In May 1649, Catherine Wilson, a resident of Carriden in the parish of Linlithgow, found herself at the centre of a formal legal process regarding the charge of witchcraft. Her case, documented under reference C/EGD/1611, was brought before the local authorities during a period of heightened judicial activity concerning allegations of maleficium in Scotland. As the legal proceedings advanced, the trial, identified in the records as T/LA/1954, unfolded in accordance with the ecclesiastical and civil mandates of the mid-seventeenth century.
Central to the record of Catherine’s case is the existence of a formal confession. In the judicial climate of the time, such a document served as a critical piece of evidence within the structure of the trial. While the specific nature of the statements she provided remains preserved within the archived records, the account confirms that Catherine acknowledged the charges brought against her before the court. This confession stands as the defining element of her documented experience during the 1649 trials, marking her entry into the official registers of those prosecuted under the Scottish Witchcraft Act.