In the spring of 1662, the legal machinery of the Scottish witch trials reached into the parish of Auldearn, Nairn, to apprehend Janet Man, a married woman residing in the Milton of Moynes. Her case, documented under reference C/EGD/465, was formally recorded on April 14, 1662, during a period when the intensity of witchcraft prosecutions across the north-east was reaching a localized peak. As a married woman within her community, Janet occupied a standard social standing, yet the administrative machinery of the Kirk and state rapidly transformed her status from a resident of Milton of Moynes into a formal subject of judicial scrutiny.
Following the initial record of her accusation, the process moved toward the court system, culminating in the trial proceedings preserved under reference T/LA/1854. While the specifics of the testimonies brought against Janet remain confined to these archival designations, the trajectory of her case reflects the systematic approach taken by seventeenth-century authorities in handling allegations of diabolism and maleficium. By mid-April, Janet had transitioned from the private sphere of her home in Auldearn into the public, perilous arena of the Scottish legal system, where the gravity of her alleged transgressions was weighed by the magistrates and clergy of the era.