Holyrood Palace

He's the King of Scotland.

This is Holyrood House, the Royal Palace of Edinburgh, in the winter of 1590 going into 1591.

The woman is Agnes Sampson, a widow from a place called Netherkeith.

People call her the wise wife of Keith.

Her cures used prayers and charms, including an Ave Maria and a version of the Lord's Prayer.

In Protestant Scotland in 1590, a prayer that sounded Catholic was suspicious by itself.

She was brought before the king at Holyrood House, and at first, she simply denied all of it.

She was sent back to prison, where her head was shaved and the rope was twisted around her skull.

And so some top things to see in Edinburgh.

Obviously Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, Holyrood Palace, Greyfriars, Kirkyard.

There's some Outlander and Harry Potter inspired attractions.

And then over in Glasgow, you have the Glasgow Cathedral and Kelvin Grove Museum.

I, I'm very spoiled for choice in Scotland and, and Edinburgh in particular, and I'm kind of drawn to some of the famous locations when I think about something like this.

Obviously, you know, being in Edinburgh, Edinburgh-erd, uh, we have the castle, we've got Holyrood Palace, uh, we have got loads of locations, but they f- don't...

They feel more like stories than real hauntings.

I don't know if that makes any sense.

Right.

She's dragged to Holyrood Palace, directly accused of treasonous witchcraft, and the details of her imprisonment, which are documented in the source material, are just horrific.

They really are hard to read.

Like she was stripped, shaved completely to search for hidden marks, and subjected to acute sleep deprivation for days.

She was executed on January 28th 1591.

Tragic.

And local lore insists her ghost still roams the halls of Holyrood Palace bald and stripped.

But I mean, the real tragedy is how authorities literally manufacture the evidence they need to justify their own systemic violence.

It was a...

But when I got into the office, and I got into the office about- 10 to 4:00 on the Sunday morning, I phoned up Windsor Castle, Holyroodhouse, Sandringham-

Mm

... all got flagpoles, told them, "Get your flags down to half-mast."

Ready to be seen?

There are some places in Scotland where the past seems to linger in the ancient stones, where royal secrets and terrible tragedies have become part of the landscape, and few places have a history quite as haunting as the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

This was where one of Scotland's most infamous witchcraft suspects was questioned by a king, tortured, and ultimately condemned to death.

Her name was Agnes Sampson.

You might know her from Outlander.

Contemporary accounts describe her being questioned and tortured before accusations spread to other people, including Agnes Sampson.

Agnes was brought before King James VI and his council at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

Imagine standing inside a royal residence during the winter of fifteen-ninety, surrounded by men who believed they were uncovering a supernatural conspiracy against their king.

But in the days when Lizzie danced and sang, and made her father's and mother's heart rejoice, the Canongate was the home of all the richest lords and ladies.

For close to the Canongate was Holyrood, the palace where the king held his court and it was well thought the lords and ladies of long ago to live near the palace where there were many gay sights to be seen Lizzie had been a bonny wee girl, and as she grew up she grew bonnier still, until, not only in Edinburgh, but far and wide throughout the country, people would speak of her beauty.

Even the folk who dwelt away over the hills in the Highlands heard of the beauty of Lizzie Lindsay.

Dame Lindsay loved her daughter well and gave her beautiful gowns of silk and velvet.