Scottish folklore is full to the brim of exciting stories about otherworldly beings – be they fairies, sprites, pixies, brownies, or actual ghosts –the Scots love them all!  Tonight’s story, “The Witch of Fife,” tells the story of a husband whose interest in his wife’s private affairs has dangerous and terrifying consequences.

Our familiarity with Fife, which is today a modern English duchy and not a kingdom in its own right (such as in the time of our story), may be because of our familiarity with the doomed Duchess of Fife and her children and household in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.   The tale of their grisly murders must be retold to the father and husband, Macduff, the Thane of Fife, in a very upsetting and emotional scene. 

On a more contemporary note, there is a precious set of jewels known as the Fife tiara, one of the most resplendent tiaras in the world.  It is easy to find on any internet search. A special issue of The Graphic, published in August 1889 to celebrate a Fife wedding, describes the tiara as follows: “In a very uncommon and beautiful design, composed of hundreds of stones, ranging in weight from one carat to ten, the larger being what are technically known as briolettes — that is, cut on both sides and turning on pivots so that they will flash with every movement of the head.” Another contemporary news report describes the tiara as “...a mass of diamonds, and one of the most valuable pieces of work in England.” The tiara was a wedding gift to Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife, one of Queen Victoria’s granddaughters. Her grandson, the 3rd Duke of Fife, owned the tiara until his death in 2015. Last year, the family gave the tiara to the government in lieu of taxes, and it has been permanently allocated to Historic Royal Palaces. It is now on display at Kensington Palace with additional jewels on loan from the late 3rd Duke’s estate.

Well enough prattling about loveliness and pretty things -we really don’t have much time for all that here at All Things Eerie.

For now, let’s turn down the lights and join us for tonight’s tale, “The Witch of Fife”….

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