Beliefs and Superstitions
why did people believe in
Witchcraft?
Supernatural Ideas
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People did not know much
about Science.
They had not the knowledge
of research and technology
we have today so they did not
know why natural things
happened.
Often, when something
unexplained happened it was
assumed that this was ‘the
work of the Devil’.
Witches
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People believed that a
witch was someone that
had entered, into a pact
with the Devil.
It was not a Sin to be
‘possessed’ as this was
the work of the Devil. A
person found guilty of
being a witch could be
sentenced to death.
The Law
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The Witchcraft Act was
introduced in 1563 and
was punishable by
execution.
When people sought the
help of a Witch they too
were considered to have
committed a sin and a
crime.
The King
King James VI also strongly
believed in
witches.
He described the signs to
look out for to spot a
witch.
King James - Signs of a Witch
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They are almost always
women
They are often old
They have a ‘familiar’ (an
animal that follows them
around
King James – Signs of a Witch
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They have a ‘mark of the
Devil’ (a birthmark or
mole)
They make models of
their victims and cast
spells on them
They hold strange
ceremonies
They live alone
Why did King James believe in
Witches?
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Scotland's witch-hunting had its origins in the marriage
of King James to Princess Anne of Denmark.
Anne's voyage to Scotland for the wedding met with a
bad storm, and she ended up taking refuge in Norway.
James traveled to Scandinavia and the wedding took
place in at Kronborg Castle in Denmark.
After a long honeymoon in Denmark, the royal
newlyweds encountered terrible seas on the return
voyage, which the ship's captain blamed on witches.
When six Danish women confessed to having caused
the storms that bedeviled King James, he began to take
witchcraft seriously.