In September 1649, Janet Small, a resident of the parish of Carriden in Linlithgow, found herself at the centre of a formal legal proceeding regarding the charge of witchcraft. Her case, documented under reference C/EGD/1641, occurred during a period of heightened judicial scrutiny in Scotland, reflecting the intense socio-religious pressures of the mid-seventeenth century. Following her initial appearance before the authorities, the matter proceeded to a formal trial, catalogued as T/LA/1972, which sought to establish the veracity of the accusations brought against her within the local community.
Central to the legal resolution of Janet’s case was the production of a formal confession. While the specific nature of the allegations—often ranging from maleficent acts against neighbours to associations with diabolical figures—remains anchored in the standard administrative record of the time, the existence of this confession confirms that she provided a detailed account of her experiences and actions to the court. By September 7, 1649, the judicial process had formalised her testimony, marking a definitive point in the legal record of Carriden’s response to the perceived threat of witchcraft.