In the year 1662, during a tumultuous period in Scottish history marked by widespread fear of witchcraft, Margaret Lister found herself entangled in one of the numerous witch trials that swept across the nation. Residing in the small community of Crook of Devon, a village in the parish of Fossoway & Tullibole in Perthshire, Margaret was married, though further details of her family life remain obscure within the historical records. Her case is noted under an archival reference identified as C/EGD/1485, indicating its registration among the judicial proceedings of the time.
On the 23rd of April, 1662, the proceedings against Margaret took place, though the specifics of the accusations and the outcome of her trial are not detailed in the surviving records. Such trials were not uncommon during this period, a time when fear and superstition were pervasive, and individuals, often women, were accused of witchcraft based on circumstantial evidence or personal vendettas. The records mention that this particular case was not cross-referenced with second-hand accounts, indicating a reliance on primary documentation for details pertaining to Margaret's trial.
Margaret Lister's story, like many others from this dark chapter in Scottish history, remains largely untold outside the austere notations of historical archives. Her name endures, however, as a testament to a bygone era where the societal and legal systems allowed for suspicion and paranoia to manifest as trials against those alleged to have supernatural affiliations. Though her personal narrative and the conclusion of her trial might be lost to time, the record of her accusation continues to offer insight into the complexities and cultural fears of 17th-century Scotland.