Wise Wives and Witch Hunts: The Women Scotland Burned

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This episode of "Paranormal Pajama Party" is spine-chilling – but not because of the paranormal parts.
We're headed back to Scotland to discuss the North Berwick Witch Trials – a dark chapter of history that inspired Shakespeare's most infamous witches and exposed the terrifying mechanisms of patriarchal violence. Meet Agnes Sampson, Gilleis Duncan, and Euphame MacCalzean – three women caught in a deadly web of royal paranoia, religious persecution, and systemic misogyny.
Set against the backdrop of King James VI's tumultuous reign, this episode exposes the brutal methods of torture, the gendered violence of witch hunts, and how a young king's insecurities fueled a campaign of femicide that would claim nearly 3,000 lives across Scotland.
From magical midnight meetings to royal wedding storms, we'll trace how these women's stories inspired centuries of witch folklore. This episode's stories serve as a reminder that the mechanisms of oppression may change, but the impulse to silence and control women remains disturbingly consistent.

Key moments

• 0:55 – King James, Anne of Denmark, and the Contrary Winds
• 10:11 – King James VI and I's chaotic backstory
• 15:33 – King James kicks off the North Berwick Witch Trials
• 17:55 – Agnes Sampson, the Wise Wife of Keith
• 19:03 – The Scold's Bridle
• 24:49 – Euphame MacCalzean and the King James Bible
• 29:20 – Margaret Aitken and Marion Walker
• 31:56 – Shakespeare starts writing "Macbeth"
• 34:52 – Witches of Scotland and Nicola Sturgeon's apology

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