In the year 1659, Marione Corsan, a resident of the small parish of Irongray in Dumfries, found herself ensnared once again in the intense scrutiny of the witch trials that plagued Scotland during this era. The historical records indicate that this was not Marione's first encounter with accusations of witchcraft. Nearly a decade earlier, in 1650, she was investigated by the Presbytery of Dumfries; a commission was sought at that time, implicating Marione along with seven other individuals. Despite the intensity of these initial inquiries, the presbytery concluded that there was insufficient evidence to justify her continued imprisonment.
By 1659, however, the tide had shifted, and Marione faced renewed accusations. The case records reveal that a confession was recorded in July of that year, though the specific details of this confession remain undocumented in the surviving records. It is noted that one of the allegations against her involved property damage—specifically, the spoiling of ale—an accusation that seemed to pivot on the common association of witchcraft with domestic and agricultural misfortunes. This focus on ale, a staple of the community's sustenance and economy, underscores the severe personal and social repercussions such allegations could entail, reflecting the community’s susceptibility to fear and superstition.
Marione's case is further shadowed by the specter of familial association, as her mother was also imprisoned on similar charges in 1650. The records do not disclose her mother’s identity, but the implication of familial culpability was not uncommon in witch trials, often creating a generational link that perpetuated suspicion. While the outcome of Marione Corsan's trial remains unspecified in these documents, the recurrent nature of the accusations she faced highlights the persistent and often hereditary nature of witchcraft accusations, woven into the fabric of early modern Scottish society.