In August 1629, the judicial records of East Lothian formalised the case of Alison Borthuick, a married woman residing in the burgh of Haddington. Her appearance in the surviving legal archives, catalogued under reference C/EGD/1124, marked the beginning of a formal inquiry into her conduct, occurring within a period of heightened scrutiny regarding allegations of witchcraft throughout the region. As a resident of Haddington, Alison was subject to the jurisdiction of the local courts, which sought to investigate the spiritual and social transgressions attributed to her during this seventeenth-century wave of litigation.
The subsequent proceedings against Alison are documented in trial record T/LA/737. This administrative trail confirms that the accusations brought against her necessitated a full judicial examination, reflecting the structured legal processes typical of early modern Scottish witch trials. While the specific nature of the accusations remains confined to the procedural notes of the court, the existence of these records highlights the vulnerability of individuals like Alison to the prevailing anxieties and legal frameworks of the era, which saw personal reputation and community status scrutinized under the shadow of criminal prosecution.