Spellcraft And EarthMagick

The Scottish Witch Hunt of 1661-1662

During 1661 to 1662 Scotland had one of the largest witch hunts in European history. It is considered to be one of the biggest witch hunts of the 16th century by the historian Brian P. Levack. It is estimated that around 600 people were accuse of witchcraft or for having rituals that summon the devil. Nevertheless, the amount of people that were executed in the 16 month period it is unknown. With the exception of the witch-hunt of 1597, there had not been so many people convicted of witchcraft, until the Scottish of 1661.

The Scottish Witch-hunt of 1661-1662 has never been studied in depth; it is unknown why it started in Lothian, Scotland. But there are many assumptions on why the Scottish witch-hunt started. It is also unknown what types of people were accused of witchcraft, and why the accusations stopped very quickly.

The Scottish Witch Hunt started a year after the British crown had been given back to Charles II, making him the king of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Oliver Cromwell had just died two years before the Scottish witch-hunt started, and his son, Richard Cromwell, had lost the power to govern Britain. It is believed that the reason why so many people were accuses of being witches was because they wanted to show that the regime of Charles II was not weak. According to Brian P. Levack another reason why the Scottish Witch-hunt happened was because of the following.


“Unless the English commissioners had been succeeded by a Scottish justice general, unless the Privy Council and parliament of Scotland had been restored, and unless the regular judicial institutions had been returned to smooth working order, the Great Hunt probably would never have occurred.” Brian P. Levack, The Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1661-1662, page 95.


Many of the accusers which were convicted of witchcraft during the rule of Oliver Cromwell were found innocent. When Cromwell’s rule was over in 1659, the people that were once accused of witchcraft were once aging accused but this time by the administration of Charles II.