In High Spirits

WELCOME to your bumper October edition of The Scots Magazine! I’m an avid reader, and it’s when the nights are drawing in that the habit really kicks off. Who doesn’t love curling up on the sofa on long, dark evenings and getting lost in a great book or magazine.

So the team and I are really excited to bring you the biggest Scots Magazine we’ve ever produced – a whopping 172 packed pages.

It includes our special Spooky Scotland section, where you’ll find all manner of eerie, strange and ghostly tales to set your spine tingling – with Hallowe’en just around the corner, it’s bound to get you into the “spirit” of things...

You’ll also find all the great monthly content you expect from your favourite magazine, some with a Hallowe’en twist! We’ve fantastic interviews, fascinating features and inspiration for loads of things to see and do, whether at events and festivals or in our great outdoors.

For many, witches are synonymous with Hallowe’en – but that’s one subject you won’t find much mention of in our fun spooky section. Instead, we devote four pages elsewhere, to a thought-provoking piece by the wonderful writer Morag Lindsay on the campaign for a pardon for the women – and it was mostly women – who were tortured and killed after being accused of witchcraft.

This isn’t some myth or legend about the green-faced caricatures of popular culture – these horrific events happened to real people a handful of generations ago.

Morag’s take on the subject makes for compelling reading and encourages you to wonder how you’d have reacted in those days, just a few centuries back. It’s not a comfortable subject for many – but that doesn’t mean we should shy away from it. Rather we should confront it and learn from it.

As we went to press with this bumper issue, Storm the collie and I had one last chance to enjoy a late summer adventure with a trip to the Cairngorms, pictured above.

I hope you enjoy this amazing magazine as much as Storm enjoys the hills – and have a Happy Hallowe’en...