History near Moray: Local 'witch' had sex with the Devil
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Exactly 360 years ago this week Isobel Gowdie finally finished providing her graphic and lengthy confession that she was a witch.
Although poor and illiterate, she possessed a vivid imagination.
Having been kept locked up and alone for the previous month and a half, most probably inside the toolbooth at Auldearn near Nairn, she'd also had plenty of time to dwell on her situation.
Isobel's account ended up so packed with lurid details that it horrified her God-fearing interrogators.
She'd told them what she thought they wanted.
It's possible she might even have come to believe it was true.
Her completed confession has been described by one modern-day academic as "one of the most remarkable documents in the history of witchcraft".
The harrowing story of Isobel Gowdie begins and ends during the year 1662.
It contains very few details about the woman herself as, unlike her confession, such things weren't deemed very important.
Practically all that's officially recorded is that she lived near Auldearn, was of child-bearing age and was married to a labourer called John Gilbert.
Isobel admitted to first meeting the Devil within the grounds of Auldearn Kirk.
Numerous other encounters involving sexual intercourse then occurred at local locations, such as Nairn and Inshoch Castle.
She and the Devil would fly together through the air on magical horses, entering through the windows into the houses of rich people and drinking and eating their best food.
Once they were entertained by the Queen of the Fairies at her home in Downie Wood, which stands near Brodie Castle.
Isobel told how the woods were full of water bulls – creatures that looked almost identical to ordinary cows but were capable of shifting shape and even taking on human form.
Several passages end abruptly with the word 'etc', as though the clerk could no longer keep writing as quickly as Isobel was confessing new evils.
She told how the Devil had cloven hooves but usually hid them by wearing shoes or boots.
Her interrogators asked for and were provided with a detailed description of his genitalia.
Isobel also named two other local women – Janet Breadhead and Margaret Brodie – who were fellow members of her witches coven.
Chanting various spells they could turn themselves into different animals, such as cats and hares.
Her own preference was to transform into a jackdaw.
Isobel stated that, prior to each clandestine meeting, she'd place a broomstick inside her husband's bed so her absence was never noticed.
She also claimed to have made clay effigies of the Laird of Park's young sons with the aim of doing them harm.
This laird was both her husband's employer and her landlord.
And to make matters even more serious, it was widely accepted that the man's grandfather, father and uncle had all met their deaths thanks to the vile practices of witches.
After Isobel had completed her confession, a letter was taken to Edinburgh in order to seek the advice of the Privy Council.
Just two months beforehand, the council had banned the unauthorised use of physical torture to secure confessions from alleged witches.
However, this definition did not extend to practices such as solitary confinement, starvation or sleep deprivation.
The council's reply came back stating that, providing the defendant was deemed sane, then her case could rightly proceed to trial.
What happened next to Isobel Gowdie is not known as local records no longer exist for virtually any of Scotland's witchcraft trials.
It's possible that she may have been found not guilty due to mental impairment.
The stark alternative would have seen her transported by cart to Gallowhill on the outskirts of Nairn.
Here she would have been strangled then burnt.
Every member of the local population would have been required to come along and watch.
