Heyyyy! Bou.

[Malchidiel]

Hiya Bou.

You probably already know this, but just in case you don't, there's a programme on telly tonight, BBC 2 at 9pm, that you'll more than likely be interested in. I'll definitely be watching.

Witchcraze.  About the Edinburgh and East Lothian women who were slaughtered in the witch-hunt between 1589-1591. It recommends that you have a strong stomach.

Oh, and Marion and Geoff is back on too, Yay.

Joolz

[DavidXBrunt]

I may not be Bou (I've not checked recently so I'm not absolutely sure) but I'm glad you reminded me that that's on. Cheers Mal.

P.S. Why do you have Howard from the Hallifax as your Icon?

[Proudhuff]

Hopefully this will show how King James used Witchcraft to 'do in' his political opponents and the prog will touch on his changing the text of the bible translation to fit his agenda and the misogyny of the times. Or is that hoping too much?

It all started with a woman fron Tranent, and living with one, I know why!

 

[Queen Firey-Bou]

cheers malchi, good call, i never know whats on tv. i shall watch this & get into a righteous rage !

grrr down with the witch oppressors !

[Trout]

I used to know a woman from Tranent and she was mental, in a nice way.

Are they all like that, Proudy?

(By the way, that programme looks great.)

- Trout

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

This is all very spooky. My wife used to work in Tranent. Is this a mysterious 2000ad hotspot? (God knows, it's gotta be something - the expression "arse end of beyond" springs to mind whenever I think of the place).

PS Do you like my icon? Took me ages to find.

[Proudhuff]

A one word answer would be 'Aye'( quick look over the shoulder). If you haven't been through the town recently there is now a statue of a woman in the town square, (its to do with the 'Tranent Massacre' I think,that was when the Edinburgh Milita mowed down the locals). She's striding out banging a drum,a small boy running along side, I think it's a spot on description of the wiimin o the toon. bless.
You should hear their 'toon song'.

[Malchidiel]

Hee, DXB, he does look like Howard doesn't he, but no, he's my canny little chum Penfold, and I animated him myself, kewl eh!

Dr X, I'm liking your icon too.

Joolz

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

ta

[paulvonscott]

This is the first of a witchburning season apparently according to my tv guide.  Although I'm sure there was an element of misogyny to it (Lots of women were happy to point the finger too but maybe they were just trying to avoid being witched up as well, or they were being torured at the time), more often or not I think it was just revenge for petty quarrels and money the overiding reason for these things that were then whipped up (puroosefully or not) into a hysteria that would become uncontrollable.  

Sadly the prime suspects were usually old women who lived on their own, you probably couldn't find an easier target.  Though they did go after younger women, men, vicars, minor nobles - often where there is talk of some grudge mentioned.  I suspect the old women were just scapegoats.  After all I'm sure most of us have had an eccentric elderly family member, well, someone like that on their own, with no-one to look after them, they are a bit different aren't they?  They won't be missed or damage the community and hey, someone could have their cottage.

I'm really interested in this subject because it shows just how rotten average people can be.

I'll be watching, I don't know as much about scottish witch trials, they are supposed to be largely harsher than english ones (soft on witches and the cause of witches, that's our trouble).  And of course torture was illegal for the purposes in England (though they found less obvious ways to torture people, like walking people to prevent them from sleeping for days on end) but not Scotland where you were welcome to pull out peoples fingernails before burning them.

Interested to see if the English get blamed for this, it's usually our fault when someone drops a tin of beans on their toes on some remote scottish Island.

Oh and I accuse Bou, she's always going on about that sort of thing, has familiars and once made my best cow go lame.

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

Aye, and her icon is a talking hamster. What more evidence d'you need?

Posted on behalf of The Witchsmeller Pursuivant

[Proudhuff]

The imfamous 'Tin o' Beans' theory, I've seen proof of it in Rosslyn chapel you know.

Personally I think that a lot of the witch burning were when villages were passing from the Feudal system and as men tended to live short lives in those days and few could read, the font of knowledge wiz old wimmin. The local (Male)powerbroker squire/laird/ minister/priest hated the respect 'speywife'and the power she held in the community, there's nothing worse that a man scorned.

oh, and they would also have a cat called 'Bubbles'short for Bellzabub, proof indeed.

The idea for the Witchhunts came over with King James when he returned fi Scandinavia (?) with his new wife, so your noble countrymen aren't to blame, hopefully the programme will cover this, isn't this where I came in?

Middenpus
 

[paulvonscott]

Yes, that sounds very likely PH.  The church (which would be always male) would probably have little to do with any of the local superstitions  and folklore, while it would most likely be a senior lady who knew the most about 'erbs and strange healing and stuff.

Yes, John was a big fan of the European system of witch finding and we all know that involvement with the Europeans is a bad thing.

Really looking forward to the program now.

[Trout]

Here's a witchy story from Perthshire folklore.

Near a small village called Dunning, there's a cairn built in memory of the last witch to be burned in the area.

She was wrongly accused and the locals came to regret their actions, apparently, building the cairn as an apology.

It's still maintained by someone, unpaid and always unseen, and no-one in the area will admit to knowing who does all the work.

The spot is also the only place in Scotland Ian Brady and Myra Hindley are known to have visited. There is a photograph of them standing by the cairn on a holiday just a few months before they were turned in for the Moors Murders.

Creepy.

- Trout

[Quirkafleeg]

Well if there is a themed series I hope they are gonna show Witchfinder General... nasty nasty horror flick that, and Vincent Price's finest hour

Link: http://www.britishhorrorfilms.co.uk/witchfinder.shtml" target="_blank">"Burn the witch!"

http://www.britishhorrorfilms.co.uk/images/witchfinder1.jpg">