THEME TOURS…Visit Paisley,Visit Scotland,

We will have a short guided tour of the Paisley Abbey and return back to the YMCA Office for some Christmas Mince Pies…Yummy You will also have the chance to win some prizes with Walking Tours on Wheels Raffle Tickets (cost £1.00) Great Prizes to be won donated from Local business in the Paisley Area. Tour Tickets are free although donations are gratefully accepted as we are a voluntary organisation. Just pop into the YMCA Office for your tickets Santa Hats are also on Sale £1.00… Just the thing you need to keep yer, heid warum going roon the toon.

They were strangled at the stake on the Gallow Green, in the West End of town, and then their bodies were burned on a blazing bonfire. Remains Afterwards, their charred remains were buried at Maxwellton Cross at a site now marked by a horseshoe and a circle of cobblestones. The alleged Paisley witches were simply ordinary countrymen and women who used herbal remedies and forecast the weather by studying natural phenomena, such as the flight patterns of birds and the behaviour of cattle. But they were found guilty of putting a spell on 11-year-old Christian Shaw, the daughter of the wealthy Laird of Bargarran. The child, who nowadays may have been diagnosed with the attention-seeking Munchausen’s Syndrome, accused the ‘witches’ of causing her to float through the air and regurgitate bones, fur, feathers, sticks and stones. They vigorously denied the allegations but a court consisting of local ministers, wealthy landowners and government officials found them guilty and sentenced them to death. In accordance with the laws of the time, they were taken to the Gallow Green and executed on June 10, 1697. The gruesome scenes included the sorry spectacle of young brothers John and James Lindsay, from Formakin Mill, near Houston, aged just 11 and 14, clutching each other’s hands as they were garrotted together. Katherine Campbell was carried struggling and screaming to the stake, where she called down the wrath of God and the Devil on her accusers. The other victims were Margaret Fulton, John Lindsay, Margaret Lang and Agnes Naysmith, who laid ‘a dying woman’s curse’ on all those present at the scene and their descendents. For many years afterwards, Paisley tragedies – including the Paisley Canal disaster in 1810, which claimed 85 lives – were attributed to what many Buddies described as ‘the witches’ curse.’Les, who got into character for the ghost tours by dressing up as the Witch Finder General, said: “The tours went down a treat, which was great, because I really didn’t know how they would be received. “It was the first time I had organised them. They seemed a natural progression from my Walking Tours on Wheels events and I will definitely be back for more next year.” Les, a well-known Paisley historian, added: “I made sure there was plenty of laughter on the tours, which seemed to make sure everyone went home with a smile on their face. “I know the stories I told were predominantly sad but it was important to recount the tales with a touch of humour. “In saying that, I noticed more than a few tears on show when I told the story of the seven wrongly-accused witches who were executed. “We ended the tour at Gallow Green, the scene of that particular tragedy, where we gave the following pardon to the seven witches: ‘Pain inflicted, suffering endured, injustice done’.” Weeks of hard work went into making the tours a success. Les said: “I want to thank the Paisley Daily Express for putting out the word that I was looking for actors, which resulted in a number of people volunteering their services, which I was very grateful for “We had the Grim Reaper, ghouls, bodysnatchers, a mummy and witches. “I would like to run ghost tours on a regular basis as Paisley has many dark secrets and chilling stories to tell about witches, bodysnatching, the plague and cholera. “These would be storytelling tours without the actors, although I hope I haven’t spoiled everyone by using actors on the first two tours.”