[Satan’s Invisible World Contents]
IT was about the end of August 1696, Christian Shaw,* daughter to Shaw of Bargarran, in the shire of Renfrew, about eleven years of age, perceiving one of the maids of the house, named Katharine Campbell, to steal and drink some milk; she told her mother of it: Whereupon the maid Campbell (being of a proud and revengeful humour, and a great curser and swearer) did, in a great rage, thrice imprecate the curse of God upon the child, and uttered these words, “The devil harle your soul through hell.” – On Friday following, one Agnes Nasmith came to Bargarran’s house, where she asked the same Christian, how the lady and young child was? and how old the young child was? To which Christian replied, “What do I know?” Then Agnes asked, How herself did, and how old she was? To which she answered that she was well, and in the eleventh year of her age. – On Saturday night thereafter, the child went to bed in good health; but so soon as she was asleep, began to cry “Help, help;” and did fly over the resting-bed where she was lying, with such violence, that her brains had been dashed out, if a woman had not broke the force of the child’s motion, and remained as if she had been dead, for the space of half an hour. After this she was troubled with sore pains, except in some short intervals. And when any of the people present touched any part of her body, she did cry and screech with such vehemence, as if they had been killing her, but could not speak. – Some days thereafter she fell a crying, that Catharine Campbell and Agnes Nasmith were cutting her side and other parts of her body. In this condition she continued a month, with some variation, both as to the fits and intervals. – She did thrust out of her mouth parcels of hair, some curled, some plaited, some knotted, of different colours, and in large quantities; and likewise coal-cinders, about the bigness of a chesnut; some whereof were so hot, that they could scarcely be handled. One of which, Dr. Brisbane being by her when she took it out of her mouth, felt to be hotter than any one’s body could make it. – The girl continued a long time in this condition, till the government began to take notice of it, and gave commission to some honourable gentleman for the trial of these two, and several others concerned in these hellish practices; (which I shall, for brevity’s sake, omit to mention) and being brought before the judges, two of their accomplices confessed the crime; whereupon they were condemned and executed.
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* This is the same Christian Shaw who eventually confessed to “malicious impostures,” or lying about the 20+ people she had condemned as witches. [‘Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal,’ ‘Sketches of Superstition; Witchcraft in Scotland,’ 18th July,1840.]
