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/404 Bessie Flinker

name of accused
Bessie Flinker
designated title
no information
Accused Reference
A/EGD/393
Case date start
29/7/1661
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

  • demonic (secondary characteristic)
  • Implicated by another (secondary characteristic)
  • not enough information (secondary characteristic)
  • not enough information (primary characteristic)
Characterisation Notes
None
additional persons
name involvement notes
no additional persons recorded

Qualitative information

Non-natural beings

Notes
None
  • Male as her own husband

Demonic pacts

  • Anti-baptism
  • Servant
  • Want nothing
  • Head and foot
  • Sex

witches meetings

  • Witches meeting
  • Devil present
Notes
Taken to a meeting in the hills, by a whirl wind. She masked herself at her meeting and was assigned a certain number of a malifices.

Meeting places

  • None Hilltop
  • coming from Brandis Milne Road

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

Notes
None

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
Books of Adjournal JC2/11; JC2/10 fo. 17v-20r Mentioned
High Court Process Notes JC26/27/5 item 8 mentioned
High Court Process Notes JC26/27/5 item 9 Same as the information in the JC2s, only this draft dittay has people charged who did not appear in the final High Court Books of Adjournal. She did not appear in the final case in the Books of Adjournal, unclear why. This is a draft of a dittay against her.
High Court Process Notes JC26/27/5 item 13 29/7/1661