The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft

1563-1736

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

The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft logo

Case Details

C/LA/2909 Daughter of Agnes Sampson

name of accused
Daughter of Agnes Sampson
designated title
no information
Accused Reference
A/LA/2791
Case date start
27/1/1591
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

  • Implicated by another (secondary characteristic)
  • not enough information (secondary characteristic)
  • not enough information (primary characteristic)
Characterisation Notes
Part of the North Berwick witch hunt. It involved many people and many accustions about witches meetings, specifically two separate attempts to sink the royal ships. The first to sink Queen Anne on her way home, second to trouble King James after he went to get her in Denmark.
additional persons
name involvement notes
no additional persons recorded

Qualitative information

Non-natural beings

Notes
Said by her mother and Napier that she met the devil as a 'mekle black man.
  • no information

Demonic pacts

  • no information

witches meetings

Notes
see Agnes Sampson for description of the North Berwick kirk meeting (c/egd/63). See also Napier (c/egd/103) for more details about the North Berwick meeting.

Meeting places

  • no information

musical instruments

  • no information

Folk culture

Notes
It was claimed by others that she was involved in ritual with corpse and corpse powder, and attended meetings at Halloween.

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
Pitcairn v I, part II, page 239-241 same text as JC2/2
Books of Adjournal JC2/2 fos. 201r-207r None
Pitcairn v I, part II, page 246 None