In the summer of 1661, Margaret Bryson of Gilmerton, a small community within the parish of Liberton, Edinburgh, found herself at the center of one of the numerous witch trials that swept through early modern Scotland. Margaret, married and a resident of this rural locale, was accused of participating in a witches' meeting, an allegation that was grave and perilous during this period. The trial records indicate that she faced these charges in the vibrant yet austere setting of Edinburgh, a city that had become a focal point for such prosecutions.
Her trial took place on the 7th of August, 1661, and culminated in a guilty verdict. The conviction came swiftly, underscored by the confession records that marked pivotal moments in her ordeal, captured on the 29th of July and again on the day of her trial. Margaret's confessions, though their contents are not detailed in the surviving records, played a crucial role in the proceedings, a common occurrence in witch trials where such admissions were often extracted under duress. Just two days after her final confession, on the 9th of August, Margaret was executed by strangulation followed by burning, a method intended not only as a punishment but also as a spiritual cleansing rite. Her execution took place at the Common Green, a public spectacle that was all too common during these tumultuous times, marking a somber end to Margaret's life and a poignant chapter in the annals of the Scottish witch trials.