Nigel Rennie

Granny Kempock Nigel Rennie

What started as a curious exploration into the history of the Neolithic standing stone in Gourock, known locally as Granny Kempoch, turned into an investigation into witchcraft throughout Scotland. Mainly young or very old single women were accused and viciously tortured for political or personal gain, often on purely circumstantial evidence. Hysteria generated by the King filtered down to his acolytes who took full advantage which ultimately led to the deaths of an estimated 4,000 people. Were they all innocent or were there really darker forces at work? Perhaps one of the most surprising aspects of my research are the number of anomalies in accepted historical accounts, many of which had been changed for no doubt political reasons at the time. Reality really is often more mysterious than fiction. This book is a combination of fact and fiction. I have based the novel on the facts that could be found and infilled details with what could have happened. Most of the characters are based on historical figures at the time and these are interwoven with fictional accounts to provide continuity to the stories.