Alison Pearson
Scottish person executed for witchcraft
About Alison Pearson
Lived 1533 – 1588 (aged 54–55).
Alison Pearson (or Pierson) (or Alesoun Pierson) (born 1533, died Edinburgh 1588) was executed for witchcraft. On being tried in 1588, she confessed to visions of a fairy court.
Background Alison Pearson was born 1533. She worked as a healer around the St Andrews area with a ghost of her uncle, William Simpson, as a spirit guide. Adamson's enemies claimed this was witchcraft and Pearson was imprisoned in St Andrews Castle, from where Adamson helped her to escape. Scottish Ballad-writer, Robert Sempill, wrote about Pearson and Adamson. had been carried by a whirlwind, and might wake up somewhere unexpected. Yeoman notes that Pearson described losing the power in her left side and that such loss of bodily faculties was often described in witch confessions of the period as well as in the religious trance descriptions of late 17th century visionaries like Barbara Peebles.
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Important facts
People in Alison Pearson's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Alison Pearson's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Alison Pearson?
Scottish person executed for witchcraft (c.1533-1588)
When was Alison Pearson born?
Alison Pearson was born in 1533.
When did Alison Pearson die?
Alison Pearson died in 1588.
Sources & further reading
· DBpedia: Alison Pearson (accused witch)
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Alison Pearson. https://biography.guide/alison-pearson/
MLA: "Alison Pearson." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/alison-pearson/.
Chicago: "Alison Pearson." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/alison-pearson/.
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