The True Story vs. Myth of Witchcraft. William Godwin
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of Johnne Feane, alias Cwninghame, December 26, 1590, we find: ‘Item. Fylit, ffor being in cumpany with Satan in the Kirk of North Berwick, quhair he apperit to him in the forme of ane blak maun within the pulpett thairof; and efter his out-cuminge of the Kirk, poyntit the graues and stwid aboue thame; quhilkis wer opnit in thre sindrie pairtis, twa within and ane without; quhilk the wemen demembrit the deid corps and bodeis being thairin, with thair galleis;62 and in contment wes transportit, without wordis.... Item. Fylit. for being in North Berwick Kirk, at ane conventioune with Sathan and utheris witches; quhair Sathan maid ane dewelisch sermon, quhair the said Johnne satt uponne the left syde of the pulppett, narrest him; And the sermon being endit, he came doune and tuke the said Johnne be the hand; and led him widderschinnis63 about.’
In ‘A True Discourse of the apprehension of Sundrie Witches lately taken in Scotland,’ etc., 1591, is the following ‘Item. The said Agnis Tompson (Sampson) was after brought againe before the Kinges Majestie and his Councell, and beeing examined of the meetings and detestable dealings of those witches, she confessed, that upon the night of Allhollow Even last, shee was accompanied, as well with the persons aforesaide, as also with a great many other witches, to the number of two hundreth, and that all they together went to Sea, each one in a riddle or cive, and went into the same very substantially, with flaggons of wine, making merrie and drinking by the way, in the same riddles or cives, to the Kirk of North Barrick in Lowthian; and that after they had landed, tooke handes on the lande, and daunced this reill or short daunce, singing all with one voice,
‘“Commer goe ye before, commer goe ye,
Gif ye will not goe before, commer let me.”
‘At which time shee confessed, that this Geillis Duncane did goe before them, playing this reill or daunce, uppon a small trumpe, called a Jewe’s trump, untill they entred into the Kirk of North Barrick.’
This Agnes Sampson was tried on January 27, 1591, for conspiring the King’s death, witchcraft, sorcery, incantation, etc., and her ultimate fate was ‘to be tane to the Castle (hill) of Edinburgh, and thair bund to ane staik and werreit (strangled), quhill sche wes deid; and thairefter her body to be brunt in assis.’
‘Item, fylit and convict, ffor as mekle as sche confest before his Maiestie, That the Dewill, in mannis liknes, mett hir going out in the fieldis frome hir awin hous att Keyth, betwix fyve and sax at ewin, being hir allane; and commandit hir to be at North Bervick Kirk the nixt nycht: And she passit thair on horsbak, and lychtit at the Kirk yaird. Or a lytill before sche come to itt, about ellewin houris att ewin, they danceit alangis the Kirk yaird, Gelie Duncan playit to thame one a trump.’
She then gives the names of many who were present. ‘Quhairof thair wes sax men, and all the rest wemen. The wemen maid fyrst thair homage, and nixt the men. The men wer turnit nyne tymes widderschinnes about, and the wemen sax tymes. Johnne Fien blew up the duris, and blew in the lychtis, quhilkis wer lyke mekle blak candillis, stiking round about the pulpett. The Devill start up himselff in the pulpett, lyke are mekle blak man, and callit ewerie man be his name, and ewerie ane ansuerit: “Heir, Mr.” The fyrst thing he demandit, was “Gif thay kepit all promeis, and bene guid servandis?” and “Quhat thay had done since the last tyme thay had convenit?”—One his command, thay opnit up the graves, twa within and ane without the kirk, and tuik of the jountis of thair fingaris, tais and neife,64 and partit thame amangis thame: and the said Agnes Sampsoune gatt for hir pairt, ane windene scheit and twa jountis, quhilk sche tint negligentlie. The Devill commandit thame to keip the jountis upoun thame, quhill thay wer dry, and thane to mak ane powder of thame, to do ewill withall. Then he commandit thame to keip his commandmentis, quhilkis war, to do all the ewill they could.’
