Ashes & Stones: A Scottish Journey in search of Witches with Allyson Shaw

“The Witch is the embodiment of a powerful myth , an archetype embraced by feminists, radical thinkers and spiritual seekers” - Allyson Shaw

Ashes and Stones is a moving and personal journey, along rugged coasts and through remote villages and modern cities, in search of the traces of those accused of witchcraft in seventeenth-century Scotland.

We visit modern memorials, roadside shrines and standing stones, and roam among forests and hedge mazes, folk lore and political fantasies. From fairy hills to forgotten caves, we explore a spellbound landscape. Allyson Shaw untangles the myth of witchcraft and gives voice to those erased by it. Her elegant and lucid prose weaves threads of history and feminist reclamation, alongside beautiful travel, nature and memoir writing, to create a vibrant memorial.

This is the untold story of the witches' monuments of Scotland and the women's lives they mark. Ashes and Stones is a trove of folklore linking the lives of modern women to the horrors of the past, and it is record of resilience and a call to choose and remember our ancestors.

"Allyson Shaw has built a monument in words to the thousands persecuted as witches in Scotland. A fascinating and necessary book." - Peter Ross

Allyson Shaw has worked as a professional writer for the last thirty years. Her writing on folklore and history has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. She spent her formative years in California and now lives on the northeast coast of Scotland. Find her online at www.allysonshaw.com

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