In the mid-17th century, Jonet Miller, a woman residing in the small village of Auld Liston within the parish of Kirkliston, found herself ensnared in the web of witchcraft accusations sweeping through Scotland. The case against Jonet, then 51 years old, was deeply entwined with both the local and broader cultural anxieties of the time. Accusations against her included allegedly causing harm dating back 26 years and meetings with the devil taking place five years earlier. These assertions, however, seem to have intensified in 1650 when she was explicitly named as a witch, a label that, once assigned, was notoriously difficult to shake.
Jonet's ordeal culminated in the summer of 1661 at the Edinburgh trial. Although she faced charges of participating in witches' gatherings, a group from Edinburgh rather than her own parish peers formed the jury. This disconnection between the community she was judged by and her own may have played a role in the trial's outcome, as Jonet was ultimately found not guilty. Interestingly, despite an order for a subsequent trial in September of that year, records do not confirm if it ever transpired. Throughout her ordeal, confessions played a pivotal role, with Jonet initially recording a confession in August 1659, only to retract it shortly thereafter, an action that introduces questions about the conditions under which such confessions were obtained and their reliability.
The records also highlight Jonet's mentions in multiple other witchcraft trials, suggesting her name was repeatedly invoked by her contemporaries — Marion Craufurd, Helen Samuel, and others — as a "Known Witch." The persistence of Jonet's name across these testimonials suggests a certain notoriety or reputational damage, compounded by allegations of property damage, notably to a dairy. These claims, though not substantiated by the verdict, illustrate the ripple effects of suspicion during this period in Scottish history, capturing the fragile intersection of community relationships, legal apparatus, and the endemic fear of witches.