The spooky season is once again upon us.

Here at Luath, we hope to elevate your autumn reading game with some suggestions of books that are all things spooky and spellbinding.

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Witching Hour

Embedded in Scottish history is the story of Agnes Finnie by Mary W Craig, a woman who tended to the sick people of Potterow Port.

Her case is one of many, with 4,000 individuals prosecuted for witchcraft under the Witchcraft Act of 1563. The uniqueness of Agnes Finnie’s case is the length in which she was held before going to trial, spending nine months in the Tolbooth prison. This book represents the political and religious forces of this eerie and macabre period in Edinburgh – just one of many during the 1600’s.

A book not to be missed for real-life dark history.

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Dark Deeds and Thrilling Tales

Fan of Ian Rankin’s Rebus? Then these books by Douglas Watt will be for you.

Set in the 17th century, lawyer John MacKenzie and his scribe Davie Scougall are an accomplished duo, set to solve Scotland’s mysteries.

The first in the series: ‘Death of a Chief’ sees Sir Lachlan MacLean; head of a Highland clan meet a tragic end. The most intriguing component of Douglas Watt’s books is the setting of Pre-Enlightenment Scotland, and the navigation of real evidence against a time of witchcraft and core religious belief.

Investigative advocate John MacKenzie is a figure of reason in a time period that we effectively as readers, do not know a lot about.  

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Mythical Muses

In recent years, we have seen a massive increase of mythological books with a demand to understand cultural stories that have been told over centuries.

Stuart McHardy’s The Nine Maidens is an example of such an intertwined motif of women in history, who appear in several instances; when King Arthur was conveyed to Avalon or when Apollo was worshipped on Greek mountains. Traced across Europe in different roles, witches and druidesses among many others, this is the spooky story of groups of nine women appearing time and time again over history, transcending boundaries of culture, language and time.

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Wicked Whispers and Dark Charms

Witty, humorous and thought-provoking, there have been times in our life where we wish we could change the course of history. Des Dillon’s Six Black Candles takes this a step further.

Following Caroline after her husband has left her for his assistant, the women in her life (her sisters, mother and granny) all invoke the spell of the Six Black Candles, soliciting an act of revenge.

Witchy to the core, Six Black Candles, is campy, relatable and punchy with a directness that is undeniably Scottish.