The Nanny Witch Trial: A Modern-Day Tale of Fear and Superstition

In the summer of 1982, a quiet and unassuming Scottish nanny found herself at the center of a firestorm in Italy—literally. A 20-year-old au pair from Ayrshire, became embroiled in a series of mysterious fires and incidents that would later earn her the moniker of “the nanny they called a witch.” Her story, filled with elements of fear, suspicion, and superstition, divided public opinion. Was she truly the perpetrator of these bizarre occurrences, or was she the victim of hysteria and an overactive imagination? A Promising Start and a Sudden Turn In the early 1980s, Carole Compton moved to Italy…