Witches' Well, Castle Esplanade

Edinburgh, Scotland · United Kingdom · Execution site

On the esplanade in front of the castle, where tourists gather today, burned the largest witch fires in Scotland.

Between 1563 and 1736, somewhere between four and six thousand people were prosecuted under the country's witchcraft laws, and at least 2,500 were executed. Here on the Castle Esplanade more than 300 of them were strangled and burned. Set into the wall is the Witches' Well, a small bronze fountain raised in 1894 in their memory. The relief shows healing plants and a serpent around the gods of healing, a quiet reminder that many of those killed were healers, women who knew herbs and remedies.

This is a memorial, not a horror attraction. Even so, the same accounts recur among those who walk here in the dark: a sudden drop in temperature, a smell of burning with no source, voices that seem to be counting backwards. Put your hand against the cold stone and pause. This is where the darkness of Edinburgh begins, with thousands of innocent people and a fire that lit up the city.

FAQ

Where is Witches' Well, Castle Esplanade located?

Witches' Well, Castle Esplanade is in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: (Lila) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons