In the spring of 1697, the judicial machinery of Renfrewshire turned its attention to Alexander Anderson, a resident of the parish of Inchinnan. His case, documented under the reference C/LA/3238, entered the formal legal system on the 9th of March that year. While the records of the era often focused on the testimonies of neighbours and the interventions of local kirk sessions, Alexander’s appearance in the surviving registers marks a specific moment in the broader context of the Scottish witch trials, which were then reaching a period of intense activity in the west of Scotland.
Following the initial registration of his case, the matter moved toward a judicial resolution under the record T/LA/1818. The transition from the filing of the case to the trial proceedings highlights the systematic approach taken by the authorities in Inchinnan to address the allegations brought against Alexander. As a male defendant in a period where accusations were statistically more common against women, his presence in the court records provides a rare insight into the application of the 1563 Witchcraft Act and the procedural rigours applied to those accused of maleficium or diabolical pacts within the Scottish legal tradition.