An Interview with Dr Claire Mitchell: Why Scotland's Witch Trials Still Matter Today

We recently welcomed Dr Claire Mitchell KC to Aberdeen for a special talk on the Scottish Witch Trials and the Law. Hosted by RGU’s School of Law and Social Sciences, the event revealed uncomfortable truths about belief, power, and how societies turn on their most vulnerable.

For Claire, an advocate and co-founder of the Witches of Scotland campaign, the story of witchcraft accusations isn’t just historical, it’s a warning that continues to shape how we understand justice today.

A Nation Gripped by Belief

Scotland’s witch trials took place between 1563, when the Witchcraft Act was introduced by Mary Queen of Scots, and 1736, when it was repealed. Over those 173 years, the country saw an extraordinary number of accusations; far more per capita than elsewhere in Europe.

The reasons, however, are far from simple.

“There was a strong belief in magic at that time,” Claire explains. “Magic was so real that if you bought a spell from someone and it didn’t work, you could take them to court.”

This belief system created fertile ground for fear and made it easier for people to accept the idea of the devil and of witches. At the same time, Scotland was undergoing the upheaval of the Reformation, with the church urging people to root out anything seen as ungodly. Layer onto that a period marked by crisis—a “mini ice age,” crop failures, and political instability—and the perfect storm was created.

“It was a really difficult time in Scotland to be alive,” Claire says, “and on top of that you had the church saying there are witches amongst us doing evil”.

The monarchy also played a big part in this fearmongering. James VI of Scotland, taught that he was God’s envoy on earth and that the devil was out to disrupt his reign, became “hypervigilant” about the threat of witches and was instrumental in early large-scale accusations, including the North Berwick trials.

Magic vs Witchcraft

Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of the period is the distinction people made between acceptable magic and criminal witchcraft.

“Magic and witchcraft were seen as two completely separate things,” she explains. “Magic was the work of charmers—you could go and pay someone for a spell, and that was legal. But witches gained their power from the devil, and that’s what the Witchcraft Act was about.”

In practice, this meant someone could seek a love spell in the morning and, if dissatisfied, pursue legal action for their money back. But an accusation of witchcraft could lead to prosecution and execution under the Witchcraft Act. 

This blurred, yet rigid, distinction highlights how deeply belief shaped justice at the time. 

A Mirror to the Present

While the historical details are striking, it’s the parallels to today that give the subject its urgency.

“When times are bad, when people are up against it, we look for someone to blame,” she says. “And often, as it was then and as it is now, it’s the most vulnerable, desperate people in society that we turn against and say they’re the problem.”

For her, this pattern is the key reason the witch trials still matter today.  

Reclaiming Women's History

The Witches of Scotland campaign has been a passion project of Claire’s from the start. As a self-proclaimed “goth” teenager, she had already found an interest in magic and witches. But it’s not until she became an advocate that she started researching the Witch Trials more deeply. 

“I then read Sara Sheridan’s book, Where are the Women?, which reimagines Scotland as a place where every street and municipal buildings are named after women.” Inspired by this read, she started noticing more and more how women’s history was systematically overlooked.  

The turning point came during a walk through Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh. There, she noticed the statue of Wojtek the bear. 

“I thought, why is there a big statue of a bear and no named women at all?” she says. Looking up at the castle, she reflected on the thousands of women who had suffered a “terrible miscarriage of justice” during the witch trials whose stories were largely absent from public memory.

“That was the moment I decided to start the Witches of Scotland campaign.” Claire states. 

Justice, Memory, and Recognition

The campaign has three central aims: a pardon, an apology, and a national memorial for those accused of witchcraft. While progress has been made and a formal apology was given by the Scottish Government in 2022, the work continues.

For Claire, the importance of a pardon is symbolic but powerful.

“We want to put down a marker that, in Scotland in the 21st century, we accept that was wrong,” she says. “It’s not going to help those people, I understand that. But the point is, if we don’t remember our history, we’re doomed to repeat it.”

She draws a comparison to war memorials and acts of remembrance: “Lest we forget. Lest we forget this is going to happen again.”

Lessons for Law and Society

The witch trials also offer stark lessons for today’s legal system, and for those entering it.

Studying this history can help students think differently about justice, she suggests. “It allows them to think a wee bit outside the box about miscarriages of justice, consider groups of people who have been othered, and to ask, what’s the true story here? What are the real problems that we’re having in society?” 

It also provides practical insights into how legal systems have evolved. During the witch trials, Scotland did not even have an appeal court, as it was first introduced in 1930. This reality surprises many students.

The Work Still to Be Done

While the figure of the witch has been reclaimed in modern culture, often seen as a symbol of resistance, the real history remains sobering.

“Throughout history, humans have needed to believe in something other than our very mundane, straightforward lives,” Claire says. “And because of that, we create narratives of good and bad. Like God with his saints and the Devil with his witches.”

Yet those narratives can have consequences, especially when shaped by fear and authority.

By revisiting Scotland’s witch trials, the Witches of Scotland campaign is not only reclaiming a forgotten chapter of history, but is asking a difficult question of the present:

Who do we blame when things go wrong? And what might it take to choose differently?