Janet Horne (died 1727) was the last person to be executed legally for

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

in the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

. Horne and her daughter were arrested in

Dornoch Dornoch (; ; ) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray Firth to the east. ...

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

and imprisoned on the accusations of her neighbours. Horne was showing signs of senility, and her daughter had a deformity of her hands and feet. The neighbours accused Horne of having used her daughter as a pony to ride to the

Devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...

, where she had her shod by him. The trial was conducted very quickly; the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

, Captain David Ross, had judged both guilty and sentenced them to be burned at the stake. The daughter managed to escape, but Janet was stripped, smeared with

tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...

, paraded through the town on a barrel and burned alive. Nine years after her death the witchcraft acts were repealed in Scotland. Janet (or Jenny) Horne was also a generic name for witches in the north of Scotland at the time and this makes it difficult to determine what the real name of this woman may have been. Contemporary writers may have called her 'Janet Horne' simply because her real name was unknown or because the name was reported as 'Janet Horne' and they were unaware that this was a generic name. Some sources give the date of the Dornoch execution as June 1722.

Legacy

The Witch's Stone in Littletown, Dornoch, marks the alleged spot of Horne's execution. She is the subject of the play ''The Last Witch'' by

Rona Munro Rona Munro (born 7 September 1959) is a Scottish writer. She has written plays for theatre, radio, and television. Her film work includes Ken Loach's '' Ladybird, Ladybird'' (1994), '' Oranges and Sunshine'' (2010) for Jim Loach and '' Aimée ...

, which premiered at the 2009

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

and was part of the 2018 summer season at

Pitlochry Festival Theatre The Pitlochry Festival Theatre is a large performing arts theatre located in the town and burgh of Pitlochry in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The idea of a performance space in the area was conceived in the late 1940s by John Stewart, a leading ...

. In 2023 there was an exhibition of thirteen figures, ''Witches in Words, not Deeds'', created by Carolyn Sutton. Horne was one of the figures exhibited at Edinburgh's Central Library. The 2023 novel ''The Last Witch of Scotland'' by Philip Paris is inspired by the story of Janet Horne. The novel is described as a "gripping and moving story which runs along fast and persuasively". It is the recipient of the 2024

Waterstones Book of the Year The Waterstones Book of the Year, established in 2012, is an annual award presented to a book published in the previous 12 months. Waterstones' booksellers nominate and vote to determine the winners and finalists for the prize. Award winners re ...

award in the Scottish section.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Horne, Janet Executed Scottish women Scottish people executed for witchcraft 1727 deaths People executed by the Kingdom of Great Britain 18th-century Scottish women People from Sutherland Year of birth unknown People executed by Scotland by burning