The Kirk refers to the governing bodies of the Protestant Church of Scotland. The Kirk held enormous social, moral, and political authority during the witch-hunting era. In the book, Kirk sessions are frequently shown as the starting point for witch accusations, where elders brought rumors or grievances to ministers. Many elders also served as court officers, allowing accusations to move seamlessly from religious spaces into legal proceedings. The Kirk’s focus on moral discipline and fear of the Devil reinforced the belief that witchcraft threatened the entire community. This shows how religious ideology helped normalize suspicion and surveillance.

The Privy Council was Scotland’s central governing body and played a key role in overseeing witch trials. The Council granted permission for commissions to be formed and trials to proceed. This bureaucratic approval legitimized local fears and transformed accusations into state action. The Council also required documentation, such as depositions from witch prickers, giving an illusion of due process. The authors emphasize that without the Privy Council’s involvement, large-scale witch hunts would not have been possible.

A witch, as portrayed in the book, was someone believed to have entered a pact with the Devil and to possess harmful supernatural powers. The label was applied overwhelmingly to women, particularly those who were elderly, poor, outspoken, or socially isolated. The authors argue that being called a witch often had little to do with actual behavior and much more to do with power imbalances and prejudice. Once accused, individuals were stripped of credibility and legal protection or even executed. The term functioned as a tool for social control and justified extreme violence.

Witchcraft in this context refers to a broad and deliberately vague category of alleged practices, including sorcery, healing, cursing, and interaction with supernatural forces. This vagueness made it easy for authorities to expand accusations to fit almost any situation. The book shows how witchcraft shifted from being associated with helpful magic to being defined as inherently evil and dangerous. This change was driven largely by Protestant theology and state interests. As a result, witchcraft became a flexible accusation used to enforce conformity.

A witch pricker was an individual believed to have specialized knowledge in identifying witches by locating a Devil’s mark on the body. In the book, witch prickers such as John Kincaid and Christian Caddell are shown to be frauds who exploited fear for profit and influence. Their “expert testimony” carried enormous weight in trials, often sealing the fate of the accused. Many used fake instruments that prevented bleeding, ensuring a guilty verdict. Witch prickers exemplify how pseudo-science and abuse of authority combined to legitimize persecution.