In the book "Scottish Social Sketches Of The 17th Century" (1907), Robert Menzies Fergusson gives a wonderful account of the white witch of Stirling; a man called Stein Maltman who was given his powers by the fairies and put them to good use by healing people. The interesting thing about the old records about Maltman is that they include accounts of him praying to God and friendly fairies to cure people but also working charms against malevolent fairies who wish people harm; this will ring a bell with those familiar with the Seelie and Unseelie courts. In those days the fairy faith and Christian faith were both part of everyday rural life.

Here are a few small extracts from the Chapter "The Witch Doctor Of Leckie":

"The registers of the Presbytery of Stirling contain an account of an interesting case which came before the bretheren in the year 1628. It is that of one Stein Maltman, in Leckie, in the parish of Gargunnock. He appeared before the Presbytery "at Stirling the saxt of Merch, the third, the tenth, and sevintenth of Aprile, 1628." The accusation made against him was that of "charming and other pointes of witchcraft," and Stein appeared to be rather proud of his abilities in this direction, as he "confessed friele that these aught or nyne zeirs bygaine he had sett himself to charm sindrie diseases."

On being interrogated, whence he obtained his skill of healing and how he had learned the practices he employed, he "confessed that he thame of the fairye folk quhom he had sein in bodilie schapes in sindrie places". These fairy folk were described at a later date in 1691, by the Rev. Robert Kirk, the minister of Aberfoyle, who wrote his Secret Commonwealth "to supress the impudent and growing Atheisme of this Age and to satisfie the desire of some choice Friends."

In that treatise the "Siths," or fairies, are called the "Sleagh Maith," or the "Good People," and are said to be of a middle nature betwixt man and angel, of intelligent, studious spiritts, and light, changeable bodies (like those called Astral), somewhat of the nature of a condensed cloud, and best seen in the twilight. From such a source Stein Maltman professed to have obtained the skill which conferred upon him a local reputaion which a modern practioner might envy."

"We...find Stein in St. Ninians, where he is called upon to cure a child of Patrick Wright "in calsey syd." This child was sick, ans Stein made his father take his son out during the night to a marche dyke "at the pow of the borrow milne of Stirling." He caused his father to stand on one side of the march dyke with the child in his arms, while he stood on the other; and being on the their knees he took the bairn out of the father's arms over the dyke, and after he had prayed to God "and all unerathlische creatures to send the bairne his health againe, he delyvered the bairne back againe to his father over the dyke."

"Another case was that of of a son of David Ewing in West-grange, who was sick and "had taken ane fray in the night." The father of the child was instructed to take the bairn out about eleven or twelve hours at night, "and lay his hand upon the bairnes head and directed him to draw his sword and schaik it about the bairne, for, said Stein, the fairye wold not cume where they saw drawn swords."

The drawn sword appears to have been considered an effective weapon in counteracting baleful influences of the fairy folk, and Stein resorted to it in another case in the parish of Kippen. John Forrester there was heavily diseased and called in the help of the witch doctor of Leckie, who desired him to go to the place where he had contracted his sickness, and there ask for his health again.

Stein took this man John Forester, and his brother Thomas several nights, about midnight, to the place where John " had gotten his seiknes," and he made them both kneel down on the ground and, "and drew ane scoir about thame with ane drawn sword, and that thairafter he went from thame ane certain space and prayed to God and all the unearthlische wights to send the said Jhone his health againe." On these occassions while he was out in the darkness with the two brothers he ordered John Forester's wife to shut both doors and windows and fear nothing, nor yet speak no matter what she saw or heard till they returned, "for nothing wold aill her."

The result of these midnight incantations was that John Forester became much better; but when he was somewhat convalescent, and like some patients showed a little ingratitude to his curer, Stein told him in a menacing manner "that the wand that struck him befoir wes yet to the fopir, qlk seames to be accomplisched for within a few days the said Jhone cumming out of his awin hous in the morning and being in gud health, at his awin doore he lay downe and presentlie died."

"The last of the Kippen cases was Walter Miller in Glentirren, whom he took out during the night to the place where he got his sickness, and there prayed to God and all unearthly wights to send him his health. Thereafter he laid his hands on said Walter and "rubbed his breist and his bak with ane elffarrow stone."

"From his own confessions it would appear that Stein Maltman in Leckie was somewhat vain of his healing powers. But witchcraft, in his time, was severely dealt with, and the fame of this witch doctor led possibly to his own undoing."