In the late 17th century, James Lindsay found himself ensnared in the infamous witchcraft trials that swept across Renfrewshire in 1697. James hailed from Formakure, Erskine, within the Renfrew area, although some records suggest he might have originally been from Bargarran. As one of twenty-eight individuals embroiled in the Renfrewshire trials, James was among the seven who ultimately faced a formal trial, which commenced on April 13, 1697, and continued until May 19 of that year. On the dock, James was accused of consorting at witches' meetings, a severe charge that aligned with the widespread fear and suspicion that marked this turbulent period in Scottish history.
The judicial process against James was both prolonged and grimly predictable, given the era's pervasive belief in the malevolent power of witchcraft. The presbytery records reveal that preparations for his trial had been underway as early as March 1697, mandating the involvement of both ministers and the accused in the proceedings. The trial culminated in a guilty verdict on May 12, 1697. The sentence—execution by strangulation followed by burning—was enacted less than a month later on June 10 at Gallow Green, a common site for such somber conclusions. Earlier that year, in February, a confession had been documented, though the conditions and nature of this confession remain unspecified in the surviving records.
James Lindsay's story is a poignant reminder of the fear and paranoia surrounding alleged witchcraft in early modern Scotland, where local suspicions could swiftly escalate into tragic verdicts. His life and death serve as a somber chapter in the broader narrative of the Scottish witch trials, encapsulating the harsh realities faced by those accused during this era of fervent suspicion and accusation.