![]() ![]() Shakespeare was also said to have researched the weird sisters in depth their chants in Macbeth, and ingredients of fenny snake, eye of newt and toe of frog, are supposedly real spells. ![]() Shakespeare’s Macbeth followed in 1606 with direct references to James’ earlier misfortune at sea: ‘Though his bark cannot be lost, Yet is shall be tempest-tost’. Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus was published in 1604, and its shocking portrayal of witchcraft and association with the devil intensified England’s fear of sorcery. James became King James I of England in 1603, and his new subjects were keen to appease him and his views on the demonic. He later wrote Daemonologie, a treatise on witchcraft to further inspire persecution against witches. ![]() The Scottish King blamed the evil spells of witches for conjuring the storm, and following his return to Scotland ordered a witch-hunt in the coastal town of North Berwick. Later, in 1589 when James was sailing back to Scotland from Denmark with his new wife, Anne, their ship encountered violent storms at sea, and they were nearly drowned. The violent death of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots by execution in 1587 was said to have inspired James’ dark fascination with magic. Sixteenth century Scotland was notorious for its witch-hunts, mainly due to King James VI of Scotland’s obsession with witchcraft. ![]()
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