In the spring of 1662, the legal machinery of the Scottish witch trials reached Eupham Hougan, an indweller of Rhynd in Perth. Identified in the Register of the Privy Council as an individual of middling socioeconomic status, Eupham was brought before the authorities during a period of intense judicial scrutiny regarding alleged maleficium. The official records note that her case, cataloged as C/EGD/1421, moved rapidly through the preliminary stages of inquiry, culminating in a recorded confession obtained in January 1662.
The procedural documentation for Eupham’s case highlights the grim methods employed to secure this testimony. During that same month of January, she was subjected to sleep deprivation, a common technique utilized by witch-prickers and local authorities to break a suspect’s resolve. Following the extraction of her confession, the legal process concluded with remarkable swiftness. Although the trial notes (T/JO/832) provide no surviving details of the specific allegations or the courtroom proceedings, the final entry in her record is stark: Eupham was executed shortly thereafter, on April 1, 1662.