Enter this short collection and immerse yourself in the dark side of an ancient Scottish village:

• where the Baba Witch hunts for lost children in the forest,


• where spiders torment sinners in the castle dungeon,


• where the Devil rides with the Highlees Witches,


• where dead smugglers seek revenge on the living,


• and where Lady Eglinton of Auchans trains her rats to dance

The village of Dundonald lies on the west coast of Scotland in Ayrshire, 30 miles south of Glasgow. Its central hill, first settled in the Bronze Age, is the site of a Royal Stewart castle.

Dundonald directly experienced the Wars of Independence, the Reformation, witch trials, Covenanters, and the smuggling trade. As such, it is rich in archaeology and industrial heritage as well as the Scots language, literature, and folklore.

Each of these five gothic tales is followed by a short essay on its historical inspiration and concludes with an extensive bibliography.