Tags
Dundee, Forfar, Glamis Castle, Grissell Jaffray, Macbeth, Massachusetts, Salem Massachusetts, Scotland, Scottish witches, The Pittenweem Witches, Witchcraft
Cue haunted house music. Do you squint? Suffer from epilepsy? Confess to being down upon your uppers? Cook ye with herbs? Hand out ye vino, or ye aspirins to your long suffering friends? Have no family? Have no friends to hand out anything to? Be that teensy tiny bit different?
If you answered yes to any three of the above then sorry, but that might have been enough to get you done for witchcraft a good few hundred years ago.
My latest guest blog, continuing the spooky season is over at a favorite stable mate, Catherine Cavendish’s http://www.catherinecavendish.com/2013/10/the-ghosts-of-glamis-with-shehanne-moore.html
It’s about the ghosts of Scotland’s most haunted castle, Glamis Castle, one of which is said of be Lady Janet Douglas burned at the stake as a witch in front of her young son in 1537. Catherine was kind enough to let me promo His Judas Bride, out on tour now, with an Amazon giveaway card to a randomly drawn commenter- details here.
https://shehannemoore.wordpress.com/2013/10/02/a-fine-and-dangerous-season/ along with those for Etopia’s special Facebook Fest. it’s..er…no-one’s turn today. Well, not that I can see right now anyway, though that might change, But then it is Bald and Free Day.
Okay, so Glamis is also thought to be the setting for Macbeth…think hubble, bubble and a lot of trouble, it’s the perfect excuse to show this
and to say they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oh yes, Salem didn’t just happen in Massachusetts, it happened right up the road from where I live. The quiet market town of Forfar home in 1661 to 1000 people, was also home to a terrible set of events. A set of events begun by one woman Helen Guthrie, without whom the Forfar witch hunts would never have lasted so long or encompassed so many.
Forfar Witches Circle Memorial
A drunk who murdered her own step-sister when they were both children. Helen and her 13 year old daughter Janet Howat were accused of being witches along with 11 others. So Helen decided to start naming names. Six suspected ‘witches’ were executed on the Playfield, in full view of the inhabitants of Forfar, who treated each execution as a day out. One was lynched when the townspeople decided to do more than have a day out. Two were banished from the town.
All told roughly 40 women were imprisoned before Helen herself was executed. The fate of her daughter is unknown.
Of course Forfar isn’t the only local place to boast witches. In 1704 in the sleepy fishing village of Pittenweem one man set in motion a series of events that saw one woman –Beattie Laing– banished from the community, to wander and starve, an elderly woman beaten to death by a lynch mob, who rode a horse and cart over her body and one man starved to death in prison.
The leaders of the mob were never punished and Patrick Morton was found to be an hysterical impostor who was not brought to justice for his wrongful accusations.
Let’s not leave Dundee out of this. Dundee can boast Grizzel Jaffray, the wife of a city burgess. The reason she was burned is a mystery as the records have been destroyed. What makes Grizzel famous isn’t just that she was the last person to be burned in the town as a witch. No. Local tradition states her son, a sea captain, returned to the town, after years at sea, wondering what the smell of burning was.
By the pricking of my thumbs that’s yir horror for today. Except maybe for this….
I did menshie Macbeth after all. Once, in another life, I was in it.
Ranting Crow said:
The United kingdom and most of all the Celtic lands have some wonderful stories. You just have to love them. They become part of your heritage. Lovely lovely.
shehannemoore said:
ranting, yes we do have some stories and alas but I just like telling em too. Thanks for dropping by You tell some pretty good stories yourself
Noelle Clark said:
Hey Shey! I just left a heartfelt message over at Cat’s page. This is a sensational article. I honestly LOVE Macbeth, and this is an amazing revelation. I want to go there and visit Glamis Castle. Is it near Dundee? I really loved this. Thanks so much both of you. xx
shehannemoore said:
Noelle! I saw your message my darling xxx Just keeping the spooky stuff rolling. Sort of. Thank you for coming by and being kind as aye. Glamis Castle is near Dundee. It’s near Glamis Village which is really pretty ye olde place. That whole bit may be near Dundee but it is a step into another world
Noelle Clark said:
Hey, that photo!!! I just realised who it is!!!!!!!!! OMG! Ms Shey, you are an enigma.
shehannemoore said:
it’s my middle name honey.. xxxxxx
Natasha Marnie said:
like this
Aquileana said:
Awesome post!~… I wouldn’t like to visit Pittenweem or Forfa… Those stories are creepy indeed and what scare us the mots is surely the fact that they were based on true events .. Anyhow I love all these sort of thing. I have seen “Ouija” last wednesday at the Movies. (Viewer discretion is advised)… 😛
Happy weekend ahead dear Shehanne!. Best wishes ⭐ Aquileana 😀
shehannemoore said:
WOW! Aquileana thank you so much for reading. They are all true events. If you ask me, reading between the lines of the Pittenweem one I get the feeling that the young man who started it was spurned by one of the woman he named. But that one actually happened at a point when society had moved on a bit but it just showed how it really hadn’t. I will steer clear of Ouija! Hope your weekend is a great one XXXXXXX