Witchcraft

Geillis Duncan of Tranent

Tranent

1589 to 1591

According to Wikipedia, Geillis Duncan worked for David Seton, the local bailie. Seton grew suspicious of her regular absences at night and of her skill at healing, and accused her of witchcraft. She was arrested in 1589 and held out at first despite thumbscrews and the binding of her head. After sleep deprivation and a search of her body, the authorities said they found a devil's mark on her throat. She then confessed and implicated a large number of people, the figure sometimes given as 60 to 70.

The pamphlet Newes from Scotland says she played music for the witches at North Berwick. Wikipedia repeats a claim that she was the first recorded player of the jew's harp in Britain, which is a curiosity of the record and not a reliable measure of anything.

She was interviewed by James VI. She was executed on Castlehill in Edinburgh, and Wikipedia gives the date as 4 December 1591. She tried to retract her confession. A separate entry covers the execution. Her case is one of five major Scottish witch hunts Wikipedia counts between 1590 and 1662.

Evidence
Contemporary written record
Access
Access unrecorded
Location
55.944, -2.954 (Sited to the village)

Sources: Wikipedia, "Geillis Duncan" [other]; Wikipedia, "Newes from Scotland" [other]; Mysterious Britain & Ireland, "North Berwick" [other]

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