Echoes of Old England
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
ARTICLES
WHAT ARE GHOSTS?
.... ' Some of the answers you get back when you ask that question are great. The enchanting thing is that none are wrong, as we have no certain answers. Some are more logical than others. Some based on religious beliefs. Some based on cultural upbringing. Some based on personal experience. Whether you believe or not it’s a debate anyone can join in. '
ELSPETH McEWAN - THE GALLOWAY WITCH
.... 'Only ten years had passed since the brutal ‘Killing Times’ wreaked havoc among the simple God-fearing lives of these rural people, and now a new brutality was rife – the witch hunts. This year, however, was to see the last witch in this area to be burned for her ‘crimes’ and that witch was Elspeth McEwen.'
... 'When it comes to Scottish folklore, many of the common images associated with the witch did not apply in the cases of witches north of the border. The grotesque hag of the cautionary tale, with broomstick in hand and familiar by her feet is largely the stuff of myth. By the time we get to a period in history where actual people were being labelled as witches it was apparent that they looked the same as everyone else'