In the mid-17th century, Scotland was embroiled in a series of tumultuous witch trials, with accusations sweeping across towns and villages, ensnaring individuals in a climate of fear and suspicion. It was against this backdrop that Agnes Thomson, a 63-year-old widow residing in Newton, Edinburgh, found herself at the heart of such allegations. Having been married to John Wood until his death by 1661, Agnes was accused of entering into a pact with the Devil, a relationship she allegedly maintained for 18 long years. The case against her, officially named ‘Thomson, Agnes’, came to a head on July 29, 1661, when she stood accused in a climate of heightened religious distrust and fear of the supernatural.
Initially, Agnes confessed to the charges laid against her, a not-uncommon occurrence in a justice system heavily reliant on confessions, often extracted under duress or the threat of execution. This confession was recorded twice according to the extant records—once on July 9 and again on July 29, 1661, both in the grim confines of the Tolbooth, a location notorious for its harsh conditions. However, she later retracted her confession, a move that complicated her situation further, as retraction was often viewed with suspicion and could be taken as an attempt to outwit the judicial process. The records do not detail the outcome of her trial, leaving the conclusion of Agnes's story shrouded in the shadows of history, a reflection of the many untold stories of those who faced similar fates during Scotland's witchcraft crisis.