In September 1678, thirty-six-year-old Margaret Lowis, a resident of Humbie in Haddington, stood at the center of a legal process that moved with swift and fatal precision. Margaret had carried a reputation for suspected witchcraft within her community for eleven years, a duration of suspicion that ultimately culminated in formal proceedings against her. Following her detention, she was subjected to interrogation, resulting in two separate records of confession dated the 11th and 13th of September. These testimonies provided the foundation for the subsequent legal actions taken by the Lord Advocate, who acted as the prosecutor in her case.
On the 13th of September, Margaret was brought before the court in Edinburgh for her trial. The proceedings concluded with a verdict of guilty, and she was sentenced to death. Five days later, on the 18th of September 1678, the sentence was carried out at the Gallow. In accordance with the judicial practices of the era, Margaret suffered the execution method of being strangled before her body was consigned to the flames.