In the spring of 1597, the judicial machinery of Aberdeen turned its attention toward the parish of Lumphanan, specifically targeting Issobel Forbes, a resident of the small settlement of Glenmullocht. During this period, the convergence of legal and ecclesiastical anxieties in Northeast Scotland frequently brought ordinary women before the courts to answer for alleged maleficium. On April 25, 1597, Issobel was brought to the city of Aberdeen to stand trial under case file C/EGD/2157.
The proceedings, recorded under T/JO/1500, took place against the backdrop of an intense cycle of witch-hunting that swept through the region that year. Despite the gravity of the accusations typical of such seventeenth-century proceedings, the outcome for Issobel was distinct from many of her contemporaries. When the legal process concluded on that same day, the court returned a verdict of "Not Proven." With this finding, Issobel was spared the direst outcomes of the Scottish criminal justice system, though the historical record remains silent regarding her life before or after that pivotal day in April.