Post by Elly on May 28, 2006 23:34:23 GMT 10
In the year 1704 a small, sleepy fishing village in Fife became the scene of perhaps one of the most notorious cases in the history of Scottish witchcraft. The savage brutality meted out to the victims was incredible, even for those dark days. The tragic tale began when Beatrix Laing asked the 16 year old son of a local blacksmith in Pittenweem to forge her some nails. The boy , Patrick Morton, explained that he was busy on an urgent job but would make the nails as soon as he had finished the work he was engaged upon. Beatrix Laing went away muttering under her breath and the young lad was convinced that she was threatening him with evil.
The following day the boy saw her throwing hot embers into a basin of cold water and was immediately convinced that he was being bewitched. In a few days he had lost his normally healthy appetite and, not surprisingly, eventually became so weak that he fell ill and was confined to bed. As days passed Patrick became subject to fits, his stomach became swollen and he had great difficulty in breathing. In his weakened and feverish condition he became subject to strange and frightening hallucinations and was firmly convinced that Satan himself kept appearing at the foot of his bed.
The local minister a certain Reverend Patrick Cowper, regularly visited the sick boy and appears to have played upon his already overworked imagination by recounting lurid tales of witchcraft and spell casting. Eventually, with, it appears, suitable help from the minister, the young boy accused Beatrix Laing of being a witch and of having cast an evil spell upon him. In addition he also gave the minister several other names of local villagers and declared that they were also in league with the Powers of Darkness.
Eager to play his part in fighting the forces of the Devil the minister immediately summoned the members of his presbytery and soon convinced them that Beatrix Laing and her unholy accomplices should all be brought to justice. Although the accused woman was an important person in the village, being the wife of the former village treasurer, she was immediately arrested, as were the other suspects. Before a committee could even be organised to examine them the bailie of Pittenweem placed them in the local gaol and deputised the worst drunkards in the village to guard them.
It appears that although it was common knowledge that the deputised guards were not only drunkards but men of extremely low character, the minister himself ordered them to submit the women to every kind of disgusting degradation possible, including the vilest forms of cruel torture. Beatrix Laing was forced to stay awake for five days and nights and eventually confessed to being a witch. He also named Isobel Adam, Janet Cornfoot and a Mistress Lawson together with several others as being followers of the Devil.
When the unfortunate woman was released from the torturers she immediately retracted her forced confession, and this infuriated the minister who instantly had her beaten then locked in the village stocks. With the hysterical behavior of the local minister and other members of the council as an example, it is hardly surprising that the rest of the inhabitants of Pittenweem promptly followed suit and subjected the poor woman to further savage indignities. When she was eventually released from the stocks Beatrix Laing was thrown into the thieves' hole, a dungeon in the local gaol which had neither windows nor any form of lighting. She spent the next five months in solitary confinement.
The remainder of the accused were each brutally tortured until they had confessed to their wicked crimes. The so called trial dragged wearily on for months and during this time one of the accused, Thomas Brown, starved to death in his dungeon. Some of the more intelligent and enlightened members of the community tried to persuade their fellow commissioners that the accused should be set free and that the only real crime committed had been the stupidity and brutality of the villagers of Pittenweem. Eventually it was agreed that Beatrix Laing and one or two others should be fined the sum of five shillings and set free. Hardly had the prisoners been set free when a mob chased Beatrix Laing from the village and Patrick Cowper, the minister, immediately brought fresh charges against the ones still in custody. Beatrix Laing managed to reach St. Andrews but died in a few months as a result of her ill treatment while in captivity.
Janet Cornfoot, however, was tortured again and Patrick Cowper himself administered a number of brutal floggings in order to extract a confession. A few days later Janet Cornfoot managed to escape from prison and took refuge with one of the families in the village. When news of her escape became known, the inhabitants of Pittenweem became mad with rage and every house was frantically searched until she was discovered. The terrified woman was dragged to the beach, her hands and feet were tightly bound and a long rope was fastened to her waist. One end of the rope was attached to a ship lying offshore and a crowd of men held the other end. Urged on by the minister she was swung backwards and forwards in the sea until she was almost drowned. Eventually the hysterical mob dragged her onto the sand where blows were rained upon her helpless body by everyone who could get close enough to touch her. A heavy wooden door was placed on top of her and then piles of stones and boulders were heaped upon the door until she was literally pressed to death. Even then the bloodthirsty mob were not satisfied and a horse and sledge were ridden backwards and forwards several times over her body. The local authorities refused to intervene and as a final indignity Patrick Cowper refused to give the dead woman a Christian burial. Incredible though it may be, no action was ever taken to bring any of Janet Cornfoot's murderers to justice, even after Patrick Morton had confessed that his accusations had been totally false.
