In the summer of 1590, the legal apparatus of early modern Scotland turned its attention toward Marion Neyne McAlester, a resident of Tain in the shire of Ross. Her case, documented under the reference C/EGD/46, was formally initiated on July 22, 1590. At this juncture in Scottish judicial history, the prosecution of witchcraft was gaining momentum under the framework of the 1563 Witchcraft Act, which empowered local authorities to investigate those suspected of engaging in maleficia or consorting with supernatural forces.
The subsequent proceedings against Marion are preserved in the judicial records T/JO/2119 and T/LA/896, which outline the progression of her trial. Though the specific testimonies and individual charges levied against her are not detailed in these surviving fragments, these records serve as a testament to the systematic manner in which the state processed accusations of this nature during the late sixteenth century. Through the archival preservation of these citations, Marion remains a documented figure in the complex, often rigorous legal landscape of post-Reformation Ross.