North Berwick
The Scottish seaside town where, in the early 1590s, over a hundred people were accused of plotting with the devil to raise storms against King James VI.
Practised and told of here
Best time: Late spring to early autumn.
In 1590 James VI of Scotland sailed home from Denmark with his bride Anne through bad storms. Soon after, a woman in Haddington was said to have confessed that witches had worked to wreck his ship. The inquiry that followed spread through East Lothian and ended in trials in Edinburgh.
The trials
Many of those accused were questioned under torture, and Agnes Sampson, a midwife and healer, was among those executed. The King took a personal part in the interrogations, and later wrote the book Daemonologie. Historians read the trials as the first large Scottish panic and the beginning of the wave that went through the following century.
Remembering
The ruins of Auld Kirk Green, where the accused were said to have met the devil, stand on the harbour. A memorial in Edinburgh at the Castle Esplanade, a bronze fountain installed in 1912, honours all those executed as witches in Scotland.
Visiting
North Berwick has a harbour, a long beach and a Law hill with views over the Firth of Forth.
A respectful visit to North Berwick
Living communities are not a show. Ask before photographing a person or a ceremony, and follow local rules.
- Auld Kirk Green See the ruins beside the harbour.
- North Berwick Law Climb the hill for the view.
- Scottish Seabird Centre Visit for the coast and the islands.
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "North Berwick witch trials" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets and ceremonies change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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