It's fascinating when you encounter things that take you right inside the minds of people from the past. With Halloween around the corner I was reminded of a good example of this at Stirling Castle. Cut into the palace outer doorway are the letters 'AMV', for Ave Maria Virginus, and on the door to James VI's closet there's a little Marigold. Both are easy to miss, but tell us a lot, as they are ritual markings to keep witches at bay. James spent much of his youth at Stirling and, as he grew up, he developed a deep fascination and fear of the occult. Later he was present at witchcraft trials that resulted in the gruesome deaths of the accused. In 1597 he published Daemonologie which claims that witches change into 'the likeness of a little beast or foule' and enter houses. It all goes to show how much times change. Today we see Guisers as a bit of fun, but to James the idea of witches was serious - deadly serious.

Richard Welander, Historic Scotland head of the collections unit