Witch ! Reclaiming the women they tried to erase

The closing event of this year’s Fringe brings together dark histories, remembrance and storytelling to consider one of Scotland’s darkest legacies - the persecution of those accused of witchcraft.

Ros Ollin and DJ McDowall will begin by introducing a new initiative developed through Kirkcudbright Fringe, CatStrand and The Imaginarium. They will share plans to honour the life and last journey of Elspeth MacKewan who was executed as a witch in Kirkcudbright in 1698 - reclaiming a story too long absent from public memory.

This scene-setter leads into a powerful discussion as Claire Mitchell KC and Zoe Venditozzi, co-authors of How to Kill a Witch: A Guide for the Patriarchy, uncover the harrowing truth of Scotland’s past. Mitchell and Venditozzi expose how misogyny, fear, and systems of power shaped these persecutions, whilst reclaiming the humanity and voices of those written out of history.

Through contemporary voices, song, poetry, and acts of remembrance, the event explores how contemporary Scotland confronts the legacy of the witch trials, and how we can do so in Kirkcudbright. Bringing together different forms of storytelling, the event creates space not only to hear these histories but to honour and reflect upon them. This is more than a history lesson; it is part remembrance, part reckoning, and part a call to action!

In association with CatStrand and The Imaginarium