Bessie Stivenson
accused of witchcraft
Bessie Stivenson or Bessie Stevenson (c.1610? to 1659) was executed for witchcraft in Stirling, Scotland in the 17th century.
Biography
Bessie Stivenson was tried on witchcraft-related charges in March 1659, alongside two other Stirling women, Magdalene Blair and Isobel Bennet, for using charms to cure illness. She was a widow and thought to be around 49 years old at the time of the trial.
Stivenson confessed to healing with deeds at a local well (Wellgreen), but denied using words. She was found guilty and sentenced to death. She was strangled and burnt.
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This entry incorporates text from “Bessie Stivenson” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.