Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venidtozzi (2025) How to Kill a Witch: A Guide for the Patriarchyy.

Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venidtozzi (2025) How to Kill a Witch: A Guide for the patriarchy.

‘This book is dedicated to the people, mostly women, who were accused, tortured and executed as witches, and those who still face these unfounded accusations today.’

Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venidtozzi write about their ‘journey’ which began around 2020. What they wanted was a public apology and a memorial for those involved in these ‘historical outrages’.

Scotland’s public apology refers to a formal statement delivered in March 2022 by then–First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, acknowledging the historic persecution of people—mostly women—accused of witchcraft between the 16th and 18th centuries. The apology was issued during a Scottish Parliament debate on International Women’s Day and framed as recognition of an ‘egregious historic injustice.’

Job done.

But then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused the media of a witch hunt against her and resigned.

No statue then?

I’m no fan of statues. Or public apologies like this which have little or no meaning.

But Mitchell and Venidtozzi highlight contemporary cases of girls and women being accused of witchcraft in Britian, India and Nigeria and victims which do.

Victoria Climbié, for example, was an eight‑year‑old girl whose death in 2000 became one of the most widely cited modern UK examples of child abuse linked to accusations of witchcraft or spirit possession.

They cite the right-wing movement which feeds into gender violence. Femicide Census, the UK’s dataset on men’s fatal violence against women suggest that around 120 women are killed by men in the UK.

They cite Roe v Wade being overturned in the USA. And anyone that has been following the ongoing release of the Epstein files, which include the current and a former President of USA and Prime Minister of Israel, leading CEOs and men with a lot of power, show a number of thing very clearly. Victims were silenced, tortured and disbelieved. You don’t need to go to Salem.

Witches are poor. They’re poor women.  And they’re blamed for being poor and women. That’s often enough for them to be silenced by powerful men.

We don’t need more monuments. We do need justice. Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venidtozzi ask us (the reader) to not acquiesce. ‘BE A QUARRELSOME DAME.’

That’s outside my remit. But below are some details about witches from a church that is still standing in Old Kilpartrick. We’re voting with our bodies and no longer going to church and the graveyards are full. Like parking your car, the great and the good are nearest the north wall and Church of Scotland, Old Kilpatrick Kirk and fan out around the ground. No witch would be buried in hallowed ground. Most places have a Gallow or Gallows in their district. Gallow Hill in Dumbarton is where these poor old women’s lives were ended.

Notes.

•             Scope of the injustice — Around 3,800–4,000 people were accused under the Witchcraft Act of 1563, and many were executed, often after torture. Scotland’s execution rate was unusually high—about five times the European average. Holyrood scotlandtimes.com

•             Nature of the apology — Sturgeon issued a posthumous, symbolic apology to all victims, acknowledging the gendered nature of the persecution and the brutality of the trials. STV News

•             Catalyst for the apology — The move followed sustained campaigning, particularly by the Witches of Scotland group, which sought an apology, pardons, and a national memorial. Dazed

 

Victoria Climbié was an eight‑year‑old girl whose death in 2000 became one of the most widely cited modern UK examples of child abuse linked to accusations of witchcraft or spirit possession. Her case is often referenced by Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi when they highlight that witch‑hunt‑type beliefs still cause real harm today.

Across Scotland, many accused witches were:

• Strangled and then burned
• Or burned alive, depending on the period and local practice

The Clydebank-area records don’t always specify the exact method for each individual, but burning was the standard legal execution for witchcraft in Scotland at the time.

Why so many accusations?

According to historical analysis, Scotland’s witch hunts were driven by:

• Religious fear and moral panic
• Local disputes
• Misogyny and suspicion of women living outside social norms
• Harsh legal frameworks that encouraged accusations
  BBC News

1. Janet (Jonet) Holm / Horne

• Where: Old Kilpatrick parish (covers modern Clydebank)
• When: Accused in 1677
• Notes: Part of a cluster of accusations in the parish that year.
  (The database lists multiple “Holm/Horne” spellings.)

