The Dechmont Woods Encounter.

On the 9th November, 1979, Robert Taylor, a Scottish forester parked his truck by the side of the road and walked with his dog up a forest track at Dechmont Law, West Lothian. Shortly after this he saw a flying dome shaped craft hovering above a clearing. He said the craft was a dark metallic sphere with small propellers around the rim and there was also a horrible odor in the area.

Smaller spheres like "sea mines" attempted to drag him to the craft at which point he lost consciousness. When he came to, the crafts were gone. He could not start his truck so walked back to his home. When he got there his wife recalled he was very disheveled and muddy, his clothing was torn and she called the police and a Doctor who treated his wounds. He took the police back to the site of the encounter, and they reported ladder-shaped marks on the ground. They recorded the incident as a criminal assault.

Robert Taylor's account is revered among ufologists and it became the only UFO sighting to be criminally investigated.

Black dog of Luskentyre - Outer Hebridies.

Reported in recent times, a hound is said to leave large paw prints on the wet sand of the beach at Luskentyre which disappear half way across, no dog is seen.

Hound with horns - Clacktoll, Highlands.

A ghost hound is said to chase people who use the road through the village late at night, he is said to have horns - quite rare in the legends of black dogs and shucks.

The Aberdeen Witch Trials.

(Taken from my original article http://www.spiritualliving360.com/index.php/the-aberdeen-witches-4200/) 

Many have compared the ‘Aberdeen Witches’ era of history to the famous Salem Witch Trials in America, it was a time of persecution, accusation and terror for women who were practitioners of healing, those who had lived to an old age or those that simply ‘looked like a witch’. 

From 1563, it became a criminal offense to practice witchcraft. King James had an obsession with witchcraft, so much so he wrote a book on the subject which he called  ‘Daemonologie’, he developed a compulsion for hunting witches and rallied groups of witch finders to help in his quest, they consisted of ministers and elders of the reformed church along with general citizens who became embroiled in the craze. Many of these so called  "witches" were nothing more than elderly women, people did not generally live long in the 16^th century and longevity was seen as being achieved by magic, other women such as midwives and village healers were also taken for trial. The charges they faced ranged from casting spells on animals, turning milk sour and using enchanted foods to entice young men, it was very much a case of ‘your word against theirs’ when it came to the trials, who would the public believe – a highly respected minister or an old woman?

Many of the accused women actually "confessed" to the charges of witchcraft, simply because the punishment was easier to take than the methods of torture the witch hunters used to get the information, thumb screws, the ducking stool and red hot leg-irons were some of the reputed instruments they had to face. Even if someone was arrested on suspicion of witchcraft and was eventually found not guilty the damage would have been done, they would still be branded with the mark of the witch and be banished from Aberdeen. The ones found guilty by whatever bogus methods the witch finders could exploit were first hanged and then burned on the renowned ‘Heading Hill’ where many criminals came to their end, in fact there is still an early version of a guillotine there today.

A total of at least twenty-three women and one man - Colin Massie who was accused of being a warlock - were charged and executed for witchcraft during this time, countless others would have been captured if they hadn’t been able to escape into the surrounding area. It is a famous and dark period in Scottish history, but gives an insight into the mindset of the day.