The legal proceedings against Margaret Beverage, a married woman residing in the burgh of Dysart, Fife, spanned a period of fifteen years, beginning with an initial denunciation in October 1643. Margaret was first implicated by Issobel Pope, herself a confessing witch, and was subsequently named again in December 1647 by Grisell Rankin, another woman from Dysart who had confessed to witchcraft. These early accusations suggest that Margaret’s name was circulating within the community’s discourse on supernatural activities for over a decade before formal state intervention peaked, a period during which she was also mentioned as a denounced party in the trial of Margaret Williamson.
The scrutiny intensified toward the end of 1657, when Margaret’s own husband, John Corses, provided a denunciation against her on December 17. Following this familial betrayal, the matter moved to the Tolbooth on January 14, 1658, where a formal confession was recorded in her name. This final document marked the culmination of the legal process regarding Case C/EGD/301, concluding a protracted involvement with the judicial authorities that had persisted since the mid-1640s. Margaret’s experience reflects the complex web of community suspicion and domestic testimony that characterized the persistent investigations into witchcraft in early modern Fife.