In the spring of 1643, the judicial machinery of Fife turned its attention toward the coastal burgh of Culross, where Elspeth Shearer became the subject of a formal legal proceeding regarding the charge of witchcraft. Recorded under the reference C/EGD/2592, the case was initiated on 21 May 1643, placing Elspeth within the volatile atmosphere of seventeenth-century Scotland—a period when local kirk sessions and civil magistrates were increasingly preoccupied with the perceived threat of maleficium.
While the surviving documentation regarding Elspeth remains concentrated within this administrative record, her case serves as a point of entry into the broader socio-legal landscape of the mid-seventeenth century. The formal noting of her name, residence, and the specific date of her hearing highlights the institutional rigour applied to such accusations during this era. Although the specific nature of the allegations brought against Elspeth has not been detailed in the extant notes, the inclusion of her name in the judicial archives reflects the gravity with which the authorities in Culross addressed matters of spiritual and communal disruption.