In the summer of 1649, a man named Walter Crawford, a resident of Gogarstone in the parish of Corstorphine, near Edinburgh, found himself entangled in the Scottish legal system during a period of intense judicial scrutiny regarding witchcraft. On July 22, 1649, Walter was formally processed under case file C/JO/3102. This entry marks the point at which his movements and reputation became the subject of official state investigation, occurring amidst a wider climate of widespread apprehension concerning supernatural influence within the Lowlands.
Following the initial registration of his case, the matter proceeded to a formal trial, recorded under reference T/JO/1527. While the specific testimony and the identity of his accusers remain enclosed within the archival records of the period, the transition from a case filing to a trial highlights the gravity with which the court viewed the allegations against him. As a resident of Gogarstone, Walter’s involvement in these proceedings reflects the manner in which rural communities were drawn into the legal apparatus established to investigate and prosecute those suspected of maleficium during the mid-seventeenth century.