We’re heading back into the misty past to revisit two of our most requested stories: the legendary Isobel Gowdie and the enigmatic Biddy Early. From whispered confessions of witchcraft in 17th-century Scotland to the charms and cures of a famed Irish “wise woman,” these tales are brimming with folklore, mystery, and the lingering shadows of superstition. Join us as we breathe new life into these episodes, exploring the blurred lines between magic, myth, and fear in communities that lived by candlelight and rumor.
✨ Champagne pairing for this episode: Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé
CAMPers! Please keep Vanessa and her family in your thoughts, while they navigate this difficult time.
https://www.shca.ed.ac.uk/Research/witches/person.php?name=Isobel+Gowdie&source=3777
Pitcairn, Ancient Criminal Trials in Scotland (1833)—printed text of the confessions: https://archive.org/stream/ancientcrim43pt203pitcuoft/ancientcrim43pt203pitcuoft_djvu.txt
Liv Høgh Willumsen review of Emma Wilby, The Visions of Isobel Gowdie (2010) https://www.livhelenewillumsen.no/res/Review%20Gowdie_Willumsen.20.6.11%5B3%5D.pdf
Boosey & Hawkes, MacMillan’s The Confession of Isobel Gowdie (composer note): https://www.boosey.com/cr/music/James-MacMillan-The-Confession-of-Isobel-Gowdie/3115
Wikipedia: The Confession of Isobel Gowdie (work): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Confession_of_Isobel_Gowdie
Inverness Courier (Auldearn mural, 2021): https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/extraordinary-witch-features-in-new-mural-257239/
Smithsonian Magazine (Scotland’s 2022 apology): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scotland-issues-formal-apology-to-thousands-accused-of-witchcraft-180979869/
The Guardian (text/reportage on the apology): https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/mar/08/nicola-sturgeon-issues-apology-for-historical-injustice-of-witch-hunts
(Notes: Many details in the narrative—marriage to John Gilbert; residence around Loch Loy; dates and sequence of the four confessions; the Queen of Elphame, elf-arrows, Read Reiver; the July 1662 commission; and the uncertainty of Gowdie’s ultimate fate—are drawn from the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft case file and the Wikipedia article’s underlying citations, which synthesize Pitcairn’s printed text and modern scholarship.)
Irish Times, “Irish Lives: Biddy Early” (encyclopedic overview): https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/irish-lives-1.1286579
History Ireland, “Feakle’s Biddy Early: a victim of ‘moral panic’?” https://historyireland.com/feakles-biddy-early-a-victim-of-moral-panic/ historyireland.com
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biddy_Early Wikipedia
Lady Gregory, Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/vbwi/vbwi11.htm Internet Sacred Text Archive
Dúchas (National Folklore Collection), Schools’ Collection—Biddy Early bottle lore (two versions): • https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922349/4872900/5072452 • https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922348/4872795/5074512 duchas.ie+1
RTÉ Archives: • https://www.rte.ie/archives/2021/0629/1232043-biddy-early-and-the-changeling/ • https://www.rte.ie/archives/2015/0208/678387-biddy-early-wise-woman-or-witch/ RTE+1
Clare County Library—People of Clare: Biddy Early (local biography & context): https://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/people/biddy.htm Clare Libraries
Limerick’s Life (local historian compendium of sources & dates): https://limerickslife.com/biddy-early-the-witch-of-the-west/ Limerick's Life
Notes on sources: Where dates differ slightly across popular retellings, I favored the more conservative or scholarly references (History Ireland; Irish Times; Lady Gregory’s collected narratives and the Dúchas Schools’ Collection for folklore). The Dictionary of Irish Biography maintains an entry on Biddy Early but requires JavaScript to view; it also affirms the 1865 Ennis case and the broad outline of her life. See: https://www.dib.ie/biography/early-biddy-a2870
