In the spring of 1699, Margaret Alexander, a landless woman known to have moved between parishes and subsisted through begging, found herself caught within a complex legal web centered in the burgh of Paisley. Her involvement in the judicial proceedings stemmed from the testimony of two young women, Margaret Laird and Margaret Murdoch, who claimed to be tormented by witches. While experiencing public fits in Paisley and Govan, Laird and Murdoch articulated a series of denunciations that implicated Margaret alongside several others. These claims formed the basis of witness testimony recorded in Paisley on 19–21 April 1699, and in Glasgow on 22 April, where observers described both the erratic behavior of the accusers and the specific allegations leveled against her.
Following these initial testimonies, Margaret’s legal journey became marked by procedural uncertainty. While a trial was scheduled for Glasgow in May 1699, the proceedings did not take place as planned. The case eventually migrated to the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh, where, on 12 March 1700, the judicial diet was formally deserted. Consequently, Margaret was released, concluding a period of legal entanglement that had seen her livelihood and movements scrutinized against the backdrop of the intense, localized anxieties reflected in the testimony of her accusers.