Arnold Crowther
Centre of Pagan Studies/The Doreen Valiente Foundation
2018
98 pages
Arnold Crowther was an early initiate of Gardnerian Wicca. He was brought in by his partner Patricia Dawson in 1960 in the presence of Gerald B. Gardner. This manuscript was found among his papers by his window Patricia Crowther after his death in 1974.
Here it is presented for the first time through a collaboration between the Centre for Pagan Studies and the Doreen Valiente Foundation. The edition is edited by Sarah Louise Kay.
Witchcraft of the Scots presents Crowther’s personal collection of historic witchcraft trials and persecutions throughout Scotland. The book is not just a collection of historic pastiches, but shows what interested an early member of the modern Craft. The work includes the author’s own line drawings as accompaniment.
Though the stories here can be found elsewhere with more detail and historical context, Crowther brings them to us with his own style and showmanship. Witchcraft is a quick, informative, and highly entertaining read.