Although Scotland had probably about one quarter of the population of England, it had three times the number of witchcraft prosecutions, at an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 over the entire period. This was about four times the European average. The overwhelming majority were in the
Lowlands, where the
Kirk had more control, despite the evidence that basic magical beliefs were very widespread in the
Highlands. Persecution of
witchcraft in Orkney differed from the mainland with most trials taking place before 1650. Large series of trials included those in 1590–91 and
the Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597, which took place across Scotland from March to October. At least 400 people were put on trial for various forms of diabolism. The number of those executed as a result of these trials is unknown, but is believed to be about 200. Later major trials included hunts in 1628–31 and
1649–50. Probably the most intense witch-hunt was in
1661–62, which involved some 664 named witches in four counties. 's
Discovery of Witchcraft, 1584 Most of the accused, some 75%, were women, though some men were also executed as witches or as
warlocks. Modern estimates indicate that over 1,500 persons were executed. Most of these were older women, with some younger women and men accused because they were related to an accused witch, usually as daughters and husbands. Some men were accused because they were
folk healers who were felt to have misused their powers, although folk healers as a group were not targeted. Most were not vagrants or beggars, but settled members of their communities. Most had built a reputation for witchcraft over years, which resulted in prosecution when a "victim" suffered ill fortune, particularly after a
curse had been issued. The use of curses by some women as a means of acquiring social power may have made this process more likely to occur. Almost all witchcraft prosecutions took place in secular courts under the provisions of the 1563 Act. In 1649 the religiously radical
Covenanter regime passed a new witchcraft act that ratified the existing act and extended it to deal with consulters of "Devils and familiar spirits", who would now be punished with death. There were three main types of court in which accused witches could be tried. First was the
Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh, which took cases from all over Scotland, with a heavy bias to the local region. Next were the
circuit courts, presided over by judges from the central courts and held in the various shires of the country. Finally, there were a series of
ad hoc local courts, held under commissions by the
Privy Council or Parliament and staffed by local landholders and gentlemen to try witches in the places where they were accused. Based on known outcomes, the execution rates for the local courts were much higher than the courts run by professional lawyers, with the local courts executing some 90 per cent of the accused, the Judiciary Court 55 per cent, but the circuit courts only 16 per cent. After the revocation of the standing commissions in 1597, the pursuit of witchcraft was largely taken over by
kirk sessions, disciplinary committees run by the parish elite, and was often used to attack "superstitious" and Catholic practices. The central courts only launched a trial when the Privy Council issued a commission, although the council did not have full control over prosecutions in the Court of Judiciary. Scottish witchcraft trials were notable for their use of
pricking, in which a suspect's skin was pierced with needles, pins and bodkins as it was believed that they would possess a
Devil's mark through which they could not feel pain. Professional prickers included
John Kincaid and John Dick, whose actions helped set off the outbreak of witch-hunting in 1661–62, and whose exposure as frauds, and subsequent imprisonment, helped end the trials. Judicial torture was used in some high-profile cases, like that of John Fine, one of the witches accused of plotting the death of the king in 1590, whose feet were crushed in a shin press, known as
the boots. However, these cases were relatively rare. Confessions, considered the best evidence for conviction, were more usually extracted by "waking" the witch, keeping the suspect
sleep deprived. After about three days individuals tend to hallucinate, and this provided some exotic detail in witchcraft trials. In Scotland, convicted witches were usually strangled at the stake before having their bodies burned, although there are instances where they were
burned alive. == Witch beliefs ==