author
J. Maxwell (John Maxwell) Wood
d. 1925
A Scottish physician and local historian, he is best remembered for preserving the folklore, ghost stories, and witchcraft traditions of Dumfriesshire and Galloway. His work has endured because it captures a vivid picture of how superstition shaped everyday life in southwest Scotland.
1 Audiobook
Witchcraft and superstitious record in the south-western district of Scotland
by J. Maxwell (John Maxwell) Wood
About the author
Writing as J. Maxwell Wood, John Maxwell Wood was a Scottish author, editor, and medical doctor. His best-known book, Witchcraft and Superstitious Record in the South-Western District of Scotland (1911), presents a rich gathering of local beliefs, trial records, ghost lore, funeral customs, and fairy traditions from Dumfriesshire and Galloway.
The book itself identifies him as an M.B., notes that he also wrote Smuggling in the Solway and Around the Galloway Sea-board, and says he edited The Gallovidian from 1900 to 1911. Those roles help explain the character of his writing: it is rooted in regional history, attentive to oral tradition, and clearly shaped by a strong interest in preserving the culture of southwest Scotland.
Some catalog and reference sources list him as having died in 1925, and one also gives Dumfries as his birthplace. Even where biographical details are sparse, his reputation rests on the careful way he collected material that might otherwise have been lost, making his work especially appealing to readers interested in folklore, local history, and the supernatural.