Case file · Witch trials
Major Thomas Weir, the wizard of the West Bow
In 1670 Major Thomas Weir, a respected Edinburgh Covenanter famous for his prayers, suddenly confessed to incest, bestiality and witchcraft. He was strangled and burned; his sister Grizel was hanged.
1670 CE · 55.95, -3.19 · status: official
The account
Stories grew of his magic staff, of a fiery coach and of his house in the West Bow staying haunted for a century, empty because no one would live there.
The sceptical view
Modern writers suggest mental illness; the case was also used by opponents of the Covenanters.