His faice was terrible, his noise lyk the bek of ane egle, gret bournyng eyn; his handis and leggis wer herry,…
- Date of account
- Published 1921
- Source
- The Witch-cult in Western Europe: A Study in Anthropology
- Reference
- The Witch-cult in Western Europe: A Study in Anthropology · selected passage 29
- Rights
- public_domain
- Language
- English with quoted European trial material
- Record updated
- 2026-08-24
Record summary
His faice was terrible, his noise lyk the bek of ane egle, gret bournyng eyn; his handis and leggis wer herry, with clawes vpon his handis, and feit lyk the griffon.'[67] John Fian merely mentions that the first time the Devil came he was clothed in white raiment.[68] The evidence from Aberdeen, 1596-7, points to there…
Published source text
Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.
Source passage
Source text · mention onlyHis faice was terrible, his noise lyk the bek of ane egle, gret bournyng eyn; his handis and leggis wer herry, with clawes vpon his handis, and feit lyk the griffon.'[67] John Fian merely mentions that the first time the Devil came he was clothed in white raiment.[68] The evidence from Aberdeen, 1596-7, points to there being two Chiefs, one old and one young. Ellen Gray confessed that 'the Devill, thy maister, apperit to thee in the scheap of ane agit man, beirdit, with a quhyt gown and a thrummit [shaggy] hatt'. Andro Man 'confessis that Crystsunday cum to hym in liknes of ane fair angell, and clad in quhyt claythis'. Christen Mitchell stated that 'Sathan apperit to the in the lyknes of a littill crippill man'; and Marion Grant gave evidence that 'the Deuill, quhom thow callis thy god, apperit to thee in ane gryte man his licknes, in silkin abuilzeament [habiliment], withe ane quhyt candill in his hand'.[69] Isobell Haldane of Perth, 1607, was carried away into a fairy hill, 'thair scho stayit thrie dayis, viz. fra Thurisday till Sonday at xii houris.
Historical context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyThis is a historical account assembled under the reporting and publishing conventions of its period. It may preserve testimony, hearsay, retelling and editorial interpretation together.
Modern context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyA modern comparison can identify recurring descriptions and possible explanations, but the account is not treated as independently verified evidence merely because it appeared in print.
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