Campbell,Katherine
Case Reference: C/EGD/1778
| Case Ref | C/EGD/1778 |
|---|---|
| Accused | Katherine Campbell |
| Case Start Date | 30/12/1696 |
| Case Date | 10/6/1697 |
| Common Name | Campbell,Katherine |
|---|
| Type | Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|---|
| Demonic | — | ✓ |
| Demonic Possession | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fairies | — | ✓ |
| Maleficium | — | ✓ |
| Implicated by Another | — | ✓ |
Notes: This is a complicated case as the victim, Christian Shaw, claimed she had been tormented by a group of witches who had caused her to become possessed (presbytery records). 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 |
|---|---|---|
| kilpatrick | No | |
| Moor | Kilmacolme | No |
| Yard | christian Shaw | No |
| Yard | murdered minister, Mr. John Hardie | No |
| House | murdered child | No |
| Type | Text |
|---|---|
| Anti-baptism | |
| Devil's Mark | between her shoulders |
Devil Appearances
| Type | Text |
|---|---|
| Male | black shawl and hood |
| Male | black 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. Roasting the wax image was also used to kill and torment people. One meeting to strangle a child took place at midnight in the child's bedroom. Apparently physical charms made of bone, blood, and hair were found.
Elf/Fairy Elements
- 12:00
Ritual Objects
- Bone
- Hair
- Blood (animal)
- Wax/clay images
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: Christian Shaw claimed that Campbell cursed her after she reprimanded Campbell. Part of group accused of magically strangling children and causing possession. Main accuser was Christian Shaw. See other accused witches for details.
- Revenge
| Type | Text |
|---|---|
| Pipe | played by the Devil |
- Murder
| Name | Title | Involvement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Alexander | of Blackhouse | Commissioner | |
| Thomas Blackwell | Mr | Investigator | |
| James Brisbane | Mr | Investigator | |
| Matthew Brisbane | Dr | Expert Witness | |
| David Brown | Mr | Investigator | |
| John Houston | Sir of that Ilk | Commissioner | |
| James Hutchison | Mr | Investigator | |
| John Kincaid | Mr of Carsbusket | Commissioner | |
| 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 | |
| John Stirling | Mr | Investigator | |
| Andrew Turner | Mr | Investigator |
| Source | Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Paisley Presbytery records | CH2/294/4. | Pagination not consistent, use dates. 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. |
| Circuit Court Books | JC10/4 fo. 1r-81r second pagination | |
| Privy Council | PC1/51 p. 136-9 |
| Trial Ref | Date | Year | Verdict | Sentence | Execution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T/JO/1131 | 12/5/1697 | 1697 | Guilty | Execution | Yes |