In early January of 1662, the quiet life of Jon Dougleish, a resident of Flisk in Fife, was irreversibly altered. He found himself accused of witchcraft, a charge that, during the fraught period of the Scottish witch trials, was met with fear and suspicion. According to the historical records, Jon's case was officially documented under the case name "Dougleish, Jon" on the 23rd of January that year. Despite the scarcity of surviving details regarding his trial, which is only noted without elaboration, these records mark a significant moment in his life—and the broader narrative of the witch trials that swept through seventeenth-century Scotland.
A confession was recorded in Jon Dougleish's name in the first month of 1662, a common occurrence in the witch trials of the time, often under circumstances that compromised the voluntariness of such admissions. The specifics of Jon’s confession remain undocumented in the extant materials; however, its existence suggests that, like many accused, he might have been under pressure, whether through direct coercion or the intense fear of the consequences of a trial. The absence of further trial notes leaves the fate of Jon cloaked in historical ambiguity, but his experience reflects the intense suspicion and the perilous judicial processes faced by those accused of witchcraft in seventeenth-century Scotland.