Fantastical Imaginations: The Supernatural in Scottish History and Culture

Fantastical Imaginations brings together essays on supernatural beliefs in Scotland, from the late medieval period to the present day. Its contributors examine prophecy, astrology, witchcraft, fairy belief, amulets and charming, alongside the place of supernatural ideas in Gaelic society, Enlightenment Scotland and popular almanacs.

The collection also considers literature, folktale and legend through historical, literary and folkloristic approaches. Individual subjects include the trial of Bessie Dunlop and its witch, fairy and folktale narratives, while other essays investigate how supernatural beliefs were represented and understood across different periods of Scottish culture. The result is a scholarly account of changing ideas about the unseen, grounded in Scotland’s history, traditions and literary imagination.