Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the East Neuk of Fife in
Scotland was one of the major areas in Europe for witch trials
and executions. Over 5,000 recorded trials resulted in at least
1,500 executions, an outrageous amount for a small country.
Hundreds of years of conflict and natural disasters gradually
took their toll on villages of the East Neuk, particularly
between Edinburgh and St. Andrews. The fear of raiding
Scandinavians from the east, ongoing warfare and disputes with
the English in the south, and severe climatic events resulted in
starvation and extreme poverty in many places, breeding intra-
village paranoia, hatred, suspicion, and jealousy amongst
desperate populations. It took very little to be considered a
witch; a ruined crop field, a petty argument over money, a
spurned lover, or maybe the fisherman’s catch was poor. What
better way to gain the upper hand over another person or family
than to accuse them of witchcraft? Using an Ordnance Survey map
I selected five separate grid squares wit