On the 4th of November 1678, the legal machinery of seventeenth-century Scotland turned its focus toward Alison Rae. Documented within the judicial archives under case reference C/LA/2883, her encounter with the authorities represents a specific intersection of ecclesiastical and civil oversight common to the period. As a woman navigating the complexities of post-Reformation Scottish society, Alison found herself brought before the local magistrates, marking the formal initiation of a process that would soon proceed to a full judicial examination.
The subsequent trial, recorded as T/LA/844, formalised the allegations against Alison and brought the matter into the broader framework of the Scottish witch trials. While the surviving records are primarily administrative, they reflect the standard rigorous procedures employed during the late seventeenth century to adjudicate such charges. Following the protocols of the era, the court weighed the evidence presented against Alison, documenting her involvement in these proceedings within the legal registers of the region. Through these sparse but significant records, the case remains a testament to the methodical documentation that characterised the late-stage judicial response to witchcraft in Scotland.