In the year 1644, Kathren Shaw, a widow residing in Lanark, found herself ensnared in the web of accusations that marked the witch trials of seventeenth-century Scotland. The historical records from that time tell us that Kathren was brought to account for allegedly consorting with the devil—a common accusation in an era rife with fear and superstition. According to the details preserved in the documentation of her case, Kathren's interaction with her accuser was marked by a bold pragmatism: when the devil purportedly sought to make her his servant, she questioned what he could offer her, noting that she already possessed meat and meal. This retort, perhaps a reflection of her independent spirit or skeptical intelligence, stands out in the records as a striking moment within the trial proceedings.
By August of that year, Kathren was recorded confessing to the charges against her, a confession obtained at the Tolbooth—a frequent venue for such interrogations. The specifics of her confession are not preserved in the surviving documentation, but the fact of its occurrence indicates the intense pressures faced by those accused under such serious allegations during this turbulent period. Additionally, she was denounced to the Presbytery of Lanark, formally entering her into the community's legal and ecclesiastical proceedings against alleged witches. As with many accusations of witchcraft in this era, the socio-economic or personal undercurrents that may have influenced Kathren's denunciation are veiled by time, leaving modern readers to piece together her story from the sparse fragments that remain.