may indicate a cult-like group of nature spirits, the seely wights Fairy-like creatures at the centre of a shamanistic Scottish cult that existed in the 16th century. Scottish woman found guilty and executed for witchcraft and associating with fairies. Recently it has been suggested her confessions together with earlier cases like that of Janet Boyman Scottish woman found guilty and executed for witchcraft and associating with fairies. Since the confessions were transcribed by Robert Pitcairn and first published in 1833, historians have described the material as remarkable or extraordinary and scholars continue to debate the topic in the 21st century. It is unclear why she came forward or was initially arrested but she may have suffered from ergotism. Modern-day academics characterise Isobel, who was illiterate and of a low social status, as a talented narrator with a creative imagination. A combination of demonic and fairy beliefs, the narratives were used by Margaret Murray as the basis for her now mostly discredited theories about cults and witchcraft. Lurid information concerning carnal dealings with the Devil were also provided. The four confessions Isobel made over a period of six weeks include details of charms and rhymes, claims she was a member of a coven in the service of the Devil and that she met with the fairy queen and king.

Her detailed testimony, apparently obtained without the use of violent torture, provides one of the most comprehensive insights into European witchcraft folklore at the end of the era of witch-hunts. A cottar is a Scottish term for a peasant who occupies a cot-house or cottage belonging to a farm, in return for which he has to provide labour. Little else is known of her life, and although she was probably executed in line with the usual practice, she may have been allowed to return to her previous obscurity as a cottar’s wife. Isobel Gowdie was a Scottish woman who at Auldearn near Nairn confessed to being a witch during 1662.

Isobel jane parkhurst