John Burnett is Curator in the Department of Scotland and Europe in the National Museum of Scotland, He is the author of several books on the history of sport in Scotland, one of which won the Mechaelis-Jena Ratcliff Prize for Folklore and Folklife Studies in 1999.

• Introduction: The Life of Robert Burns The People of Lowland Scotland The Deil, Death and Ghosts Witches, Spirits and otehr Curious Things Eveil Men, Bad Weather and the Awful Future Medicines The Year Tam o' Shanter Select Bibliography Further Reading and Exploring Index

'The "hellish legion" referred to in the title of this informative and friendly book, is that body of witches, ghosts, satanic sprites and anything else devilish that might have informed the lives of Robert Burns and his fellow Ayrshire men and women, and further, his own epic poem, Tam o' Shanter. ... It's possible, then, to read Tam o' Shanter also as a nostalgic piece, a recording of a way of looking at the world that was passing by.' The Herald '... does an excellent job in introducing the man and the places in which he lived.' The Folklore Society