In 1644, Marioun Little, sometimes recorded as Marione, found herself at the heart of a series of turbulent events in Queensferry, a locality within Linlithgow. Her fate was sealed amid a wave of denunciations and accusations of witchcraft that swept through the region. On March 27, 1644, Ephraim Melvill named Marioun as a wielder of malevolent powers, setting in motion the legal processes that would ultimately lead to her trial and execution.
The historical records reveal scant details about the trial itself, but they do note that Marioun Little confessed to charges levied against her within the same month. During the witch trials of this period, confession was often pivotal, tipping the balance against the accused—whether coerced or voluntarily given. The records from the time do not dwell on the specifics of Marioun's confession or the nature of the accusations, but they paint a picture of a community caught in the throes of fear and suspicion.
Adding to the gravity of her case, Marioun was implicated in other trials through the testimonies of women already enmeshed in the witchcraft panic. She was labeled a "Known Witch" by Isobel Young and "Denounced" by Margaret Young, further entrenching her in the web of allegations. Ultimately, Marioun was executed by burning, a grim fate characteristic of the era's response to such charges. Her story, though sparsely documented, reflects the broader societal anxieties and procedural severities of early modern Scotland's infamous witch trials.