In the late 17th century, amidst the turbulent period of the Scottish witch trials, Margaret Fulton found herself at the heart of the notorious Renfrewshire cases of 1697. Residing in East Kilpatrick, Margaret was described as an indweller, neither of high nor low birth, occupying a middling social standing within her community. Her seemingly ordinary life took a dramatic turn when accusations of witchcraft were cast upon her, one of many during a time when fear and superstition ran rampant.
The specific charge against Margaret—participation in a witches' meeting—placed her under the scrutiny of the justice courts, which she first faced on April 13, 1697. The proceedings, initially postponed, ultimately culminated in a trial commencing on May 12, 1697, and lasting a grueling week. This trial would determine the fate of Margaret and others entangled in the web of accusations sweeping Renfrewshire, with her case being one of the most prominent among the twenty-eight accused.
Margaret's ordeal concluded with a guilty verdict, a decision sealed with the dire sentence of execution. On June 10, 1697, the same day her sentence was formalized, Margaret met her end at Gallow Green. Her execution, by strangulation and burning, reflected the harsh and irrevocable judgments of the era. As one of the seven individuals tried and executed from the Renfrewshire cases, Margaret Fulton’s story serves as a somber reminder of a time when fear and suspicion overshadowed justice, leaving an indelible mark on Scottish history.