In the late autumn of 1649, the judicial landscape of Haddington was marked by the proceedings against Grissell Fowler. Residing in the parish of Bothans—a settlement that would later be known by its modern name, Yester—Grissell was brought before the authorities to answer to charges of witchcraft. The records indicate that her case was processed alongside one other individual, suggesting a period of heightened local scrutiny during which the ecclesiastical and civil powers of the region sought to address allegations of diabolical activity.
On November 28, 1649, the legal process reached a significant juncture when a confession was formally recorded for Grissell. While the archival documentation regarding the specific nature of her alleged crimes remains sparse, the existence of this confession marks the culmination of the proceedings noted in the extant presbytery records. Although the subsequent trial details remain unrecorded, the surviving entries preserve her place within the history of the Scottish witch trials, reflecting the administrative response to accusations of maleficium in mid-17th-century East Lothian.