Janet McKeoner, a resident of Penninghame in the Scottish shire of Kirkcudbright, found herself entangled in the web of witchcraft accusations that plagued early 18th-century Scotland. Records from November 11, 1707, indicate that Janet was the subject of such a case, listed as McKeoner under the case file C/EGD/2455. While the specific allegations against her are not detailed in the surviving historical documents available, it is important to recognize that such accusations during this period often stemmed from prevailing societal fears, personal vendettas, or local conflicts. These trials were common between 1563 and 1736, a time when the Scottish Witchcraft Act of 1563 was still enforced, leading to numerous trials and, in many cases, subsequent punishments.
The circumstances around Janet's accusation, as with many others during these trials, remain largely obscured due to a lack of comprehensive primary documentation. However, the mention of secondary sources, particularly the reference to Larner's printed works, suggests that her case might have reached a certain level of prominence or severity that warranted further exploration by historians and researchers in subsequent studies. Janet's experience, like those of many accused women, reflects the broader socio-cultural currents of early modern Scotland, where economic, religious, and gender dynamics intersected to fuel suspicions of witchcraft. These trials, often lacking proper judicial fairness by modern standards, shed light on the tensions and fears that reverberated through Scottish communities such as Penninghame during this turbulent chapter of history.