In Ashes and Stones we visit modern memorials and standing stones, and roam among forests and hedge mazes, folklore, and political fantasies. From fairy hills to forgotten caves, we explore a spellbound landscape. Allyson Shaw untangles the myth of witchcraft and gives voice to those erased by it. Her elegant and lucid prose weaves together threads of history and feminist reclamation to create a vibrant memorial. This is the untold story of the witches' monuments of Scotland and the women's lives they mark.

Introduction: pipe song -- Seamark -- Fatal sisters -- Kirkyard and Hollow Hill -- Climbing the law -- Athena of the Saltpans -- Edge of the North Seas -- Just people -- Spaewife -- Nevin Stone -- Police tape and ritual litter -- Hedge maze -- Wall's end -- In the margins -- Red threads -- Roadside shrine -- Come the shipwreck of the world -- Rough music -- A lingering, voracious image -- Homecoming epilogue : sifting the ashes.