In January 1662, Margaret Lauson, a resident of the royal burgh of Selkirk, became the subject of legal proceedings regarding the charge of witchcraft. Her case, documented under reference C/EGD/1422, began in the early weeks of that year, a period characterized by a notable intensification in judicial interest regarding supernatural crimes across the Scottish Lowlands.
On January 1, 1662, Margaret provided a formal confession to the authorities. While the subsequent trial notes (T/JO/839) offer no further narrative detail regarding the specific nature of her testimony or the circumstances that led to her apprehension, the existence of a recorded confession remains the central feature of her surviving legal file. Her experience reflects the administrative intersection between local burgh governance and the state-sanctioned prosecution of witchcraft during the mid-seventeenth century.