In the autumn of 1679, the legal machinery of late seventeenth-century Scotland turned its attention toward John Scott, a man living in the port town of Leith. As a day labourer of very poor socioeconomic standing, John possessed no formal livelihood beyond the precarious earnings of his daily work. On September 8, 1679, he appeared in the records of the High Court and was subsequently indicted in the circuit court held in Edinburgh. He was placed on the Porteous roll, a list of delinquent dittays that carried the severe, formal charges typical of the period: witchcraft, sorcery, necromancy, the renunciation of baptism, and the formal submission of one’s body and soul to the Devil.
Despite the gravity of these accusations, the legal proceedings against John took an abrupt turn. The records indicate that his diet—the scheduled court appearance for his trial—was deserted. By September 22, 1679, his name appeared once more on the Porteous roll, but the judicial process had effectively stalled. Following this desertion of the diet, John was released from the custody of the court, bringing his involvement in the formal witch trial system to a close.