An Interview with Dr Claire Mitchell: Why Scotland's Witch Trials Still Matter Today
We recently welcomed Dr Claire Mitchell KC to Aberdeen for a special talk on the Scottish Witch Trials and the Law. Hosted by 黑料不打烊鈥檚 School of Law and Social Sciences, the event revealed uncomfortable truths about belief, power, and how societies turn on their most vulnerable.
For Claire, an advocate and co-founder of the Witches of Scotland campaign, the story of witchcraft accusations isn鈥檛 just historical, it鈥檚 a warning that continues to shape how we understand justice today.
A Nation Gripped by Belief
Scotland鈥檚 witch trials took place between 1563, when the Witchcraft Act was introduced by Mary Queen of Scots, and 1736, when it was repealed. Over those 173 years, the country saw an extraordinary number of accusations; far more per capita than elsewhere in Europe.
The reasons, however, are far from simple.
鈥淭here was a strong belief in magic at that time,鈥� Claire explains. 鈥淢agic was so real that if you bought a spell from someone and it didn鈥檛 work, you could take them to court.鈥�
This belief system created fertile ground for fear and made it easier for people to accept the idea of the devil and of witches. At the same time, Scotland was undergoing the upheaval of the Reformation, with the church urging people to root out anything seen as ungodly. Layer onto that a period marked by crisis鈥攁 鈥渕ini ice age,鈥� crop failures, and political instability鈥攁nd the perfect storm was created.
鈥淚t was a really difficult time in Scotland to be alive,鈥� Claire says, 鈥渁nd on top of that you had the church saying there are witches amongst us doing evil鈥�.
The monarchy also played a big part in this fearmongering. James VI of Scotland, taught that he was God鈥檚 envoy on earth and that the devil was out to disrupt his reign, became 鈥渉ypervigilant鈥� about the threat of witches and was instrumental in early large-scale accusations, including the North Berwick trials.
Magic vs Witchcraft
Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of the period is the distinction people made between acceptable magic and criminal witchcraft.
鈥淢agic and witchcraft were seen as two completely separate things,鈥� she explains. 鈥淢agic was the work of charmers鈥攜ou could go and pay someone for a spell, and that was legal. But witches gained their power from the devil, and that鈥檚 what the Witchcraft Act was about.鈥�
In practice, this meant someone could seek a love spell in the morning and, if dissatisfied, pursue legal action for their money back. But an accusation of witchcraft could lead to prosecution and execution under the Witchcraft Act.聽
This blurred, yet rigid, distinction highlights how deeply belief shaped justice at the time.聽
A Mirror to the Present
While the historical details are striking, it鈥檚 the parallels to today that give the subject its urgency.
鈥淲hen times are bad, when people are up against it, we look for someone to blame,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd often, as it was then and as it is now, it鈥檚 the most vulnerable, desperate people in society that we turn against and say they鈥檙e the problem.鈥�
For her, this pattern is the key reason the witch trials still matter today. 聽
Reclaiming Women's History
The Witches of Scotland campaign has been a passion project of Claire鈥檚 from the start. As a self-proclaimed 鈥済oth鈥� teenager, she had already found an interest in magic and witches. But it鈥檚 not until she became an advocate that she started researching the Witch Trials more deeply.聽
鈥淚 then read Sara Sheridan鈥檚 book, Where are the Women?, which reimagines Scotland as a place where every street and municipal buildings are named after women.鈥� Inspired by this read, she started noticing more and more how women鈥檚 history was systematically overlooked. 聽
The turning point came during a walk through Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh. There, she noticed the statue of Wojtek the bear.聽
鈥淚 thought, why is there a big statue of a bear and no named women at all?鈥� she says. Looking up at the castle, she reflected on the thousands of women who had suffered a 鈥渢errible miscarriage of justice鈥� during the witch trials whose stories were largely absent from public memory.
鈥淭hat was the moment I decided to start the Witches of Scotland campaign.鈥� Claire states.聽
Justice, Memory, and Recognition
The campaign has three central aims: a pardon, an apology, and a national memorial for those accused of witchcraft. While progress has been made and a formal apology was given by the Scottish Government in 2022, the work continues.
For Claire, the importance of a pardon is symbolic but powerful.
鈥淲e want to put down a marker that, in Scotland in the 21st century, we accept that was wrong,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to help those people, I understand that. But the point is, if we don鈥檛 remember our history, we鈥檙e doomed to repeat it.鈥�
She draws a comparison to war memorials and acts of remembrance: 鈥淟est we forget. Lest we forget this is going to happen again.鈥�
Lessons for Law and Society
The witch trials also offer stark lessons for today鈥檚 legal system, and for those entering it.
Studying this history can help students think differently about justice, she suggests. 鈥淚t allows them to think a wee bit outside the box about miscarriages of justice, consider groups of people who have been othered, and to ask, what鈥檚 the true story here? What are the real problems that we鈥檙e having in society?鈥澛�
It also provides practical insights into how legal systems have evolved. During the witch trials, Scotland did not even have an appeal court, as it was first introduced in 1930. This reality surprises many students.
The Work Still to Be Done
While the figure of the witch has been reclaimed in modern culture, often seen as a symbol of resistance, the real history remains sobering.
鈥淭hroughout history, humans have needed to believe in something other than our very mundane, straightforward lives,鈥� Claire says. 鈥淎nd because of that, we create narratives of good and bad. Like God with his saints and the Devil with his witches.鈥�
Yet those narratives can have consequences, especially when shaped by fear and authority.
By revisiting Scotland鈥檚 witch trials, the Witches of Scotland campaign is not only reclaiming a forgotten chapter of history, but is asking a difficult question of the present:
Who do we blame when things go wrong? And what might it take to choose differently?
