Ask most people about King James of Scotland and England and they will remember him as the translator of the Kings James Bible. But according to some scholars he changed things in the book to match his own prejudices, among them the famous line 'Thou Shalt not Suffer a Witch to Live' (The original word translates better as 'Poisoner' than 'Witch'.)

But this command King James took very seriously -he was responsible for more people being executed as witches in his first year as King of England than his predecessor Queen Elizabeth during her entire lengthy reign. As King of Scotland he had already been resposible for over 1000 executions, often presiding himself at the trials.

King James believed that witches were plotting against him, and as a result went seeking the witches who had tried to kill both him and his wife on separate occasions.

As seems to be usual in a witch trial the tortured 'witch' not only confessed, but blamed others, eventually the accusations reaching as high as the . A song was supposedly sung at the sabbat, which runs like this -


The Witch's Reel

Cummer go ye before, cummer go ye
If ye willna go before, cummer let me
Ring-a-ring-a-widdershins
Linkin' lithely widdershins
Cummer carlin, crone and queen
Roun' go we

Cummer go ye before, cummer go ye
If ye willna go before, cummer let me
Ring-a-ring-a-widdershins
Loupin' lightly widdershins
Kilted coats and fleein' hair
Three times three

Cummer go ye before, cummer go ye
If ye willna go before, cummer let me
Ring-a-ring-a-widdershins
Whirlin' skirlin' widdershins
De'il tak the hindmost
Wha'er she be

If you can find the MP3 by Green Crown (once freely distributed) it is a very nice song, and a great one to use in games, whether your witches are real or imagined. It is on their album 'With Which to Feed the Faeries'. Sadly the group has since broken up, and the MP3 is no longer found on their site.

As an incidental note, the Witches' Reel is now the oldest surviving Scottish reel. Sometimes the world works in odd ways.

The Auld Grump

Okay, thread necromancy time!

This is the scenario that I am going to run at the pagan retreat up in Rangely Lakes, come August.

About a year and a half ago the tune made it to Youtube -


As an historical note - King James reversed the rules of evidence pertaining to trials for the crime of witchcraft. Rather than the prosecution needing to prove its case the defendant needed to prove innocence.

I have had this scenario bubbling away on a back burner for seven years....

The Auld Grump