Town to officially pardon executed witches - CNN

[Wat_Tyler]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/10/29/britain.witches.ap/index.html

PRESTONPANS, Scotland (AP) -- Accused witches -- and their cats -- executed during a wave of hysteria and religious ferment centuries ago will be pardoned on Halloween in this Scottish township.

"There'll be no witches' hats, dress-ups or that sort of thing -- it will be a fairly solemn occasion," Adele Conn, spokeswoman for the baronial court that granted the pardons, said by telephone interview Friday.

Sunday's ceremony will publicly declare pardons for 81 local people executed in the 16th and 17th centuries for being witches. The pardons have been granted under ancient feudal powers due to be abolished within weeks.

More than 3,500 Scots, mainly woman and children, and their cats were killed in witch hunts at a time of political intrigue and religious ferment. Many were condemned on flimsy evidence, such as owning a black cat or brewing homemade remedies.