Brutal witchcraft trials, which continue to have an impact today

By: Lindsay Baker / BBC
Translation: Telegrafi.com

When King James was returning by sea to Scotland with his new wife, Anne of Denmark, the voyage was marred by bad weather—not unusual for the stormy North Sea. But the king was convinced that the devil and his agents—witches—were causing the storm. It was this belief that prompted the Scottish Witchcraft Act of 1563, and the subsequent witch hunts.

From the 1560s to the 1700s, witch hunts swept across Scotland, with at least four thousand accused and thousands executed. The process involved unspeakable torture; brutal and cruel methods included devices such as toe screws, foot-crushing “boots,” and the “witch bridle.”

In Norway and the US – where witch hunts and trials took place on a similar scale during the same period – the executed victims have been commemorated. Now, in Scotland, an official tartan – to be used on kilts and other clothing – is being introduced to honour the victims of the Witchcraft Act.

Meanwhile, for several years now, everything related to the "witch" aesthetic has been becoming increasingly popular around the world and among different generations - WitchTok [on social media] TikTok] continues to grow in followers and distribution; the Uçkor view [WitchCore] continues to appeal to people; while witch-themed romance is a growing branch of the romance genre. In cinema and television, Practical Magic 2 is in production for release next year, while the television drama about witches, Domino Day, has been a hit. All of this reflects the fact that neopagans and modern witches are on the rise. A modern witch may include nature worship, tarot, magic, and rituals with plants and crystals in her spiritual practice. Participation ranges from self-care and personal empowerment, to involvement in religious groups such as Wicca [Wicca].

According to the Scottish Tartan Register, the Witches of Scotland tartan pattern is a “living memorial” full of symbolism – “the black and grey symbolise the dark times of this period and the ashes of those who were burned, the red represents the blood of the victims, and the pink symbolises the legal ribbons that bound documents, both then and now.”

This is the result of a five-year campaign by activists and podcast founders. The Witches of Scotland [Witches of Scotland], Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell, who wrote the book How to Kill a Witch: A Guide to the Patriarchy [How to Kill a Witch: A Guide for the Patriarchy] – an account of the witch trials in Scotland – is published this week in the UK and in the US in the autumn. The book explains how, as Venditozzi tells the BBC, “the belief system and social anxiety of the time created a perfect storm for finding false accusers and dealing with them harshly.”

In 2022, the two authors achieved one of their goals when the then First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, issued a formal apology to Scottish women prosecuted under the witchcraft law, calling it a “colossal injustice.” Several female ministers of the Church of Scotland have also apologized.

The theme of witch trials is also inspiring many literary authors. Witch [Hex] by Jenni Fagan recounts “one of the most turbulent moments in Scottish history: the North Berwick Witch Trials.” The novel I burn brightly. [Bright I Burn] by Molly Aitken, is a story about the first woman in Ireland accused of witchcraft. And, the latest historical thriller, The wicked of the Earth [The Wicked of the Earth] by AD Bergin is based on the witch trials in Newcastle, England.

in How to kill a witch, the authors show that King James’s voyage by ship was the starting point for the whole story. “James VI of Scotland and I of England had a huge influence on the witch trials,” explains co-author Mitchell, who is also a criminal and human rights lawyer. The “evidence” for witches included accounts of women “moving on the sea with sieves” and “dancing in the church of North Berwick.”

"A few years later, James wrote the book Demonology [Daemonology] – a guide ‘how to find and deal with witches and other spirits’”. This book was widely circulated – and its message spread rapidly. The Witchcraft Act was intended to establish “sanctity” in the new Protestant Scotland, with the law punishing anyone who appeared to be “collaborating with the devil”.

“People are still haunted by what happened,” says historian Judith Langlands-Scott, who has noted a surge in interest in witch trials in recent years. “King James was obsessed with the Bible and believed he was God’s representative – and he was obsessed with the idea that witches were multiplying. Historians broadly agree that after the death of his mother [Mary, Queen of Scots], he was raised to believe that women were weak and manipulable because of their carnal desires.”

“In Forfar [in Angus, Northern Scotland], where I come from, we learned that the people who were accused – mostly women – were usually elderly, disabled or blind, or people with alcohol addictions. They were people who were a cost to society, who lived on the margins, who were poor and did not contribute. The community – led by the Presbyterian parish – wanted to get rid of them.”

The “witch-hunter” or “witch-snitch” – who had financial gain – was a self-proclaimed expert in identifying witches, she says. The most famous of these, in the mid-17th century, was John Kincaid, who was known as the alleged discoverer of “witch marks” and was involved in the torture and execution of hundreds of accused women. “The accused were completely stripped and searched in front of an all-male congregation [to find the ‘marks’ made by the devil], and were often shaved all over.”

