Naismith,Agnes
Case Reference: C/EGD/1773
| Case Ref | C/EGD/1773 |
|---|---|
| Accused | Agnes Naismith |
| Case Start Date | 19/1/1697 |
| Case Date | 10/6/1697 |
| Common Name | Naismith,Agnes |
|---|
| Type | Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|---|
| Demonic | — | ✓ |
| Demonic Possession | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fairies | — | ✓ |
| Maleficium | — | ✓ |
| Implicated by Another | — | ✓ |
Notes: Complicated case involving numerous accusations of murdering children through magical strangulation and possession of several children. Much of the evidence was derived from the testimony of children who claimed to be possessed and tormented by witches. But there was great concern over the murdered children and a murdered minister. The record describes the physical torment of the possessed children in great detail. An extraordinary document!
| Devil Present | Yes |
|---|---|
| Communal Sex | No |
| Devil Worship | No |
| Food and Drink | No |
| Dancing | Yes |
| Singing | No |
Notes: There were seven witches' meetings alleged in the Renfrew trials of 1697. The meetings were said to have taken place in 1696 for the murder of a minister and several infants and children and the tormenting of Christian Shaw and other young people. The participants supposedly danced, did image magic, met with the devil, and plotted bad things. The meetings were described by a few people who confessed and several children who claimed to have been present.
Meeting Places
| Place | Location | Inversion |
|---|---|---|
| Kilpatrik | No | |
| Moor | Kilmacolme | No |
| Yard | Christian Shaw | No |
| Yard | murdered minister | No |
| House | murdered child | No |
| Type | Text |
|---|---|
| Devil's Mark | left shoulder |
| Devil's Mark | leg |
| Anti-baptism |
Devil Appearances
| Type | Text |
|---|---|
| Male | black shawl and black hood |
| Male | black-haired mane, black coat, blue cravat |
| Female | Antiochia, gentle wife of the Devil |
| Elphane/Fairyland | ✓ |
|---|---|
| Food/Drink | — |
| Verbal Formulae | — |
| Ritual Acts | ✓ |
| Familiars | — |
| Shape Changing | — |
|---|---|
| Dreams/Visions | — |
| Unorthodox Religious Practice | — |
| Sympathetic Magic | ✓ |
| Riding Dead | — |
Notes: Accused of participating in 6 meetings where wax images with pins were used to enact murder and roasting the wax image was also used to kill and torment people. One meeting to strangle a child took place at midnight in the kid's bedroom. Apparently physical charmes made of bone, blood, and hair were found.
Elf/Fairy Elements
- 12:00
Ritual Objects
- Wax/clay images
- Bone
- Blood (animal)
- Hair
Harm
| Human Illness | ✓ |
|---|---|
| Human Death | ✓ |
| Animal Illness | — |
| Animal Death | — |
| Female Infertility | — |
| Male Impotence | — |
Methods
| Aggravating Disease | — |
|---|---|
| Transferring Disease | — |
| Laying On | — |
| Quarreling | — |
| Cursing | — |
| Poisoning | — |
Healing / Other
| Removal of Bewitchment | — |
|---|---|
| Recognised Healer | — |
| Healing Humans | — |
| Healing Animals | — |
| Midwifery | — |
| Property Damage | — |
| Weather Modification | — |
Disease Notes: The group was accused of murdering children by strangulation. children were in fact murdered in this way by someone. Possession systems were - thrassing,extraordinary strength,bite marks,welts, spitting pins and hair,vomit,and more.
| Type | Text |
|---|---|
| Pipe | Devil played it |
- Murder
| Name | Title | Involvement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Alexander | of Blackhouse | Commissioner | |
| James Brisbane | Mr | Investigator | |
| John Houston | Sir of that Ilk | Commissioner | |
| John Kincaid | Mr of Carsbusket | Commissioner | |
| Alexander King | Mr | Investigator | |
| John Maxwell | Sir of Nether Pollok | Commissioner | |
| Francis Montgomery | Mr of Giffuie | Commissioner | |
| William Muir | of Glanderston | Commissioner | |
| Robert Sempill | Commissioner | ||
| John Shaw | Sir of Greenock | Commissioner | |
| Patrick Simpson | Mr | Investigator | |
| Alexander Stewart | Lord Blantyre | Commissioner | |
| John Stewart | Mr of Blackhall | Commissioner | |
| Andrew Turner | Mr | Investigator |
| Source | Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court Books | JC10/4 fo. 1r-81r second pagination | See also R. Boulton 'Compleat History of Magick, Sorcery and Witchcraft' London, 1716, Vol 2 pp. 51-165. This reference was not checked by the project. |
| Privy Council | PC1/51 p. 136-9 |
| Trial Ref | Date | Year | Verdict | Sentence | Execution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T/LA/1189 | 12/5/1697 | 1697 | Guilty | Execution | Yes |