Skebister,Bessie
Case Reference: C/EGD/2257
Case Summary
| Case Ref | C/EGD/2257 |
|---|---|
| Accused | Bessie Skebister |
| Case Start Date | 21/3/1633 |
| Case Date | 21/3/1633 |
| Common Name | Skebister,Bessie |
|---|
Characterisation
| Type | Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|---|
| Folk Healing | — | ✓ |
| Not Enough Info | ✓ | ✓ |
| White Magic | — | ✓ |
| Elphane/Fairyland | — |
|---|---|
| Food/Drink | — |
| Verbal Formulae | — |
| Ritual Acts | ✓ |
| Familiars | — |
| Shape Changing | ✓ |
|---|---|
| Dreams/Visions | — |
| Unorthodox Religious Practice | — |
| Sympathetic Magic | ✓ |
| Riding Dead | — |
Notes: She removed her curtch and shook her hair loose at a woman who has been ill ever since. Used a coin to determine if a distant friend was well.
Shape Changing
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Vision | tormenting a sailor |
Ritual Objects
- Coin
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: Quarrelling over cows eating Bessie's.
White Magic
- Second Sight
- Divination
| Source | Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Marwick Collection | D31/4/3 | His notes on primary documents that aren't held in Orkney. J G Dalyell 'The Darker Superstitions of Scotland' Edinburgh, 1834, pp. 451, 470, 474, 480, 491, 512, 591. The project did not check Larner's reference to this printed secondary source as part of the research. |
Trials (1)
| Trial Ref | Date | Year | Verdict | Sentence | Execution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T/LA/1420 | 21/3/1633 | 1633 | Guilty | Execution | Yes |