Below you will find historical information on Geillis Duncan, and how I twisted and warped it to suit my needs. This information is by no means complete, whether through my own laziness or an entire lack of information on the subject, and I advise you to do your own research if you want to find out more.
Geillis Duncan is not actually in the story.
But if it wasn’t for Geillis, I wouldn’t even have a story, or at least, not this story. So if you thought it sucked, it’s her fault. Rest assured though: She was executed for it.
Though there is only one depiction of her, in which she is shown as an old woman (I’ve read, anyway. I’ve yet to see the actual picture), she was likely a young girl and most information indicates she was a teenager… And all of a sudden it becomes clear why she was burned at the stake, doesn’t it? Shame on you if you said yes. Who burns teenagers, man? What’s wrong with you? Being surly and a pain in the wallet is no reason to put anyone to death. Geillis was a witch. They burned her because she did despicable things like comfort people who were sick, and go out at night.
Geillis Duncan started it all.
At least, that’s what they say, but it’s unfair to blame her for the idiocy that followed. The witch panic would have happened anyway, in some form or another. If some self important dude would have yelled birds are agents of the devil, there’d been a bird panic. Moles come up from the ground, who says they don’t dig all the way down to hell? Bam! Mole panic!
People were just more impressionable back then. Thank god we’ve outgrown the kneejerk reaction to take what someone important-looking says is the truth.
Geillis Duncan was probably just being sexually harassed by her boss.
Because she actually was the maidservant of David Seton. I didn’t make that up. Though she probably wishes I had, because David Seton was… a bit of a dick.
Seton started to take notice of the fact that Geillis, who was uneducated and young, had quite a knack for making people who were suffering feel better, even those who seemed to be suffering from incurable ills. Though, let’s be frank, a scraped knee was probably a terminal illness at that time.
It was suspicious, but clearly she was good enough at her dayjob to get away with it. And had she not started sneaking out at night for mysterious reasons, Seton might have not acted on his suspicions. Sadly, he did and subjected her to “questioning”. At this point I don’t think I need to explain that it’s a euphemism for thumbscrews, and other sadistic torture. By the time Seton and his accomplices had stripped her naked and found the devil’s mark on her she confessed. The Scotsman article I’m stealing from right now says that the mark was found on her throat. Many of you, with the exception of turtleneck-aficionados, will recognize the throat as a part of the body that is in plain sight. I (but also real academics!) am willing to bet Seton was just horny for some teen skin. I mean, the only time my throat has not been visible was a brief period where I thought I looked good in a cable knit sweater. We know for a fact that Geillis was not wearing one.
All this suggests rather loudly that Seton was equal parts witch hunter and pervert. Maybe a little bit more of one than the other, if you ask me.
Sources:
Engole
The Scotsman