Stories of the Scottish Witchcraft Trials inspired Philip Paris's novel for 2023
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At a recent lively talk in Inverness Library, Tain-based writer Philip Paris shared some of the research he has done into the Scottish Witchcraft Trials – and the reason for it, his own fictional book coming out next year.
“The Scottish witchcraft trials in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries were the result of one of the most extraordinary and fascinating eras of social history,” Philip explained. “Around 2,500 people were believed to have been executed for witchcraft in Scotland during this time.”
Wide-ranging topics came up in questions from the audience after the talk – one of four Philip presented in Dornoch, Tain and Dingwall for Book Week Scotland.
Philip had highlighted that there were far more trials in Scotland than England, the always harrowing tests the accused were put through and some of the myths about our ideas of ‘witches’, lasting till now.
Philip’s book, The Last Witch Of Scotland, is inspired by the true story of Janet Horne from Dornoch, the last ‘witch’ to be tried and executed in Britain in 1727.
Philip said: “I’ve known of the story of Janet Horne for quite a long time. I don’t live that far from Dornoch. And I’ve had an interest in it for quite a while. But a few years ago I started researching the Janet Horne case.
“Most of what is known was written quite a while after the event. There are the basics of what happened and then stories that have come out afterwards.
“But researching the Scottish Witchcraft Trials – and also what was happening in Europe – you could spend decades reading academic books.
“There are quite a few academics around giving talks on the witchcraft trials. And the Witches Of Scotland group who drove getting an apology from the Scottish Parliament for the people accused and are also looking for a pardon for those convicted, they have podcasts with experts every two or three weeks. They have been doing that for about two and a half years – and that is a fantastic resource. And when there are things I had queries on, I asked professors and experts.”
Philip is writing the new book as a historical fiction and imagines the lives of Janet and her daughter Aila, who the book focuses on.
But he also had a lot of research to do about life in the 1720s-Highlands.
“I needed to find out about food, clothing, housing, agriculture, politics and religion – absolutely everything,” he laughed, reeling off the subjects he had to learn about. “Trying to get all that background right was very important to me.
"And I had a lot of help from experts around the UK for that – on everything from law and theology to ale and Highland cattle!”
Philip has enjoyed creating Janet and Aila: “Of all the characters I have ever created, I’m most fond of Aila. She is beautiful, intelligent and outspoken!”
The Last Witch Of Scotland (Black & White Publishing, April 13, 2023. And you can pre-order it on Amazon.
