This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
PRESTONPANS, Scotland - Accused witches - and their cats - executed during a wave of hysteria and religious ferment hundreds of years ago will be pardoned on Halloween in this Scottish township, a court official said Friday.
Sunday's ceremony will publicly pardon 81 people executed in the 16th and 17th centuries for being witches. The pardons have been granted under ancient feudal powers due to be abolished within weeks.
More than 3,500 Scots, mainly women and children, and their cats were killed in witch hunts.
