A MEMORIAL plaque remembering dozens of people accused of witchcraft in Scotland is to be unveiled this weekend.
The project was the brainchild of historians Judith Langlands-Scott and Shaun Wilson who hosted an event in Forfar last year to remember 50 people accused of being witches between 1661 and 1662.
Langlands-Scott has been researching the Forfar witches for well over a decade and has been speaking with Wilson to people right across the community about how these women – and a few men – were ostracised by society and how these attitudes are still present today.
The plaque will be unveiled at the historic Canmore Room at The Cross in the Angus town this Sunday where dozens of people associated with witch history research and those working with marginalised groups in the area will gather to mark the special moment.
It will eventually be displayed permanently on the corner of the Town House which is built on top of where the tolbooth – in which accused witches were held – used to be many years ago.
Langlands-Scott told The National it will not just serve as a memorial but as a reminder to people of the dangers of judging others.
She said: “It’s been a dream for a while to get this done and the community support has been amazing.
“We decided in the run-up we would do lots of free talks in the town and with the community about the witch history and try and get everyone on board so they understood it and we weren’t just shoving a plaque on the wall.
“There is a bit on it that will say ‘not witches just folk’ and it mentions they were executed for the impossible crime of witchcraft.
“That ties in with all the other memorials in Scotland but it’s there to remind people of the dangers of pointing the finger and slandering and casting aspersions against your neighbours when you live in a very small community because things can happen like being marginalised.
“That’s what it’s about and all the talks were about recognising difference but also recognising that you don’t have to be scared of it. Instead of looking at someone and finding them weird, be kind.”
Attending the unveiling will be Angus MSP Mairi Gougeon as well as councillors and representatives from local drug and alcohol, dementia and disability support services.
The witch-hunt began in Forfar after Oliver Cromwell’s troops pulled out of Scotland in 1659 to 1660, leaving a power vacuum in their wake.
This eventually led the Presbyterian Church to create godly communities that were “pure” and devoid of troublemakers. It meant dozens of innocent people – many of whom were quarrelsome dames – in a town of 1000 were accused of witchcraft so they could be wiped from society, whether that was through death, torture or banishment.
The service last year marked 360 years since the execution of the last Forfar witch – Helen Guthrie – and the plaque will now serve a lasting memorial to all those who faced persecution.
“We got a local business to make the plaque and then at the memorial we’ve invited people in the community who we feel represent those who were accused,” added Langlands-Scott.
“Before we went to speak to children in schools we asked them to draw a picture of what they thought a witch would look like and we wanted them to draw another picture after we had spoken to them and they were brilliant. They totally got the message.
“This plaque is all about that really. We just want everyone to remember they were just people.”