2. Margaret Holm / Horne

• Where: Old Kilpatrick parish
• When: 1677
• Notes: Likely related to Janet; accused during the same outbreak.

3. Janet McNair

• Where: Old Kilpatrick parish
• When: 1677
• Notes: Also part of the same group of accusations.

Dumbarton-area accused witches (selected documented cases)

Late 1500s – Early 1600s

• Isobel Robb – accused of sorcery
• Agnes Hart – accused of harmful magic
• Katherine Craig – accused of demonic pact
• Janet McWalter – accused of malefice
• Bessie McCaw – accused of charms and healing
• Jonet McAdam – accused of raising storms
• Elspeth McNaught – accused of “consulting with spirits”

Mid–Late 1600s

• Marion McAulay – accused of witchcraft, Dumbarton
• Helen McFarlane – accused of sorcery
• Janet Spreull – accused of “devilish practices”
• Katherine McKie – accused of harmful magic
• Margaret McIlroy – accused of bewitching livestock
• Isobel McNair – accused of charms
• Janet McIndoe – accused of pact with the Devil

(These names come from the Dumbartonshire entries in the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft and local court summaries.)

Dumbarton

• Trials took place at the Dumbarton Tolbooth.
• Executions were typically carried out at:
  • Gallows Hill (a common execution site), or

Near the Tolbooth itself.

Late 1500s – Early 1600s

Name	Location	Likely Age	Notes
Isobel Robb	Dumbarton	40s–60s	Sorcery
Agnes Hart	Dumbarton	30s–50s	Harmful magic
Katherine Craig	Dumbarton	40s–60s	Demonic pact
Janet McWalter	Dumbarton	30s–50s	Malefice
Bessie McCaw	Dumbarton	40s–60s	Charms/healing
Jonet McAdam	Dumbarton	30s–50s	Raising storms
Elspeth McNaught	Dumbarton	40s–60s	Consulting spirits
Margaret McAulay	Dumbarton	30s–50s	Sorcery
Helen McFarlane	Dumbarton	30s–50s	Sorcery

Mid–Late 1600s

Name	Location	Likely Age	Notes
Janet Spreull	Dumbarton	40s–60s	“Devilish practices”
Katherine McKie	Dumbarton	30s–50s	Harmful magic
Margaret McIlroy	Dumbarton	30s–50s	Bewitching livestock
Isobel McNair	Dumbarton	20s–40s	Charms
Janet McIndoe	Dumbarton	30s–50s	Pact with the Devil
Marion McAulay	Dumbarton	30s–50s	Witchcraft
Elspeth McKinlay	Dumbarton	40s–60s	Malefice
Jonet McIlhagga	Dumbarton	30s–50s	Sorcery
Agnes McLachlan	Dumbarton	30s–50s	Bewitchment
Katherine McFie	Dumbarton	30s–50s	Sorcery Dumbarton was the county town, so most trials — including Clydebank-area ones — were handled there. At least 32 people were accused between the late 1500s and late 1600s.

Across Scotland — and strongly reflected in Dumbartonshire — the accused shared several traits.

1. Mostly women (85–90%)

Men were accused too, but women were overwhelmingly targeted.

2. Middle‑aged or older

Typical age range:

• 30s to 60s, with a peak in the 40s–50s
  Older women were especially vulnerable because they were:
• Widowed
• Poor
• Socially isolated
• Dependent on neighbours

3. Low social status

Most were:

• Poor
• Widows
• Domestic workers
• Healers or midwives
• Women living alone

4. Involved in community disputes

Accusations often followed:

• Neighbour quarrels
• Arguments over livestock
• Requests for charity
• Illness or misfortune blamed on a “cursed” person

5. Reputation for healing, cursing, or “second sight”

Many accused women were:

• Herbal healers
• Midwives
• Known for charms or folk remedies
• Rumoured to have “the sight”

6. Vulnerable to local moral panics (gossip)

The Clydebank/Old Kilpatrick 1677 outbreak fits the misogynistic pattern:

• A cluster of accusations
• All women
• All from the same parish
• All likely known to one another
• All Kirk members and attenders

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CVBVVGD6