Mercat Tours - Witches: Trial & Truth Halloween Edition

The witching hour has come and with it, a reckoning.

Uncover the real history behind Scotland’s witch trials and discover true accounts of those accused of witchcraft.The witching seasonHalloween or Samhuinn, as it was once known in Scotland has long been a time to look to the future and remember the past.

This Samhuinn, we invite you to bear witness to the voices once silenced and remember the real people behind the myths.On this Halloween walking tour you’ll be transported back to a dark time ruled by a crazed king and his obsession with ‘otherworldly phenomenon’.As you journey through Edinburgh’s Old Town, feel the tension rise while walking in the footsteps of real people caught in the frenzy of Scotland’s witch trials.

Guided by a Master Storyteller, you’ll pass through ancient cobbled closes and shadowy alleyways steeped in fear, superstition, and injustice.With the conjured scent of burning in the air and echoes of crackling flames around you, stand upon Castlehill – where hundreds were burned at the stake – and pause to reflect, not on fairy tales, but on the real lives that ended in smoke and silence.Witches of Edinburgh – the voices of SamhuinnAgnes.

Geillis.

Janet.

John.

Around 2,500 souls – mostly women, some men – were executed for witchcraft in Scotland.

Accused of sorcery, coerced into confessions, and condemned by fear.

This Halloween, their names are spoken again.

Their stories told aloud.

Will you listen?History and hysteria.

Trials and truthThere was no justice in the trials, no truth in the confessions.

This tour peels back the myths and lights a candle for the truth.This Samhuinn, walk with us.

Remember them.