Edinburgh’s Witches, Warlocks & the Winter Queen

A 90-min walk into the winter dark through witch hunts, executions and fae folklore, and the women who did, and didn’t, survive being called Hallowe'en is over, they say. The pumpkins have gone in the food bin, and the city has strung up its fairy lights (ironically). Not quite ready for tinsel? Neither is the Cailleach, the Queen of Winter. In Scotland, it is said, she takes her throne on Samhain night, and rules until Beltane—which means her reign has barely begun. Our Hallowe'en walk began with the North Berwick witches in 1590, who confessed—under torture—to dancing with the Devil. But not every accused witch in Scotland was charged with meeting him. Some were tried for keeping company with the fairies: riding out with them, feasting under their hills, learning cures from the Queen of Elphame (The Otherworld, Fairyland) herself. It's all there in the court records, written down by men who took it entirely seriously. So, we start our tour where many of those accused met their death—on Castlehill, by the Witches’ Well, a memorial whose plaque still insists some of them “used their exceptional knowledge for evil purposes.” And before the light fades, each of you draws a tarot card at the Well, and carries it unturned into the winter dark: past a warlock's door, the gallows, a woman who woke in her coffin, the Queen of Fairies, bedlam, and a skull measured for proof of guilt. We finish at the Mercat Cross where, legend says, a demon once read out the names of the soon-to-be dead. Tonight, we turn our cards over and say theirs. Disclaimer: Expect stories of forced confessions, executions, burnings , darker fae folklore and gallows humour—literally. We start at dusk and finish in the dark, on stairs and cobblestones, so dress (and step) accordingly. Dress as if the Winter Queen is watching: warm layers, a waterproof, gloves and shoes with grip. No broomsticks provided. No tinsel either.