In June 1708, the legal proceedings concerning Kathren Ratter were recorded within the jurisdiction of the Scalloway presbytery, the administrative centre for the Shetland Islands. Residing in the settlement of Calvister, located in the parish of Walls and Sandness, Kathren was brought before the local authorities under a formal accusation of witchcraft. The records, catalogued under reference C/JO/3013, mark the commencement of a legal process that would see her case move toward a trial under the designation T/JO/1278.
The documentation surrounding Kathren provides a glimpse into the late period of the Scottish witch trials, a time when the presbyterian authorities exercised significant oversight over the moral and spiritual conduct of rural communities. As the investigation into her alleged activities unfolded, Kathren remained at the center of a process governed by the ecclesiastical and judicial structures of the early eighteenth century. Her trial serves as a singular, documented instance of the application of these laws in the remote geography of the Shetland Islands, illustrating the procedural transition from initial accusation to formal judicial inquiry.