According to Langlands-Scott, this humiliating ritual was “psychosexual, and in the Scottish Presbyterian society of the time, sex was an obsession.” There were witchcraft trials in England as well, but Langlands-Scott points out that “Ireland and Wales had only one trial each, as they believed in fairies, while in Scotland [the belief] was in the devil and anyone who did his work”—that is, witches.

Despite the shocking details in How to kill a witch, there are also moments of dark humor. “We have always treated the facts and horror of the witch trials seriously, but of course we use a dark humor to deal with the more disturbing or irritating aspects of that time,” says Venditozzi. “This book was always intended as a reflection of our personalities, not as a historical work. Surviving as a woman sometimes means being able to see the humor even in terrible situations.” The pomp of the witch hunters – with their strange methods and sick imagination – is clearly revealed.

The whole system, after all, was absurd. As Venditozzi says: “It was a clever trick, wasn’t it? Society blamed women – because they were considered so weak that the devil managed to possess them and get into their underwear, and their stories about it were often extremely detailed. All this to justify what they were doing to them. It’s crazy”! The authors aren’t the only ones who see the humorous side – the comic series The Witchfinder exploits the absurdity of witch hunts, using dark humor.

The book also debunks some misconceptions about the era, including the practice of “burning at the stake,” says Venditozzi. “It’s a caricature. They were really burned, but they were usually first drowned and then thrown into the fire to destroy the body, so that the devil could not resurrect it and so that they could not go to Heaven.” This was an additional layer of cruelty, says Langlands-Scott: “To burn the body so that it could not be resurrected on the day of judgment, any hope of escaping suffering would be completely extinguished – since the accused knew they were going to die.”

The authors acknowledge that there has been a surge in interest in the witch trials – their podcast attracts millions of listeners from around the world. How has modern-day witches reacted to their campaign? “We have had a lot of support and interest from modern-day witches,” says Venditozzi. “The key point is that we support anyone who wants to practice their beliefs, but people need to understand that the ‘witches’ of that period were not under the control of the devil and were, in fact, just ordinary people caught up in an extraordinary time. Modern-day witches have empathy for the plight of the accused, as they themselves sometimes experience isolation and discrimination. However, modern-day witches are not the same as those who were accused during the Scottish witch trials.”

As Witchcraft becomes more and more popular, are we in danger of romanticizing the brutal torture and suffering of innocent people in history? “No,” says Mitchell. “Modern witchcraft or WitchTok "It is very different from the crime of witchcraft hundreds of years ago. People who identify as witches today do not claim to be 'agents of the devil' who do evil in society. The modern idea of ​​a witch is very different from the historical definition."

Langlands-Scott puts it differently: “People are perfectly free to do as they please, and modern witches do not try to appropriate as part of themselves the people who were executed hundreds of years ago. The accused were Christians – though they were considered pagans and heretics; most of them at the Forfar trials of 1662 [where 42 local people were imprisoned and tortured] were Catholics. The Presbyterian Church wanted a pure and godly society after [Oliver] Cromwell left Scotland in 1651. They were ordinary people, some of whom may have practiced some folk magic, but had committed no crimes.”

Author Margaret Atwood has said that the Salem witch trials are events that repeat themselves over and over again throughout history – when cultures face stress. Does Venditozzi agree? “Absolutely – when Atwood wrote the work The Handmaid's Tale [The Handmaid's Tale], she said that all the things she describes in it have really happened in Western culture, and she said this in the 80s [of the XNUMXth century]. It was very prescient. The wheel turns, but it doesn't change much.” In How to kill a witch mentions a contemporary pastor in the US who warns of the presence of witches in his congregation. Also included is a section on the organization Advocacy for Alleged Witches that “seeks and promotes compassion, reason, and science to save the lives of those affected by superstition.”

The Scottish Witches Tartan is designed to raise awareness and understanding, says Mitchell. “It’s so important to remember our history and learn from it: Scotland stands out very badly compared to other countries that have commemorated those who were accused of being witches.”

So what lessons can we learn from the history of witch trials today? “Let’s not use the condemnation of vulnerable or isolated members of the community as a way to strengthen public trust and safety,” says Venditozzi. “Although witch trials took place hundreds of years ago, we still often see a wave of condemnation of marginalized groups in times of social uncertainty. Claire and I are optimistic.”

Langlands-Scott is also optimistic. “The fact that there is a strong wave of interest in getting the truth out – and that there have been apologies – that is a reason for optimism. It is mainly women who are apologizing and I think this is a way of restoring the fact that it was mainly women who were tortured and tried. It is almost like giving them a voice; us women giving them a voice that has been missing, and also a warning to the present about what can happen.” /Telegraph/