Lilias Addie

Behind The Song:

The song is a memorial to Lilias Addie, maybe one of the most famous women accused of witchcraft. She is known for being the only accused with a grave.

While researching Lilias Addie, I was able to find sources that said she refused to give names of anyone who wasn’t already dead or accused during her confession. This stopped the hunt in Toryburn at the time, and I like to think that Addie knew this would be the case. Another source stated that Addie had asked, if she confessed, could she be buried with her congregation. This request was ignored, and Addie was buried as far away as possible while still being considered within Toryburn.

Addie was a strong woman who died in 1704. Her story didn’t end there. In 1852, grave robbers stole her skull and parts of her coffin. The coffin wood can be seen in a cane that is housed in a museum in Dunfermline. Her skull was lost, but such precise measurements were taken that her face was able to be reconstructed by the University of Dundee.