31/10/2026
How far would you go to save your child?
This Halloween, we're sharing the extraordinary and tragic story of Helen Guthrie, a woman from Forfar, Angus, whose name became part of one of Scotland's darkest chapters.
In 1661, Helen was accused of witchcraft and imprisoned in Forfar's Tolbooth. Her young daughter, Janet Howat, was also accused and imprisoned.
Imagine the fear of knowing that not only your own life, but your child's life, was in danger.
Under the terrifying conditions of the witch trials, Helen confessed to some truly extraordinary crimes. Among them were raising storms, attempting to destroy a bridge and helping to sink a ship off the Angus coast, supposedly with the assistance of the Devil, who appeared in the form of a horse!
As unbelievable as these stories sound today, such confessions were treated as evidence of witchcraft, with devastating consequences.
Helen also accused other people, drawing more innocent men and women into the persecution.
But why did she do it?
Was she trying to save herself? Was she desperately trying to protect her daughter? Or was she simply saying whatever her interrogators wanted to hear in the hope of ending her ordeal?
We may never know.
What we do know is that Helen was caught in a brutal system where fear, torture and accusations could cost people their lives.
On 14 November 1662, Helen Guthrie became the last person executed for witchcraft in Forfar.
Her daughter Janet survived, but remained imprisoned long after her mother's death.
And here the story takes another interesting turn, involving another Guthrie.
A lawyer named James Guthrie had helped secure the freedom of his two sisters, Margaret and Elizabeth Guthrie, who had also been accused of witchcraft. He then turned his attention to young Janet, attempting to secure her release too.
Was there a family connection between James and Helen? We don't know, although historians have suggested it is possible.
Janet was eventually freed, but only after spending years imprisoned as a child.
More than 360 years later, Helen's story raises difficult questions about fear, survival and what people might do when faced with unimaginable choices, particularly when their family is threatened.
For Guthries around the world, hers is a name that connects us to a painful chapter of Scotland's history, and a reminder of the importance of compassion, family and standing up for others.
The photographs show the Forfar witch trials memorial, which commemorates the innocent people accused and persecuted during the witch hunts of 1661–1662.
Its closing words say it all:
"Not Witches. Just Folk."
