Amanda and Sarah touch on two wronged women of history with a U.K. case and a famous princess. Sarah takes on Bessie Dunlop, a 16th-century Scottish farmer's wife whose strange encounters with fae folk got her into big trouble. Amanda covers Juana of Castile, a supposedly troubled noblewoman beset by awful, power-hungry men. Other subjects covered include the perils of poison ivy, the many armpits of the body, and the tragic consequences of royal inbreeding.
Recommendations:
Amanda recommends the 1983 folk horror film Eyes of Fire.
Sources:
- “Witch, Fairy and Folktale Narratives in the Trial of Bessie Dunlop” In Fantastical Imaginations: The Supernatural in Scottish History and Culture , ed. Lizanne Henderson
- “The Cult of the Seely Wights in Scotland” Author(s): Julian Goodare Source: Folklore, Vol. 123, No. 2 (August 2012) https://www.jstor.org/stable/41721541
- Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft, by Walter Scott, [1830]
- Wikipedia/Bessie Dunlop
- THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BESSIE DUNLOP, THE WITCH OF LYNN
- The Sunday Post (For Bessie: Ayrshire community unites to remember Dalry woman executed in Scotland’s witch trials)
- Britannica (Joan, queen of Castile and Aragon)
- Town & Country (What Was Catherine of Aragon's Sister, Juana la Loca, Really Like?)
- Esquire (The Tragic Story of the Mad Queen of Castile Who Slept Next to Her Husband's Corpse)
- The Mary Sue (The Spanish Princess Tackled One of Spain’s Most Infamous Female Monarchs)
- The Spectator (Sad, not mad)
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