The Witch Hunts
What started Britain’s century of bloody witch hunts? Lucy Worsley uncovers the story of one supposed witch whose case lit the fuse for the state-sanctioned killing of thousands.
We all think we know what we mean by a witch, but behind the clichés of pointy hats and broomsticks lies a terrifying history that’s been largely forgotten. Four hundred years ago, thousands of ordinary people, the vast majority of them women, were hunted down, tortured and killed in witch hunts across Scotland and England. Lucy Worsley investigates what lay behind these horrifying events.
She begins her investigation in North Berwick, a seaside town not far from Edinburgh, where the witch hunting craze began. The story goes that, in 1590, a coven of witches gathered here to cast a spell to try to kill the King of Scotland, James VI. Using an account from the time called Newes from Scotland and other first-hand sources, Lucy uncovers a web of political intrigue that led to a woman called Agnes Sampson, a faith healer and midwife, being investigated. She was accused of witchcraft and interrogated at Holyrood Castle by King James himself before being tortured and executed.
Agnes was caught in a perfect storm: hardline Protestant reformers wanting to make Scotland devout, a king out to prove himself a righteous leader, and a new ideology which claimed the Devil was actively recruiting women as witches. Under torture, Agnes gave the names of her supposed accomplices, some 59 other innocent people, resulting in the first successful large-scale witch hunt in Scotland. Its brutal success made it the model for trials rolled out across Scotland and England for the next hundred years.
Last on
More episodes
Previous
You are at the first episode
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
-
00:23Andrew Britton, Andrew Skeet, David Goldsmith
Extreme Caution
-
00:49
Vibrasphere
Sweet September
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Lucy Worsley |
| Director | Georgina Leslie |
| Series Producer | Emma Frank |
| Executive Producer | Julia Harrington |
Broadcasts
Featured in...
Arts & History
Exploring some of the best BBC's Signed Art & History programmes
-
Documentaries
Documentaries from BBC Two - the home of distinctive, specialist factual programming.
-
Crime and Punishment
Documentaries reexamining landmark criminal cases.
-
2022 Highlights
The most watched documentaries in 2022.
-
Lucy Worsley
A selection of Lucy Worsley's documentaries.