In the spring of 1699, Isobell Houston, a married woman residing in the parish of Houston in Renfrew, found herself swept into the legal complexities of a witchcraft investigation. Her entanglement began not through a direct complaint regarding her own actions, but as a result of the denunciations made by Margaret Laird, a young girl from Paisley who claimed to be tormented by witches. During her public fits, Laird named several individuals, placing Isobell among those she accused. Between the 19th and 21st of April 1699, a series of witness testimonies were gathered in Paisley, largely documenting the erratic behavior of Laird and the specific accusations she leveled during her episodes, which in Isobell’s case included allegations pertaining to the damage of dairy property.
The legal proceedings that followed proved intermittent and ultimately inconclusive. A trial originally scheduled for Glasgow on May 19, 1699, does not appear to have taken place, leading to a period of uncertainty for the accused. By March 12, 1700, the matter had moved to the High Court in Edinburgh, where the formal dittay—the document outlining the charges—was reviewed. Despite the depositions collected the previous year, the court ultimately deserted the diet, a procedural outcome that effectively ended the prosecution. Having faced the scrutiny of the judicial system, Isobell was released, and her involvement in the legal process concluded without a conviction.