Walking with the Accused: What It’s Like to Join the Paisley Witches Tour

The streets of Paisley are quiet as dusk settles. Cobbles glisten with the last of the rain. You’re standing near the Abbey, earpiece in place, the soft voice of your guide drifting into your ear. There’s no stage, no spotlight. Just you, the stories, and the stones beneath your feet — the same stones walked by the seven people who were tried and executed here in 1697.

This is the Paisley Witches Walking Tour. And it’s not like any history tour you’ve ever taken.

Nightfall in Paisley: A Tour Unlike Any Other

From the moment you arrive, the atmosphere is different. There’s no loudspeakers or acting — just calm, clear narration as you follow your guide through the old heart of the town. Each guest wears a personal audio headset, which means you don’t miss a word. That small detail makes the difference: it draws you in. You begin to hear the town’s silence more than its noise.

The tour begins in the shadow of Paisley Abbey, where the trial of the accused was influenced by church pressure and community fear. The guide’s voice tells you of Christian Shaw, the eleven-year-old girl whose accusations sparked a panic that would claim seven lives.

Key Stops Along the Journey

You walk slowly to Maxwellton Cross, where Christian Shaw lived — and where her “possession” was witnessed by hundreds. The story unfolds there: dramatic fits, visions, and the naming of names. From there, the path leads to Gallow Green — the execution site. There’s no plaque, no sign, just a quiet patch of ground behind a supermarket car park. That silence is heavy.

As you stand on that unmarked spot, you hear the names of the accused: Margaret Lang, Margaret Fulton, Agnes Naismith, Katherine Campbell, John Lindsay, James Lindsay, and Thomas Lindsay. Seven lives ended. No real evidence. No fair trial. Just fear, suspicion, and silence.

What You Learn Along the Way

The tour doesn’t just tell you what happened — it introduces you to the people behind the names. These weren’t witches. They were mothers, labourers, servants, neighbours. You hear excerpts from the trial records. You learn how they were questioned, how their confessions were extracted, and how religion and power blurred the lines of justice.

There’s something deeply moving about hearing these voices brought back to life in the very streets where they walked, lived, and died.

How the Town Remembers — and Forgets

What’s perhaps most striking is what’s not there. No statue. No public marker. No memorial garden at Gallow Green. Most locals pass the site every day without knowing what happened there. This tour is one of the only public ways the story is kept alive — and that’s what makes it so important.

You walk with a sense of quiet duty. You’re not just learning — you’re remembering for those who were denied a voice in their own time.

What Visitors Are Saying

The feedback from those who’ve taken the tour is powerful:

🗣️ “I didn’t expect to feel so emotional. It was like walking through a ghost story, except the ghosts were real.”

🗣️ “Every Scottish person should take this tour. I’ll never look at Paisley the same way again.”

🗣️ “You could hear a pin drop the whole way. You really feel it — what was done to them.”

For many, it’s more than just a history tour. It’s an experience of empathy, justice, and connection.

Join the Walk

The Paisley Witches Tour runs weekly, with in-shop screenings available for those with limited mobility. Every ticket includes a donation to the Renfrewshire Witch Hunt 1697 SCIO, a local charity working to preserve this history and share it with future generations.

Walk with us. Hear their stories. Let their names be remembered.

➡️ Book your place at paisleytours.org.uk/tours