Scottish Witches

Book excerpt: Let warlocks grim, an wither'd hags, Tell, how wi you, on ragweed nags, They skim the muirs an dizzy crags, Wi wicked speed; And in kirkyards renew thier leagues, Owre howkit dead. Robert Burns's famous poem "Address to the Deil" describes the hag-like appearance and demonic presence that for most people epitomizes the image of the witch. But just what is a witch, and who are the figures that scotland has accused of witchcraft? Scottish Witches aims to explain. All over Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries a wave of paranoia and hysteria was taking hold. All the ills of society were blamed on witchcraft, and Scotland did not escape this obsession with the supernatural. This book gives the stories of Scotland's witches, the accused, the confessed, the trials, and the superstisions. This fascinating book will also explain about the beliefs of modern white witches and the place of Wicca in society today.