In the spring of 1662, Helen Inglis, a married woman residing in the parish of Auldearn in Nairn, found herself drawn into the turbulent judicial proceedings of the Scottish witch trials. On April 14, 1662, Helen was formally processed under case number C/EGD/475, a designation that marked the beginning of her entanglement with the ecclesiastical and civil authorities tasked with policing the spiritual and moral boundaries of the community. At a time when fears of diabolical influence were deeply embedded in the social fabric of the North of Scotland, her position as a married woman within the parish did not insulate her from the suspicions that swept through the region.
The trajectory of Helen’s case continued from this initial processing to a formal trial, recorded under T/LA/1866. Throughout these proceedings, the legal apparatus of the period scrutinized her conduct and reputation within the village of Auldearn. While the records provide a structured account of her movement through the seventeenth-century judicial system, they serve as a testament to the gravity with which the authorities viewed accusations of witchcraft. Her experience remains preserved in the archives, representing the somber reality faced by many individuals whose lives were scrutinized by the courts during this era of intense moral and legal rigor.