Culsetter,Elspeth
Case Reference: C/JO/3044
Case Summary
| Case Ref | C/JO/3044 |
|---|---|
| Accused | Elspeth Culsetter |
| Case Start Date | 29/5/1629 |
| Case Date | 2/5/1644 |
| Common Name | Culsetter,Elspeth |
|---|
Characterisation
| Type | Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|---|
| Unorthodox Religious Practice | — | ✓ |
| Fairies | — | ✓ |
| Folk Healing | — | ✓ |
| Maleficium | — | ✓ |
| Implicated by Another | — | ✓ |
| 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: Accused of having spoken a curse, which then caused a man's horse to fall, break its bones and later die. Also claimed to know how to keep a man's health. Take a cog of water, put three straws in it and put it on the back of a sick cow. Then take some water and put it in the cow's mouth, then put an arm down the cow's throat, which will cure a cow. Also accused of throwing water three times for an evil purpose. Was able to locate lost/stolen money. Claimed that she predicted an outbreak of smallpox.
Elf/Fairy Elements
- Elfshot
Ritual Objects
- Water
- Straw
Religious Motifs
- Three
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: To preserve health carry the bones of a linnet in clothing as a form of talisman.
White Magic
- Finding lost goods
- Prophesy
| Name | Title | Involvement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry (Harry) Aitken | Mr | Sheriff-depute | |
| Henry Smith | Mr | Investigator |
| Source | Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Orkney Presbytery Records | CH2/1082/1. P 204-5, 289-90. | See also J G Dalyell, The Darker Superstitions of Scotland, Edinburgh 1834, pp. 33, 34-150, 564. |
| Marwick Collection | D31/4/3. | Marwick collection in Orkney Archives also notes there was/is information in Records of Orkney Sheriff Court but the primary source has not been located. |