Scottish campaigners want a museum created to commemorate the thousands of Scots persecuted for witchcraft.
The proposed museum would recall how nearly 4,000 people were accused of witchcraft in Scotland between the 16th and 18th centuries, 85 per cent of them were women.
The Scotsman stated that it is thought around 2,500 executions were carried out in Scotland under the Witchcraft Act between 1563 and 1736. The death toll is believed to be five times higher than any other country in Europe.
Initially the Witches of Scotland proposed a national memorial and then the idea evolved to a campaign for a national museum.
READ MORE: New evidence emerges about Orkney's controversial witch trials
Founded by QC Claire Mitchell and writer Zoe Venditozzi, the campaign already has its own podcast and merchandise range.
Ms Venditozzi said: “During the course of our podcasts, we’ve interviewed a few witch trial museum curators and educators and think that a museum would be a great idea, and indeed an asset to Scotland.
"We’ve come to realise there’s a real gap in our national education about the witch trials and think a museum would help Scots and visitors to get an accurate sense of what created the atmosphere of the trials and how we can avoid anything of that nature happening again.
"I’m very passionate about people having access to the facts of their past and think a museum would be a great opportunity to showcase how forward thinking we can be as a nation whilst being thoughtful about our past.
"The museum could build on the great work of the interactive database and cover stories and documentation from all over Scotland, telling the stories of the accused and humanising their terrible ordeals. We wouldn’t want to see displays of instruments of torture or bubbling cauldrons.”
Ms Mitchell added: “We’ve had talks with several politicians who each have an in interest in a museum in their own area due to their unique links and stories.
“Whilst we’re not particularly wedded to where the museum is built, we’re very focused on how the museum should be presented. We think it should be vibrant and engaging and not at all relying on the pointed hat imagery that’s often associated with the witches. The Salem Witch Museum has a tremendous approach, for example.”
The museum has been proposed months after the Scottish Government was asked to secure justice for all those convicted and executed around the country.
The museum idea has emerged due to a huge response to the campaign and a petition lodged at Holyrood, for which more than 3,400 signatories have been collected.
The National Trust for Scotland has been suggested as a potential operator.
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