TWIST – horror of historic Scottish witch-hunts

Those convicted were almost always strangled at the stake and then their dead body was burned. We have records of 141 sentences specifying an execution method; 120 were for strangling and burning. Of the 17 sentenced simply to burning, many may have been strangled first—though a very small number are known to have been burned alive. In the sentences of beheading (3) and hanging (1), crimes other than witchcraft were also involved.Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, School of History and Classics, Edinburgh University

© Pauline McGee

Pauline and I share a distinctive collaboration. The painting portrays victims of the Scottish witch-finding times and the abuse of the accused. A poet absorbs the image and reacts. The big word is Ekphrasis, we call it #fuse-the-muse.

If you want to hear the poem, read by Mac Logan, you’ll find a link below.

Comments most welcome.

TWIST

Slim hands…