History of Scotland's witches revealed in new book by campaigners who won pardon for women burned at stake

Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi successfully campaigned for a state pardon for women accused of witchcraft

The history of Scotland's witches is to be revealed in a new book written by the women who campaigned to get a formal state pardon for women burned at the stake hundreds of years ago.

How to Kill a Witch, A Guide for the Patriarchy, by Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi, also looks at a rise worldwide in witchcraft accusations, the rolling back of women’s rights and persecution of other minority and vulnerable groups.

Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi successfully campaigned for women accused of witchcraft to be pardoned. | Octopus

The pair, known as the Witches of Scotland, campaigned until 2022, when then-first minister Nicola Sturgeon issued a formal state apology to women in Scotland accused of witchcraft.

Witch hunts took place in Scotland for more than 150 years in the 1500s to 1700s. Many women's fates were sealed by an execution of strangulation, followed by burning.

In Scotland, an estimated 3,837 people – 84 per cent of whom were women – were tried as witches under the 1563 Witchcraft Act, according to the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft. About 2,500 of those accused were executed and burned. The last person believed to be executed under the Act was Janet Horne in either 1722 or 1727.

Ms Mitchell, a lawyer and KC, and writer Ms Venditozzi, said: “We’ve written this book to remember the history of women accused as witches and to highlight that where there is unchecked patriarchal power it ends very badly for women.

How to Kill a Witch: A Guide for the Patriarchy will be published in May. | Octopus

“With a rise worldwide in witchcraft accusations, rolling back on women’s rights and persecution of other minority and vulnerable groups, there are more red flags than all the Handmaid’s gowns stitched together. Now is the time to reflect on our history, so that we don’t repeat it. Again.”

In the book, the campaigners look at why witch trials exploded in Scotland to such an extent. To understand why it happened, they have broken down the process, step-by-step, from identification of witches to their accusation, “pricking”, torture, confessions, trial and execution.

The book also includes testimony from experts, including Marion Gibson, Malcolm Gaskill and Liv Helene Willumsen, as well as pen portraits of the women accused and the men who were involved in the process. This is in addition to confessions, witness accounts, and the documents that set the legal grounds for the hunts.

On International Women's Day in 2022, Ms Sturgeon, then as the first minister, issued a formal state apology - the first time in 300 years there had been any formal recognition of those who were most wrongly accused of witchcraft.

In 2022, Ms Mitchell and Ms Venditozzi were given honorary Doctors of Laws by the University of Dundee in 2022 in recognition of their work. The pair, who have also hosted a podcast about the topic, are still working to build a lasting memorial to the accused women, and campaign to draw attention to the continued persecution of women as witches around the world today.

- How to Kill a Witch will be published by Octopus on May 15.