The following day the boy saw her throwing hot embers into a basin of cold water and was immediately convinced that he was being bewitched. In a few days he had lost his normally healthy appetite and, not surprisingly, eventually became so weak that he fell ill and was confined to bed. As days passed Patrick became subject to fits, his stomach became swollen and he had great difficulty in breathing. In his weakened and feverish condition he became subject to strange and frightening hallucinations and was firmly convinced that Satan himself kept appearing at the foot of his bed.
The local minister a certain Reverend Patrick Cowper, regularly visited the sick boy and appears to have played upon his already overworked imagination by recounting lurid tales of witchcraft and spell casting. Eventually, with, it appears, suitable help from the minister, the young boy accused Beatrix Laing of being a witch and of having cast an evil spell upon him. In addition he also gave the minister several other names of local villagers and declared that they were also in league with the Powers of Darkness.
Eager to play his part in fighting the forces of the Devil the minister immediately summoned the members of his presbytery and soon convinced them that Beatrix Laing and her unholy accomplices should all be brought to justice. Although the accused woman was an important person in the village, being the wife of the former village treasurer, she was immediately arrested, as were the other suspects. Before a committee could even be organised to examine them the bailie of Pittenweem placed them in the local gaol and deputised the worst drunkards in the village to guard them.
It appears that although it was common knowledge that the deputised guards were not only drunkards but men of extremely low character, the minister himself ordered them to submit the women to every kind of disgusting degradation possible, including the vilest forms of cruel torture. Beatrix Laing was forced to stay awake for five days and nights and eventually confessed to being a witch. He also named Isobel Adam, Janet Cornfoot and a Mistress Lawson together with several others as being followers of the Devil.
When the unfortunate woman was released from the torturers she immediately retracted her forced confession, and this infuriated the minister who instantly had her beaten then locked in the village stocks. With the hysterical behavior of the local minister and other members of the council as an example, it is hardly surprising that the rest of the inhabitants of Pittenweem promptly followed suit and subjected the poor woman to further savage indignities. When she was eventually released from the stocks Beatrix Laing was thrown into the thieves' hole, a dungeon in the local gaol which had neither windows nor any form of lighting. She spent the next five months in solitary confinement.
The remainder of the accused were each brutally tortured until they had confessed to their wicked crimes. The so called trial dragged wearily on for months and during this time one of the accused, Thomas Brown, starved to death in his dungeon. Some of the more intelligent and enlightened members of the community tried to persuade their fellow commissioners that the accused should be set free and that the only real crime committed had been the stupidity and brutality of the villagers of Pittenweem. Eventually it was agreed that Beatrix Laing and one or two others should be fined the sum of five shillings and set free. Hardly had the prisoners been set free when a mob chased Beatrix Laing from the village and Patrick Cowper, the minister, immediately brought fresh charges against the ones still in custody. Beatrix Laing managed to reach St. Andrews but died in a few months as a result of her ill treatment while in captivity.
Janet Cornfoot, however, was tortured again and Patrick Cowper himself administered a number of brutal floggings in order to extract a confession. A few days later Janet Cornfoot managed to escape from prison and took refuge with one of the families in the village. When news of her escape became known, the inhabitants of Pittenweem became mad with rage and every house was frantically searched until she was discovered. The terrified woman was dragged to the beach, her hands and feet were tightly bound and a long rope was fastened to her waist. One end of the rope was attached to a ship lying offshore and a crowd of men held the other end. Urged on by the minister she was swung backwards and forwards in the sea until she was almost drowned. Eventually the hysterical mob dragged her onto the sand where blows were rained upon her helpless body by everyone who could get close enough to touch her. A heavy wooden door was placed on top of her and then piles of stones and boulders were heaped upon the door until she was literally pressed to death. Even then the bloodthirsty mob were not satisfied and a horse and sledge were ridden backwards and forwards several times over her body. The local authorities refused to intervene and as a final indignity Patrick Cowper refused to give the dead woman a Christian burial. Incredible though it may be, no action was ever taken to bring any of Janet Cornfoot's murderers to justice, even after Patrick Morton had confessed that his accusations had been totally false.
