Maggie Osborne’s A Witch

Maggie Osborne's A Witch

Listen to the story

Maggie Osborne's a Witch:

Near this site Ayr’s Mysterious Witch of legend is said to have built a house in one night with the help of the Devil.

Shadows of the Past Illustrated Stories

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This week’s 17th Century Life is only 99p and it contains all the hot goss!

What makes a witch? 98% of you say a witch is a woman who:

  • Is immoral
  • Blasphemes
  • Hangs her washing

Unbiased reporting? We think it’s only fair that the witches of Ayr have their say.

What the devil? Local woman erects house with unholy creature.

Like us, you’ve probably seen people build incredible houses with the help of a team of experts, but have you ever heard of someone taking architectural tips from the Devil? They say the Devil is in the detail, but this sounds too scary to be true!

One of our trusted sources here at 17th Century Life told us they spotted local woman Maggie Osborne (56) erect her house with the help of a “red man who had horns on the top of his head”. Now we aren’t experts, but Halloween was a few months ago. This is no man out guising but a Devil in disguise – and not a very good one by the sounds of it.

But “who makes deals with the devil?” you may ask, well, the only answer is: A WITCH. You read it here first – local woman Maggie Osborn is a witch.

We sent out a local reporter to ask you a burning question: Have you seen mysterious Maggie?

Cammy, 27, Dalmilling –  “Last Thursday I went shopping and saw a woman buying cat food. I think it could’ve been Maggie.”

Farmer, 42, a nearby farm – “My crops haven’t been the same since that old woman moved into the cottage at the bottom of my field.”

There’s no smoke withoot fire.

Next week 17th-century beauty. Make your face rounder and nose straighter in six easy steps.

Minister Life – we find out what it feels like to have a statue erected of yourself.

Silhouette of a woman holding a basket.

Map location of silhouette

Inspiration

Although there are many tales of Maggie Osborne, Ayr’s most notorious witch, there are records of a woman by this name from the time relating to the trials and persecution to witches. It may be that Maggie is a consolidation of multiple women accused of witchcraft.

Ayr’s Mystery Witch: The Legend of Maggie Osborne

Credits

Written by: Annaliese Rose Broughton
Illustrations by: Alex Gunn
Audio by: Elisha Bennison, Annaliese Rose Broughton & Gregor Campbell
Audio recording and mixing by: Scott Andrew

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