The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft

1563-1736

By Julian Goodare, Lauren Martin, Joyce Miller and Louise Yeoman, January 2003

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Case Details

C/EGD/2364 Helen Small

name of accused
Helen Small
designated title
no information
Accused Reference
A/EGD/2297
Case date start
1/1/1649
Given case date
no information
Case commission
no information
case complaint
no information
case correspondence
no information
case chronicle
no information
other details
no information

characterisation

  • maleficium (secondary characteristic)
  • maleficium (primary characteristic)
  • Implicated by another (secondary characteristic)
Characterisation Notes
None
additional persons
name involvement notes
David Orme Investigator

Qualitative information

Non-natural beings

Notes
None
  • no information

Demonic pacts

  • no information

witches meetings

Notes
None

Meeting places

  • no information

musical instruments

  • no information

Folk culture

Notes
None

Counter strategies

  • no information

white magic

  • no information

Elf/fairy elements

  • no information

Shape-changing

  • no information

Ritual objects

  • no information

Religious motif

  • no information

Calendar customs

  • no information

Diseases or illness

  • Human illness
  • Human death
  • Animal death
  • Transferring disease
  • Quarreling
Notes
Accused of sending a stoup of barme to a neighbour who later died. Accused of causing illness in a woman after they quarrelled. The husband then reprimanded Small, their cow died but the wife got better. She denied the charges.

Cause of witch's malice

  • no information

Other maleficia

Damage to property

  • no information

weather modification

  • no information

Notes
None

Other charges

  • no information

Notes
None

Plea

Claimed bewitched
no
Claimed possessed
no
Admitted lesser charges
no
No defence
no
Claimed natural causes
no
Notes
None
Case Notes
None
references
name notes
Cupar Presbytery records CH2/82/1. See also J Campbell 'Balmerino and its Abbey' Edinburgh, 1936, p. 381. The project did not check this secondary reference as part of the research.