The Witch Hunts in Scotland

The crime of witchcraft was abolished in Scotland in 1736. Witchcraft formed a part of the old peasant belief system. The community generally believed magic and supernatural powers were an explanation for unusual events. They lived in a rural society which suffered from mysterious animal deaths and unexpected illness. It was commonly old, single women who were accused, perhaps due to their being perceived as a threat to the traditional paternalistic order of society. As much as 85% of those accused were women and there was often an implied or stated link with deviant sexuality. There was a fear amongst men of the special knowledge held by women, midwives were often accused. If found guilty at trial, of forging a demonic pact, then execution was the punishment.

The common pattern would be to torture the accused in order to obtain a confession. If one witch was found it was assumed that there would be more. The witch hunters would not rest until they were all uncovered. Witch hunters were mainly local lairds, landowners, parish ministers or church elders. After a confession was obtained the hunters needed permission from the law to take action against the witch, because witchcraft was categorized as a crime.

The accusations tended to center around the idea of witches Sabbath's. A gathering of witches and demons for music, dancing, drinking and sex with the devil. It was supposed to be the opposite of the moral piety shown by the church congregation. There were few accounts of the devil given and little detail about the supposed actions of the witches. Generally the belief witches could fly was held on the continent, but remained rare in Scotland.

The serious witchhunting began in the 1590's. The acquittal rate was generally quite high, at around 50%. Although during panics a higher percentage of the accused were charged and executed. There were national witchcraft panics in Scotland in 1591, 1597, 1628-30, 1649 and 1661-62. Perhaps 4,000 people were accused of witchcraft, with 1,500 of them being found guilty and executed. The last execution of a witch was in Dornoch in 1727.

The destruction of evil in the form of witchcraft was a useful tool for any regime requiring legitimacy. Witches provided them with a specific and limited threat which could not retaliate. A witchhunt also made them appear more devoted to religion and serious about upholding the law. Witches could be made scapegoats for the poor morals of society by an increasingly invasive state.

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