In the late summer of 1662, Cristian Neil Ferquhar Vic Ean Baik McNish, a resident of Inverness, became caught in a widespread legal entanglement that saw fifteen individuals associated with the McLean family accused of witchcraft by members of the Chisholm clan. While the trial records under reference T/JO/998 remain silent regarding the specific charges brought against her, the administrative documentation of case C/EGD/1581 confirms her central role in this cluster of proceedings. The escalation of her case reflects the intense scrutiny placed upon kinship networks during this period, as the accusations leveled by the Chisholms drew Cristian and her associates into the machinery of the Scottish judicial system.
During the month of June 1662, Cristian was subjected to a rigorous regimen of physical coercion intended to extract information. The archival records detail a variety of methods employed against her, including being bound with ropes and suspended by her thumbs. Furthermore, the record notes that she was subjected to sleep deprivation, the application of whips, and the burning of her feet. These records of torture underscore the severity of the procedures applied to Cristian during the inquiry, a period that preceded the formal entry of her case into the record on September 4, 1662.