In the spring of 1662, the legal machinery of the Scottish witch trials reached into the rural community of Moynes in Nairn. On April 13, a woman identified in the court records as Margaret Hasbein was formally entered into the judicial process under case file C/LA/3244. As a resident of this small parish, Margaret found herself the subject of an inquiry that would eventually culminate in her trial, documented under the reference T/LA/1870.
The records provide little biographical context beyond these formal identifiers, yet they capture a pivotal moment in Margaret’s life as she was processed by the authorities of the period. While the specific nature of the charges brought against her remains absent from these surviving registers, the documentation of her case remains a significant part of the archival history of Nairn during the mid-seventeenth century. Through the lens of these administrative entries, Margaret’s experience serves as a testament to the structured, localized nature of the witch hunts that defined this turbulent era in Scottish history.