In February 1631, the judicial machinery of the Scottish North East turned its attention toward John Philip, a man whose itinerant lifestyle as a vagabond had taken him across a wide swath of the region. Originally thought to be from Banff, John had spent his time traveling between locales such as Fintray, Ava, and Cullen, where he operated as a healer. Within the early modern social framework, such a role was fraught with complexity; while healers often provided essential services to impoverished communities, their practices frequently drew the scrutiny of local authorities, who were quick to interpret unconventional remedies or wandering habits as signs of maleficium.
On February 22, 1631, John was brought before a courthouse in Banff to answer for his actions. The subsequent proceedings were documented with procedural rigor, leading to a formal confession that same day. The assize, having weighed the evidence presented against him, returned a verdict of guilty. While the jury left the specific methodology of his final moments to the discretion of the judges, the sentence was carried out with clinical finality. John was executed by strangulation and burning, a terminal end that reflects the gravity with which the contemporary legal system viewed the crossing of boundaries between traditional medicine and the forbidden arts.