In the spring of 1662, John Robertson of Leathen, a small hamlet within the parish of Auldearn in Nairn, found himself ensnared in the fervent wave of witchcraft accusations that swept through Scotland during the 17th century. John, a married man residing within the rural community, became the subject of a formal accusation of witchcraft, a charge that carried not only social stigma but the potential for severe punishment.
The records indicate that John Robertson's case was recorded under the designation C/EGD/468, marking the beginning of legal proceedings against him on the 14th of April, 1662. The scant archival evidence left to us through the trial reference T/LA/1857 provides little in the way of detailed allegations or the specific nature of the evidence brought against John. Nevertheless, it positions him within the broader tapestry of the Scottish witch trials, a period characterized by fear, superstition, and the pursuit of those deemed to have engaged with malevolent forces.
John Robertson's experience was emblematic of the turbulent era in which he lived, where allegations of witchcraft could arise from personal vendettas, social tensions, or genuine belief in the supernatural. His trial places him among the numerous individuals who were tried under the Witchcraft Act of 1563, during a time when the judicial system, informed by both ecclesiastical and civil motivations, sought to root out perceived evil through public trials. While the outcome of John's trial remains undocumented in available records, his involvement emphasizes the pervasive reach of witchcraft accusations across social boundaries, affecting men and women alike in early modern Scotland.