With Halloween fast approaching, Dr Allan Kennedy has written a new post for The Centre of Scottish Culture blog to get us all into the Halloween spirit. In this instalment, he tells the story of the alleged witches’ coven discovered in Crook of Devon in 1662.
From the years 1563-1736, around 4,000 Scots, largely women, were accused of practicing witchcraft, 2,500 of which were proven guilty and executed. However, Dr Kennedy focuses on one very specific witch trial which took place in Crook of Devon in 1662.
Here, the discovery of a supposed witches’ coven led to a sequence of dramatic trails with tragic costs. The trials themselves were spread across 4 court sittings between the 2rd of April and the 8th of October which saw 13 people accused, most of whom were women. The trail was brought to an end when almost all were convicted and so as a result, sentenced to death.
To learn more about the witch trials of 1662 in Crook of Devon, check out the blog: