Podcast Summary: Who Did What Now Episode 164: The North Berwick Witch Trials Host: Katie Charlwood Date: October 13, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Katie Charlwood dives deep into the story of the North Berwick witch trials, a notorious series of 16th-century prosecutions in Scotland that helped fuel Europe’s feverish witch hunt era. With her signature blend of dark humor, depth, and historical analysis, Katie unpacks the roots, proceedings, and aftermath of these trials—spotlighting the role of King James VI, national paranoia, and the scapegoating of marginalized women. This episode offers a mix of engrossing narrative, pointed critique, and insightful context, pulling no punches when describing the horrors faced by the accused.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Contextualizing Witch Trials

• Historical Pattern of Accusations
  • Witchcraft accusations targeted mostly women (approx. 85% of those accused).
  • Scapegoating women for misfortune, unexplained events, and disasters was commonplace.
  • Katie:

    "Women were convenient scapegoats for plague, pestilence, famine, and a stormy sea." (16:53)

• Patriarchy, Religion, and Societal Upheaval
  • The spread of Christianity pushed older religions to the societal fringes, fueling witchcraft associations.
  • Religious fragmentation (Catholic vs various Protestant sects) increased suspicion and accusations.
  • Economic hardships and moral conservatism intensified the marginalization and demonization of women.

2. The Power of Print: The Malleus Maleficarum

• The "Hammer of Witches," published in 1486, became the definitive witch hunting manual, fueling mass paranoia even among royals and gentry.
• Katie injects her personality into an aside about George R.R. Martin and unfinished sagas, keeping tone irreverent and lively.

3. King James VI: Obsession and Paranoia

• Personal Backstory
  • James ascends as King of Scotland at 13 months, raised Protestant to ensure succession (Mary Queen of Scots was Catholic).
  • Surrounded by powerful women—Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots—in a time of political peril and personal threats.
  • Katie:

    "He had grown up with the threat of danger, of being kidnapped or killed. Plots galore against him. So I wouldn't be surprised that that kind of environment would make someone... slightly paranoid." (29:37)

• Marriage and Maritime Misfortune
  • Marriage to Anne of Denmark is repeatedly delayed by violent storms, which are blamed on witchcraft.
  • Danish and Scottish officials alike claim witches conspired to cause the storms preventing Anne’s voyage.

4. Witchcraft in Denmark and Its Influence

• Danish witch hunts had been intense for decades, with trials and executions already normalized.
• Stories of storms being caused by "demons in barrels" set the stage for similar beliefs in Scotland after James experiences bad weather en route.

5. The North Berwick Witch Trials Unfold

• The Accused and the Accusations
  • Gaelish (Gilly) Duncan and Agnes Sampson are at the center; both are healers known for folk remedies.
  • Gilly is tortured and accuses others under duress; Agnes is implicated as a ringleader.
• Methods of ‘Detection’ and Torture
  • Torture used: thumb screws, head crushing, full-body shaving, and sexual assault in search for ‘devil’s marks.’
  • Agnes eventually falsely confesses after repeated sexual assault and torture.
  • Katie (on searching for marks):

    "I swear, whenever they claim to find something between the legs, like, it's a witch's wart, it's a secret nipple... it's a clitoris, right? Like, they find something between the legs and the men are like, oh, what's this? Mmm. I'm convinced." (52:39)

6. Spectacle and Injustice: King James’s Involvement

• James personally oversees the trial in Edinburgh, turning it from a local event into a national show trial.
• Courtroom confessions spiral into the absurd: stories of witches riding kitchen sieves, sabotaging ships with christened cats, and rimming the devil.
• Katie:

  "They claim to have sailed to the church on sieves. Right. Sieves, the thing that you sieve flour in. You sift with a sieve. It's full of holes. How did she magically... She magically sailed, but that's ok." (1:00:00)

• Wealthy or well-connected accused women could sometimes obtain lawyers and delay execution, but most, without support, were executed.

7. Notable Cases and Outcomes

• Execution and Deaths
  • Agnes Sampson: confessed to 58 out of 102 charges, strangled and burned, January 1591.
  • Gilly Duncan and others: similarly executed after confessions under torture.
  • Euphan Macalzian: burned alive for "petty treason" (using witchcraft against her husband).
  • Barbara Napier: jury acquits, but King James reverses verdict; she disappears from history, fate unknown.
  • Earl of Bothwell, suspected king’s rival, is acquitted due to his status.
• Scale of Persecution
  • Estimates: 70-200 accused in North Berwick case alone; over next century, more than 4,000 executed for witchcraft in Scotland.

8. Aftermath and Legacy

• King James continues to stoke witch panic, publishing "Demonology" in 1597 and exporting paranoia to England after inheriting the throne.
• Lasting impact: trials remembered for their cruelty, misogyny, and the king’s personal obsession.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On King James’s Motives:

  "He doesn't believe that it was merely Danish witches attacking him. He feared the enemies within his own court had employed witches to attack him. ... He believed that there was an international conspiracy of witches, hundreds of them, deliberately attacking kings. What's going on? It's a conspiracy of witches." – Katie Charlwood (29:37–35:20)

• On the Ridiculousness of the Accusations:

  "Then allegedly the devil made Agnes mould a wax picture of the king and... melt it, which would then dissolve the king's life.... They claim to have created a storm during storm season on a particularly rough part of the sea. Via a Danish Scottish witch alliance. Copenhagen witches sent a black dog to swim underneath and damage the royal ships..." – Katie Charlwood (Approx. 58:00–1:02:00)

• On the Tragedy of Innocent Suffering:

  "So many innocent people, marginalized people especially, died and died horribly because this man thought that women made a storm happen and put demons in barrels." – Katie Charlwood (1:13:00)

• On the Trials’ Place in History:

  "It's interesting, right, that it's North Berwick that's the name of the witch trials. Not like the Edinburgh witch trials, because they were held in Edinburgh. Not King James's witch trials..." – Katie Charlwood (1:12:00)

Essential Timestamps

• 02:39 – Start of primary content: Introduction to the Witch Trials theme
• 14:00–20:00 – Context: Witch trials in Europe, women as scapegoats, religious conflict
• 25:00–30:00 – King James’s upbringing, paranoia, and marriage to Anne of Denmark
• 33:00–36:00 – Arrival in Denmark and storms blamed on witches
• 36:00–42:00 – Introduction to Gilly Duncan and Agnes Sampson; folk healing as a crime
• 52:39–54:30 – Description of torture and forced confessions
• 58:00–1:00:00 – Outlandish accusations: magic sieves, christened cats, devil meetings
• 1:07:00–1:12:00 – Verdicts, executions, judicial injustice, and outcomes
• 1:12:00–1:14:30 – Reflection on aftermath, personal reaction from Katie

Tone & Style Notes

• Katie’s narration is candid, irreverent, and witty, interspersed with sarcasm ("Witches. Spooky bitches.") and pop culture references (Bring It On, Monty Python).
• While retaining humor and personality, she is unflinching about the violence and injustice inflicted upon the accused, repeatedly condemning King James and highlighting the misogyny at the heart of the witch hunts.

For Further Exploration

• Recommended Reading:
  • "Queen James" by Gareth Russell (as praised by Katie)
• Listening:
  • "Golden" by Huntrix (Katie’s song recommendation)
• Watching:
  • TV series “Rivals” (mentioned enthusiastically by Katie)

Summary Conclusion

Katie Charlwood’s episode on the North Berwick witch trials masterfully balances historical rigor with sharp, relatable commentary. She unpacks the sociopolitical, religious, and psychological drivers behind the trials—notably King James’s paranoia—and vividly recounts the tragic fates of women scapegoated in a patriarchal system obsessed with control and othering. Full of memorable asides and outrage at injustice, the episode stands out for its empathetic, informed storytelling and relentless critique of historical abuses of power.

Anyone curious about the intersection of gender, superstition, and politics—or those who appreciate history spiced with contemporary wit—will find this episode both enlightening and unforgettable.