Witchcraft on the Map Witchcraft has long been a subject of fascination and fear. Throughout history, accusations of witchcraft have resulted in severe consequences for those accused, with thousands of people being executed for practicing the craft. This persecution was not limited to one geographic area; instead, witchcraft accusations and trials occurred across the globe. One striking aspect of witchcraft is its presence on the map. Different regions and countries had their own unique beliefs and practices surrounding witchcraft. For example, in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, witchcraft trials were rampant, particularly in areas such as Salem, Massachusetts.
Written a few years before he authorized the Bible translation with which King James has become synonymous, Daemonologie contains three philosophical dialogues that deal with demons, magic, sorcery, and witchcraft. The work explains why it is right that witches should be persecuted in a Christian society.
Local witches were accused of raising the storm that had troubled the North Sea voyage of Anne of Denmark, bride of King James later also King James I of England. In order to unlock the data contained in the SoSW database, the University of Edinburgh in 2018 and 2019 launched a project to locate and visualize the various places it recorded.
For example, in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, witchcraft trials were rampant, particularly in areas such as Salem, Massachusetts. The Salem Witch Trials are infamous for their widespread hysteria and the execution of innocent individuals. In Africa, witchcraft has a deep-rooted cultural significance.
This Map Shows the Scale of 16th- and 17th-Century Scottish Witch Hunts
In 1629, an elderly Scottish woman named Isobel Young was strangled and burned at the stake on charges of witchcraft. As neighbors and relatives testified, Young—the wife of a tenant farmer based in a small village east of Edinburgh—was prone to “patterns of verbal and sometimes physical aggression,” as well as “odd magical characteristics.” Her husband, George Smith, added fuel to the fire claiming that his wife had attempted “to kill him with magic after quarreling about an unsavory house guest.” In total, court records show, 45 witnesses raised complaints against Young, “telling a story that unfolded over four decades.” The verdict was unanimous: guilty.
Young’s case is one of 3,141 recorded in a new interactive map created by researchers at the University of Edinburgh. Drawing on data collected for an earlier university project titled the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, the tool visualizes an array of locations linked with Scotland’s 16th- and 17th-century witch hunts: among others, accused individuals’ places of residence; sites of detention, trial and execution; and spots targeted by infamous “witch-pricker” John Kincaid, who traveled the country in search of suspects bearing the "Devil’s mark."
“There is a very strong feeling out there that not enough has been done to inform people about the women who were accused of being witches in Scotland,” Ewan McAndrew, the University of Edinburgh’s Wikimedian in Residence, tells the Scotsman’s Alison Campsie. “… The idea of being able to plot these on a map really brings it home. These places are near everyone.
A group of Scottish witches depicted consorting with the Devil Public domain
As Neil Drysdale of the Press and Journal reports, the map features an array of previously unpublished data, much of which was extracted from historical records by undergraduate Emma Carroll and uploaded to Wikidata, a public database created by the team behind Wikipedia. While some entries remain limited in scope, outlining little beyond the accused’s name and locality, others are replete with information.
Consider, for instance, the case of Janet Boyman, a healer who was charged with sorcery, witchcraft and consorting with fairies. Per the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, Boyman, who was executed in 1572, predicted the death of the country’s regent, bore “five bairns” allegedly without feeling any pain and appealed to elvish spirits in hopes of curing a sick man. Today, historians consider Boyman’s trial one of the earliest and most comprehensive examples of witchcraft prosecution in Scotland.
This illustration is from King James VI's 1597 treatise on witchcraft Public domain
According to Edinburgh Live’s Hilary Mitchell, Scotland experienced four major witch hunts between roughly 1590 and 1727, when Janet Horne, the last Scot to be executed for witchcraft, was burned at the stake. Much of this ongoing mania can be attributed to the passage of a 1563 act that declared the practice of witchcraft a capital offense. James VI’s notorious witch-hunting fervor also contributed to the movement’s prevalence; in 1597, the king, soon to be crowned James I of England, published a treatise condemning witchcraft and encouraging vigorous prosecution of suspected practitioners.
As h istorian Steven Katz explains , Europe’s witch hunts stemmed from “the enduring grotesque fears [women] generate in respect of their putative abilities to control men and thereby coerce, for their own ends, male-dominated Christian society.” Ultimately that hysteria claimed as many as 4,000 lives in Scotland—double the execution rate seen in neighboring England, as Tracy Borman points out in History Extra . Although the majority of victims were women (per Mitchell, five times as many women were executed for witchcraft in Scotland than in England), men also faced trial and execution.
Speaking with the Scotsman ’s Campsie, McAndrew says, “The map is a really effective way to connect where we are now to these stories of the past.”
He adds, “There does seem to be a growing movement that we need to be remembering these women, remembering what happened and understanding what happened.”
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The witch-pricker John Kincaid was mainly active around Edinburgh, but ventured as far south as Newcastle. Accused Witches Map Project, Edinburgh University
Various African tribes and communities believe in the existence of witches and often attribute natural disasters, illnesses, and misfortunes to their actions. Despite the negative connotations associated with witchcraft, some societies embrace it as part of their religious and spiritual practices, viewing witches as healers or spiritual leaders. Moving to Asia, witchcraft is also present in various forms. In countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, folk magic and the belief in supernatural beings play a significant role in society. These practices often involve rituals and spells aimed at protecting oneself or inflicting harm on others. However, it is crucial to note that not all forms of witchcraft in Asia are considered negative; some practices, such as shamanism, incorporate healing and spiritual guidance. Even the Americas, both North and South, have their own rich history of witchcraft. In addition to the Salem Witch Trials, Latin American countries like Mexico and Brazil have their own unique traditions and beliefs surrounding witchcraft. In Mexico, for example, a blend of ancient indigenous beliefs and Catholicism has created a unique form of witchcraft known as brujería. This practice involves spellcasting, healing, and divination, often drawing on aspects of pre-Columbian traditions. Overall, witchcraft has left its mark on the map, with different regions and countries having their own unique beliefs and practices. The main idea is that witchcraft is a cross-cultural phenomenon that has profoundly influenced societies worldwide. Whether viewed as evil, spiritual, or mystical, the presence of witchcraft on the map is a testament to its enduring power and influence in the human psyche..
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