Isobel Gowdie

Aloha Tide Riders and welcome to our second stop as we journey down The Witches Road. In this episode of Strange Tides, we’re heading to the misty highlands of 17th-century Scotland to unravel one of the most haunting witchcraft confessions ever recorded — the story of Isobel Gowdie. Her words painted a world of midnight dances, shape-shifting spells, and faerie queens who ruled beneath the hills — a strange blend of dark magic, pagan echoes, and Christian fear. But here’s the twist: unlike most accused witches of her time, Isobel volunteered her story. No torture, no thumbscrews — just a torrent of vivid visions and ritual details that still baffle historians today. Was she a visionary? A victim of social pressure? Or maybe — just maybe — someone who really did slip through the veil into another world? Join us as we follow her confessions through shadowed kirkyards, faerie mounds, and the fevered imagination of post-Reformation Scotland. It’s part folklore, part psychology, and part pure supernatural mystery — because with Isobel Gowdie, nothing is ever as simple as it seems. Links and Sources: Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isobel_Gowdie Engole.info: Isobel Gowdie - https://engole.info/isobel-gowdie/ The Mask of Reason: The Confession of Isobel Gowdie - https://maskofreason.wordpress.com/the-book-of-mysteries/mysteria-obscura/the-confession-of-isobel-gowdie/ Stuart McHardy Blog: Isobel Gowdie - https://stuartmchardy.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/isobel-gowdie/ Spooky Scotland: The Trial of Isobel Gowdie - https://spookyscotland.net/isobel-gowdie/ Lapham’s Quarterly: Go in the Devil’s Name - https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/go-devils-name Encyclopedia.com: Gowdie, Isobel - https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/gowdie-isobel-fl-seventeenth-century Internet Archive: Confessions of Issabell Gowdie - https://archive.org/details/gfb_BF1581_C66_1662 Cambridge University Press: Narratives of Sorcery and Magic – Confessions of Isobel Gowdie - https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/narratives-of-sorcery-and-magic/confessions-of-isobel-gowdie/BD9476BE6F387D9990F87871FBC6C891