The Witch's Cauldron of Eas Chia-aig

Eas Fors Waterfall, Isle of Mull, Scotland

When Cameron cattle sickened in the Dark Mile above Loch Arkaig, a local woman was blamed for the curse — and driven over these falls into the pool still known as the Witch's Cauldron.

Eas Chia-aig is a waterfall at the eastern end of Loch Arkaig in Lochaber, within the stretch of ancient woodland known as the Dark Mile — Mile Dorcha — historic territory of Clan Cameron. The falls drop into a deep, churning pool that has carried the name the Witch's Cauldron for generations. The tradition attached to it is a familiar shape in Highland folklore, but rooted in this specific place: when cattle belonging to Cameron of Lochiel's people fell sick without explanation, suspicion turned to a local woman, a bana-bhuidseach — a witch — believed to have "put the eye" on the herds, a form of malicious curse worked through a look or a word. She was hunted down by the community and driven, or by some accounts thrown, over the falls into the pool below, where the story ends. No individual name or firm date survives attached to the woman at the centre of the story, which marks it as clan-era oral tradition rather than a documented court case — there is no trial record, no formal accusation on file, only the place-name and the story that explains it. The Witch's Cauldron remains a named feature of the Dark Mile walk today, one of several sites along that stretch where Lochaber's older, harder history sits close beneath its scenery.

Folklore Disclaimer: These accounts are drawn from local tradition, oral history, and community memory. They are not presented as factual claims.

Location accuracy: Approximate. Coordinates indicate the general area.