In the mid-17th century, the quiet village of Tullibody in Stirling was thrust into the spotlight with the trial of Janet Millar, accused of witchcraft in a period marked by heightened fear and suspicion across Scotland. On the 23rd of March, 1659, she stood accused in a legal proceeding held in Stirling, part of the North Circuit, despite the records being housed with those of the South and West. Her trial, officially noted as part of a series of cases to be addressed by the justice courts between 1658 and 1659, indicates the widespread nature of these accusations during this tumultuous era.
During her trial, Janet pleaded not guilty, a valiant effort to defend herself against the weighty accusations that were, at the time, notoriously difficult to dispel. The complexities of her case are underscored by mentions in other contemporaneous proceedings, notably those involving Issobell Keir, suggesting that Janet's fate was entwined with broader narratives of witchcraft within her community. The presence of a recorded confession, though the record does not clarify its circumstances or content, suggests a common prosecutorial strategy of the time where confessions could be coerced or misunderstood as evidence of witchcraft. Janet Millar's ordeal exemplifies the daunting challenges faced by those accused, as their lives and reputations hung in the balance of societal fears and judicial practices of the era.