In the shadow of Newbattle's ecclesiastical heart, the kirk, stood Michaell Erskine, a miller by trade and a figure caught in the storm of Scotland's witch trials. Residing at Newbattle Milne near Edinburgh, Michaell, sometimes noted as Areskine in the records, found himself ensnared by accusations of witchcraft in a time when suspicion and fear were pervasive. Though his status as a middling miller might suggest a life of modest security, it did not shield him from the severe scrutiny of the law. On April 2, 1630, Michaell was brought to trial amidst the fervor of witch-hunting that gripped Scotland, leading to a guilty verdict from which there was no reprieve.
Michaell's path to this grim conclusion was paved with the coercive practices that were commonplace in witch trials of the early modern period. Notably, the records detail the use of torture, specifically sleep deprivation, as a means to extract a confession from him. The confession was recorded in the confines of a private residence on November 5, 1629, several months prior to his trial. Such measures were emblematic of the era's reliance on confessions, often extracted under duress, to secure convictions in cases perceived to be both occult and threatening.
His punishment, as decreed by the court, was both severe and public; Michaell was executed by strangulation followed by burning, a common method intended to eradicate the witch's supposed powers. His execution stands as a testament to the harsh realities faced by those accused of witchcraft in 17th-century Scotland, reflecting a period where fear and superstition trampled upon justice and empathy. Through Michaell Erskine's story, the historical record offers a window into the broader social and cultural anxieties that allowed such tragic events to unfold.