In the summer of 1658, Margaret Duchill, a forty-five-year-old woman of middling status residing in the burgh of Alloa, became ensnared in the legal machinery of the Scottish witch trials. The case against her, documented under record C/EGD/297, was underpinned by a web of social testimonies, as she was denounced by no fewer than six other women—Elizabeth Black, Margaret Tailyeor, Kathrine Remy, Bessie Paton, Margaret Demperston, and Jonet Black. These denunciations suggest the extent to which local accusations were frequently interconnected, drawing individuals into a collective narrative of suspected supernatural activity.
On May 11, 1658, Margaret provided a confession to the authorities, formalizing her involvement in the events under investigation. The legal proceedings detailed charges of *maleficium*, specifically citing the infliction of harm upon animals, as well as attendance at illicit meetings associated with witchcraft. Following these confessions and the subsequent trials (T/JO/1471 and T/JO/1485), the judicial process reached its conclusion. Margaret was sentenced to death, and her execution was carried out later that same year.