In the winter of 1626, the life of Margaret Cieroch, a resident of Warthill in the parish of Lumphanan, Aberdeen, became the subject of formal legal scrutiny. On December 14, 1626, she was formally entered into the judicial record under case number C/EGD/986. Identified in the registers as being from Lumphanan, Margaret was swept into the machinery of the Scottish justice system during a period when concerns regarding witchcraft were deeply embedded in the social and religious fabric of the Aberdeenshire region.
Following her initial documentation, the legal process concerning Margaret proceeded to the trial phase, recorded under reference T/LA/455. While the archival documentation is stark, limited to her place of residence and the procedural notations of her case, these records serve as a testament to the gravity of the accusations she faced. Her experience reflects the standardized judicial response to those suspected of maleficium in early modern Scotland, capturing a brief but significant moment of intersection between an individual life and the rigorous ecclesiastical and secular pursuit of witchcraft.