In the late 17th century, Catharin Mactargett, a woman of middling economic standing, found herself ensnared in the tumultuous web of Scottish witch trials. Residing in Dunbar, Haddington, Catharin was known to be married to a weaver, a profession suggesting a stable, if humble, livelihood. However, despite this seemingly secure socioeconomic status, she was accused of living as a beggar, a stigma that blurred her public image and perhaps made the subsequent accusations of witchcraft resonate more with the community.
The legal proceedings against Catharin Mactargett began in 1679, when she was first tried in the circuit court at Haddington. During this trial, she was declared a fugitive, suggesting that she either escaped or eluded capture at that time. The charges she faced were severe and typical of the era, including witchcraft, sorcery, necromancy, and allegedly renouncing her baptism to give herself over to the Devil, both body and soul. These accusations were cataloged in the porteous roll, a record of delinquent dittays that reflected common charges laid upon suspected witches during this intense period of witch hunting.
Nearly a decade later, Catharin was brought once more before the courts, this time under a commission of justiciary in 1688. It was during this trial that her fate was sealed with a guilty verdict. Accusations against her included causing damage to property such as dairies, animals, ale, and even entire estates, a testament to the broad and often exaggerated charges leveled against the accused during this time. Her confession was recorded in the Tolbooth, Haddington's place of detention, on May 19, 1688. Catharin was mentioned in trials against other women, such as Margret McClean and Annabell Stewart, identified as a "known witch," further entrenching her reputation and shaping her tragic narrative within the tapestry of Scottish witch trial history.