Their initiation was similar to their English sisters’, as the aforesaid Agnes Sampson affirms. ‘The fyrst tyme sche begane to serue the Dewill, was eftir the death of hir husband; and that he apperit to hir, in liknes of ane man, quha commandit hir to acknowledge him as hir maister, and to renunce Chryste; quhairunto sche grant it, being movit be pouertie and his promesis, that sche and hir bairnis sould be maid ritch, and sould gif hir power to be revangeit of hir inimeis; and eftir that, he appointit tyme and place for thair nycht meting; and that tyme, in signe that sche wes becum his seruand, he markit hir in the rycht kne, quhilk mark sche belevit to haif bene ane hurt ressavit be hir fra ane of hir bairnies that wes lyand in the bed with hir; quhilk hurt wes nocht haill for half ane yeir.’
Before finishing with this lady, I must give another portion of her most extraordinary confession. ‘Moreover she confessed, that, at the time when his Majestie was in Denmarke, shee being accompanied by the parties before speciallie named, took a cat, and christened it, and afterwards bounde to each part of that cat, the cheefest part of a dead man, and severall joyntis of his bodie: And that, in the night following, the saide cat was convayed into the middest of the sea by all these witches, sayling in their riddles or cives, and so left the saide cat right before the towne of Leith in Scotland. This doone, there did arise such a tempest in the sea, as a greater hath not beene seene.’
This was the way they baptized the cat: ‘In the wobstaris65 hous, in maner following: Fyrst, twa of thame held ane fingar,66 in the ane syd of the chimnay cruik, and ane uther held ane uther fingar in the uther syd, the twa nebbis67 of the fingaris meeting togidder; than thay patt the catt thryis throw the linkis of the cruik, and passit itt thryis under the chimnay.’
The confession of Issobell Gowdie, May 3, 1662, although it is somewhat mutilated, gives us a good insight into the manners and customs of Scotch witches:
‘Efter that tym ther vold meit bot sometymes a Coven, somtymes mor, somtymes les; bot a Grand Meitting vold be about the end of ilk Quarter. Ther is threttein persones in ilk Coven; and ilk on of us has a Spirit to wait wpon us, quhan ve pleas to call wpon him. I remember not all the Spritis names; bot thair is on called Swein, quhilk waitis wpon the said Margaret Wilson in Aulderne; he is still68 clothed in grass grein; and the said Margret Wilson hes an niknam called Pikle neirest the Wind. The nixt Sprit is called Rorie who waitis wpon Bessie Wilsone, in Aulderne; he is still clothed in yallow; and hir nikname is Throw the Corne yaird. The third Sprit is called The Roring Lyon, who waitis wpon Issobell Nicoll in Locklow; and [he is still clothed] in sea grein; her niknam is Bessie Rule. The fowrth Sprit is called Mak Hector, qwho waitis wpon Jean Martein, dawghter to the said Margaret Wilson; he is a yowng-lik Devill, clothed still in grass [green. Jean Martein is] Maiden to the Coven that I am of; and hir nikname is Over the Dyke with it, becaws the Divill [alwayis takis the] Maiden in his hand nix him, quhan ve daunce Gillatrypes, and quhan he vold lowp from ...69 he and she will say, “Ower the dyk with it.” The name of the fyft Sprit is Robert the [Rule and he is still clothed in] sadd dun, and seimis to be a Comander of the rest of the Spiritis; and he waittis wpon Margret Brodie, in Aulderne. [The name of the saxt Spirit] is called Thieff of Hell wait upon hir selfe, and he waitis also on the said Bessie Wilson. The name of the sevinth [Sprit is called] The Read Reiver, and he is my owin Spirit, that waittis on my selfe, and is still clothed in blak. The aught Spirit [is called] Robert the Jackis, still clothed in dune, and seimes to be aiged. He is ane glaiked gowked Spirit! The woman’s [nikname] that he waitis on, is Able and Stowt! The nynth Spirit is called Laing, and the womans nikname that he vaitis wpon is Bessie Bauld. The Tenth Spirit is named Thomas a Fearie, &c.—Ther wil be many uther Divellis, waiting wpon [our] Maister Divell; bot he is bigger and mor awfull than the rest of the Divellis, and they all reverence him. I will ken them all, on by on, from utheris, quhan they appeir lyk a man.
‘Quhan we rease the wind,