Bessie Wright facts for kids

Bessie Wright was a healer from Perthshire, Scotland, who lived in the early 1600s. She was accused of practicing witchcraft in 1611, 1626, and again in 1628.

Who Was Bessie Wright?

Not much is known about Bessie Wright's early life. By 1611, she was known as a healer in the area of Scone parish in Perthshire. People knew her for her healing skills.

Bessie's Special Book

Bessie Wright was quite unusual because she owned a "medical book." She claimed this book was over 1,000 years old! She also said her father and grandfather had used it before her. Bessie herself couldn't read the book, but her son, Adam Bell, would read parts of it aloud to her.

The Church of Scotland was not happy about Bessie having this old book. In 1611, William Cowper, a minister from Perth, demanded that she give the book to the Church. Later, in 1626, when Bessie was questioned again, she mentioned that her book had been taken by either Cowper or Archibald Steedman, who was a church official called a beadle.

Accusations and Investigations

Bessie continued her work as a healer until 1626. At that time, the Church looked into her healing methods in Scone. They told her to stop practicing her healing in the town of Perth.

In 1628, Bessie Wright was found to be healing again. She was then held in the Perth Tollbooth, which was a type of jail. Her family complained about how she was being treated. Because of their complaints, Bessie was released. Her son paid a large sum of money, £1,000, as a promise that she would behave.

Why Bessie Was Different

Unlike many other women accused of witchcraft in Scotland, Bessie Wright was not put to death. For example, people like Agnes Finnie or those involved in the Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597 faced much harsher fates.

Bessie was not accused of working with the devil or using evil magic. Instead, she was accused of witchcraft under a law from 1563. This happened partly because some people felt angry or upset if her healing rituals didn't work. A book called Book of Perth (published in 1847) described her as a "very harmless and useful person." Bessie Wright is not mentioned in any records after her imprisonment in 1628.