Demon of Jedburgh

(1752)

   Account of an alleged witch in Jedburgh, Scotland. In 1752, Captain Archibald Douglas was in Jedburgh on a recruiting campaign. One of his sergeants asked to change quarters because the house he was staying in had a DEMON in a “frightful form” that pestered him at night. Douglas refused the man’s request.

   Soon the sergeant appealed again to be moved, saying the demon had threatened his life. He said that he had awakened during the night to see the ugly form standing over him. It changed into a black cat, jumped out the window, and flew over the church steeple. The sergeant also had learned that the landlady was said to be a witch and her husband possessed “second sight” (clairvoyance).

   That night, Douglas spent the night beside the sergeant, with his gun and sword nearby. At midnight, he was awakened by a noise and saw a large black cat fly in through the window. He fired at it and shot off one of its ears. It vanished.

   The next morning, the men saw the landlady, who fainted before them in a pool of BLOOD. They discovered that one of her ears had been shot off. Douglas threatened to turn the woman in to the authorities, but she and her husband begged him to leave them alone. He agreed, on condition that they give up their “wicked ways.” It is not known whether the couple did as promised. The story is possibly a blend of fact and fiction; the telltale wound is prominent in magical folklore in tales of shape-shifting sorcerers, witches, and werewolves.

   FURTHER READING:

   - Grant, James. The Mysteries of All Nations: Rise and Progress of Superstition, Laws against and Trials of Witches, Ancient and Modern Delusions, Together with Strange Customs, Fables and Tales. Edinburgh: Leith, Reid & Son, n.d.