JUSTICE PLEA FOR TOWN’S ‘WITCHES’

Sep 18 2007 Paisley Daily Express

A WITCH hunt has been launched in Paisley in a bid to bring justice to those who were hunted down and slaughtered unjustly centuries ago.

The move to highlight the tragedy is being made by the Paisley Development Trust and heritage enthusiasts in the town.

And it is hoped that with Hallowe’en just six weeks away Buddies will rally to the cause to make amends for generations gone by.

The latest hunt won’t be like the horrific witch hunts which blackened the town’s good name following the terrible events of 1697 which saw seven men and women who were strangled at the stake in the Gallow Green in the West End then had their dead bodies burned to cinders.

The victims were found guilty at a ‘kangaroo court’ of having bewitched an 11-year-old Erskine girl named Christian Shaw, who is said to have floated in the air and regurgitated fur, feathers, bones and stones after being put under an enchanted spell.

And, as every Buddie knows, the incinerated remains of the ‘witches’ were buried below the ground at the Maxwellton crossroads and covered with stone cobbles – as well as an iron horseshoe – to prevent the entombed spirits escaping and taking revenge on their murderers. And there they lie until this very day.

But now, more than three centuries later, justice is about to be done and the so-called witches – in reality simple country folk who practised herbal medicine and weather lore – are about to have their day, or to be more accurate, their night.

Heritage enthusiasts in Paisley will commemorate the appalling slaying of the slaughtered seven with a special Hallowe’en event which will tell the sad story from the witches’ point of view.

The event, which is being promoted by Paisley Development Trust and the town’s very own walking encyclopaedia, Les Fernie of Fernie’s Walking Tours, will include ghost walks round some of Paisley’s most haunted sites, including the lanes and alleyways which overlook the eerie spots where the witches were killed, burned and buried.

But, before arrangements can be finalised, the organisers need people to take the part of the witches, ghostly gatekeepers, spectres and other phantom characters like the Grim Reaper, who stands with his scythe and black cloak at the entrance to the underworld.

“We’re looking for actors to take on these roles and give the show a realistic atmosphere,” said a spokesperson for Paisley Development Trust.

“They’ll dress up in costumes and go through all the actions, take talking parts and cast spells – just like the much-maligned, but totally innocent, witches were said to have done in the events leading up to their terrible deaths right here in Paisley.

“It promises to be a wonderful night’s entertainment and one with a message of what can go wrong when communities are gripped by the mass hysteria which resulted in the execution of ordinary men and women all these years ago in our town.”

Anyone interested in taking part in auditions for the various roles should ring Les Fernie on 041 561 8078 or visit www.historicalpaisley.com

Alternatively, readers can e-mail fernie_gto_paisley@hotmail.com