In September 1649, the judicial machinery of the Scottish kirk and state turned its attention to Margaret Blair, a resident of the parish of Carriden in Linlithgow. Her case, documented under reference C/EGD/1642, unfolded during a period of intense preoccupation with maleficium, as the authorities sought to formalise the legal process for those brought under suspicion of witchcraft. Following the standard procedures of the time, Margaret was detained and examined regarding the nature of her alleged transgressions, an ordeal that culminated in the production of a formal confession.
The details of her examination, preserved in the trial records (T/LA/1973), indicate that Margaret provided a statement under the scrutiny of the local ecclesiastical and civil officials. While the archival record remains sparse regarding the specific acts to which she admitted, the existence of a recorded confession was a pivotal element in the proceedings of the mid-seventeenth century. For Margaret, this document served as the central piece of evidence that facilitated the progression of her case through the rigorous legal frameworks governing the Scottish witch trials.