In July 1643, legal proceedings were initiated against Helen Inglisse, a woman residing in the village of Carrington, located in the county of Edinburgh. The archival records—specifically case file C/JO/2799—document her appearance before the authorities during a period when the Scottish justice system was increasingly preoccupied with the investigation of maleficium and diabolical associations. While the extant documentation concerning the trial itself (T/JO/347) provides no narrative of the courtroom proceedings or the specific grievances brought against her by her neighbors, the legal process reached a definitive point during that summer month.
Central to the record is the confession formally registered on Helen’s behalf in July 1643. Within this document, she admitted to the primary charge leveled against her: the formation of a pact with the devil. In the context of early modern Scottish jurisprudence, such an admission of a covenant with supernatural forces served as the cornerstone of witchcraft prosecutions, signifying a deliberate renunciation of the prevailing religious order. Following the recording of this confession, the historical trail for Helen ends, leaving the details of her final sentence or the remainder of her life lost to the anonymity of the archive.