Abstract
The four confessions given by Isobel Gowdie in Auldearn, Nairnshire in 1662 are consistently cited as the most extraordinary on record in Scotland. In remarkable detail and with inimitable style they cover a diverse ränge of folkloric and demonological subject matter, from stereo- typical pacts with the Devil to feasting under hüls with the fairy king and queen. Arguably the most striking of all the passages in the con- fessions are those depicting elf-arrow shooting. In her first confession, Isobel Claims that she and the other members of her coven
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© 2013 Emma Wilby
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Wilby, E. (2013). ‘We mey shoot them dead at our pleasur’: Isobel Gowdie, Elf Arrows and Dark Shamanism. In: Goodare, J. (eds) Scottish Witches and Witch-Hunters. Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137355942_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137355942_9
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-47033-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-35594-2
eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)