The Story of Geillis Duncan

“A woman’s voice is a hex. She must learn to exalt men always. If she doesn’t do that, then she is a threat. A demon whore, a witch - so says everyone and the law. So say the King and his guards. So say the witch-pricker and his sadistic friends. So say the husbands, the hates, the wives, the daughters, the God-fearing - demons are always trying to kill them, so they know. So says the hangman who sleeps with a bible in hand.” — Jenni

Fagan,

CW: This article has mentions of torture and sexual violence.

The Great Scottish Witch Hunts of the 16th century is one of the most gruesome, heartbreaking parts of history. Under the ruling of King James VI, over 1,500 citizens were killed under accusations of witchcraft and worshiping the devil. King James VI was extremely fearful of witchcraft, as it had been deemed illegal in Britain since 1563. Among the many witches who were executed in the North Berwick Witch Trials, there was Geillis Duncan.

Duncan was a maid servant who was based in Tranent, a small part of East Lothian in Scotland. Her employer, David Seton, became suspicious of her healing tendencies when she was able to relieve pain and illnesses around her, despite having a poor education. Duncan would also leave the grounds in the middle of the night, and Seton never knew where she would go; as Seton was Deputy Bailiff, he took charge of the examination. Seton accused Duncan of witchcraft and worshiping the devil and despite torturous interrogation, she kept her mouth shut. Duncan didn’t admit to anything and Seton worsened his methods of torture, until she finally confessed to being a witch.

idiom called Hyakki Yagyō, or “night parade of a hundred spirits”, when the supernatural comes into the world of reality at night. I learnt about Japanese monsters and spirits, or Yōkai, mainly through murder mystery fictions, such as Kubinashi no gotoki Tataru Mono. Kubinashi can look like a human but act with their heads off.

Don’t be too scared, Yōkai do not always look horrible. I found a Yōkai called Nurarihyon in the artwork collections of Toriyama Sekien. They looked like an elegant gentleman. When they walk straight into someone’s home on a busy night, start drinking tea, enjoying tobacco and high quality hospitality, no one would have a doubt that they weren’t human or that they were not invited.

Riddles of the Sphinx

My curiosity with ancient Egypt began with the game Predynastic

Duncan was stripped naked, shaved from head to toe, and subjected to a full body examination. In this examination, they found the devil’s mark on her neck which Duncan confessed to, naming over 60 other witches in Scotland. After enduring much pain for simply being able to heal people in a way that Western medicine could not at the time, Duncan was executed on 4 December 1591. She had supposedly tried to retract her confession on the day of her execution, with the reason that she was influenced under torture, but it did not save her from her tragic fate. There are other sources that claim she was raped, penetrated with metal and sticks and her fingernails were ripped out. Historians have argued that her case had a huge influence on the Scottish witch-hunts in the 16th and 17th century.

Egypt. In the game, you can worship cults to gain the blessings for your tribe to develop: Falcon Horus supports hunting, whilst Heavenly Cow Nut helps with farming. Wepwawet the Opener of the Ways has a head of a jackal. These creatures seem to have been highly respected by ancient Egyptians, with many of them seen as sacred. For example, the signs of snakes, or uraeus, were traditionally worn by the Pharaoh and their family.

Duncan’s story exposes the gratuitous and abhorrent violence against women during the witch-hunts. In fact, although it deviated from medicine at the time — which, admittedly, was fundamentally patriarchal — people were still healing and being relieved of their pain through her work. Geillis Duncan’s alleged “crime” leading to a year of torture and, eventually, death was healing other people and leaving late at night. As is the way patriarchy self-perpetuates, the Scottish witchhunts continued because men profited from a fear of witchcraft. Many “Witch Doctors”, or leaders of the witch hunts, gained a lot of financial benefit she is a beast. Others said she is a god. Ammit has a crocodile head, lion’s front legs and hippo’s hindquarters. She eats the unpurified heart of the dead. by charging people for exorcisms and selling body parts of the executed. This further elucidates how vulgar and exploitative men were towards those who didn’t follow their patriarchal traditions.

The line between whether a creature in ancient Egyptian stories is a monster or a god is somewhat of a conundrum. When I researched “Ammit”, some said that she is a demon, and some said

The idea of magical creatures has enthralled people for centuries. Understanding what creatures people believed in throughout time allows us to understand more about their belief systems and what they valued. It can be a fascinating journey to explore these creatures and their old tales, magical myths and adventurous stories.

Art by Estella Kennedy

Though we have come a long way since the Witch Trials, we are still afraid of female knowledge and power; society continues to focus on patriarchal advantage, domination, and power. With female discrimination in the workplace, and the rise of misogynistic figures online, it’s clear that we are still fighting for a world that is equal. The witch hunts were not justice against those worshiping evil, but more a reflection of patriarchal fears towards both gendered empowerment and female sexuality.

If you want to have a more empathetic and in-depth experience with Geillis Duncan’s story, you should read Hex by Jenni Fagan.