Kate McNiven, the Witch of Monzie

Chronicles of Strathearn gives a version in which the Laird of Inchbrakie's knife and fork were plagued by a bee at a dinner at Dunning. It argues the burning took place in 1563 because the 1643 trial of John Brughe describes Nik Neveing as burned 'fourscoir of yeir since'. Louise Graeme wrote in 1903 that no authentic record of her death exists. The first known print mention is from 1818, and the 1715 date may come from the Rev. George Blair's fictionalised 1845 poem The Holocaust. Hallyburton and Gordon say the name McNiven echoes Nik Neving, a Gaelic name for a woman credited with uncanny powers, so the story may be a folk memory rather than a person. Kate McNiven's Yett, Craig and Well are place names near Monzie, according to Graeme.