In the spring of 1677, the legal machinery of Haddington focused its attention upon Elizabeth Moody, a widowed resident of the burgh. Known interchangeably in contemporary records as Lizzie Mudie, she was identified by her marital status and the occupation of her late husband, who had been recorded as an indweller of the town. Her appearance before the authorities occurred on May 2, 1677, under the case designation C/JO/2861, marking the formal initiation of proceedings against her within the Haddington judicial system.
Despite the procedural steps taken during the initiation of her case, the subsequent judicial record, identified as T/JO/620, remains silent regarding the specific nature of the allegations brought against Elizabeth. While the historical documentation confirms the date and the legal framework surrounding her trial, the surviving papers offer no further details concerning the testimonies, the specific accusations of witchcraft, or the final resolution of her case. Consequently, Elizabeth remains a figure defined by the brief, administrative intersection between her domestic life as a widow in Haddington and the formal legal scrutiny of the late seventeenth-century Scottish courts.