The Storm Witch

Folk tales have always existed in island and rural communities, where witchcraft and sercery was part of everyday life for centuries. Magical powers were considered part of the general lifestyle and were not questioned.

Attitudes gradually changed and witch-hunts began in the 1550s. In Scotland it is estimated between four thousand and six thousand people, mostly from the Lowlands were tried and executed for witchcraft between 1590-1660. Seventy five percent of the accused were women.

Lying off the north coast of Scotland, the Orkney Islands (often referred to as the center of civilization in Neolithic times) were host to an intensive period of witch trials. From 1615 until 1645, sixty eight (a high percentage of the population at the time) were condemned to death, 90% were women.

"The Storm Witch" is a novelette based on fact: Janet Forsyth our main character in the story was born around 1604 on Westray, one of Orkney's most northern islands.