From a distance, you would think this 15-20ft high cross commemorates a famous battle. Then you get up close and Maggie’s name and crime are clearly marked. The date 1657 was during the fiercest period of witch hunts and we do know about some accused witches and warlocks tried at Dunning. Everything seems to add up so far.

However, none of those people were named Maggie Wall. In fact, there are no records of her at all, and that leaves room for speculation. Did she simply not exist, but then where did the name come from? Is the reason we have no record of Maggie Wall because she was given a sham trial before being murdered by a furious mob?

Even the monument itself is a mystery, nobody knows who built it or why. Many innocents were being tortured and killed across the country, so why was Maggie special? Of course there are local stories about this Scottish witch. The prime suspect is Lord Andrew Rollo, a local landowner who is rumoured to have built the monument shortly after the event.

Interestingly, he died in 1659, so was Rollo suddenly overcome by guilt at Maggie’s fate, knowing his time was almost up? Or did his successor erect the monument after Rollo’s death, having never agreed with what took place?

We’ll probably never know the truth behind the Maggie Wall Memorial, but there is one last mystery we haven’t addressed. Who keeps painting the writing on the stones so it stays looking so fresh?

The Next Chapter For Scottish Witches

On the 8th of March 2022, Nicola Sturgeon issued a formal apology from the government to all those tried as a Scottish witch. A large part of that was thanks to the campaigning of the Witches of Scotland group, although they don’t consider the job quite finished. The next two steps are an official pardon and a national memorial for those accused of witchcraft.

If you travel around Scotland as much as me then you find plenty of local remembrances, such as Maggie Wall or the Witches’ Stone in Elgin. Even on Edinburgh Castle’s esplanade you can find the Witches Well although most people miss it, tucked away in the corner. The Fife Witches Trail takes you to three separate locations, all with stories to tell.

However, there’s no specific monument to mark the injustice of Scotland’s witch hunts or stand as a public display of grieving for those innocent victims. It’s hard to argue that they don’t deserve it.

If you enjoyed learning about Scottish witch stories, then why not discover stories of vicious Kelpies next?

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