In the late summer of 1649, Margaret Johnston, a resident of the parish of Borthwick in Edinburgh, became the subject of legal proceedings concerning the crime of witchcraft. Her case, documented under reference C/EGD/1973, formally entered the judicial record on September 27 of that year. At a time when the Scottish legal system was heavily preoccupied with the investigation of maleficium and diabolical pacts, Margaret was brought before the authorities to answer for her actions.
Following the initial entry of her case, Margaret participated in the judicial process that culminated in a recorded confession. While the trial, designated T/LA/1987, proceeded under the prevailing statutes of the era, the preservation of her statement remains a pivotal feature of the historical documentation. By formally acknowledging the charges brought against her, Margaret became one of the many individuals caught within the complex administrative and religious machinery of the mid-seventeenth-century Scottish witch trials.