Horne, Janet (d. 1727)

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Horne, Janet (d. 1727)

Scot accused of being a witch. Executed by burning in a barrel of tar, 1727.

The last to be executed as a witch before the 1736 repeal of Scotland's Witchcraft Act, had a daughter whose hands and feet were deformed; was charged with casting a spell to put horseshoes on her daughter so that she could be ridden like a pony and used for transportation; in 17th-century Scotland, it is estimated that 4,500 women were executed by stoning, crushing, drowning and burning at the stake.