In the turbulent period of the 17th-century Scottish witch trials, Nicoll Wadie, a resident of Haddington, found himself ensnared in the web of accusations that swept through the kingdom. He was a married man, and both he and his wife were accused of engaging in witchcraft—a charge fraught with peril during this era. Nicoll's involvement in the witchcraft panics was not isolated; his case was part of a broader purge initiated by James Welch, a figure instrumental in denouncing suspected witches en masse.
On April 17, 1662, Nicoll's situation was formally addressed in a case designated as C/EGD/492. Unlike many of his fellow accused, Nicoll was deemed too young to endure the rigors of a trial. Instead, the authorities chose imprisonment, where he provided a confession and implicated others, accusations taken seriously by those in power. The judicial system of the time placed significant weight on confessions and denunciations, fueling the cycle of accusations that characterized this grim chapter in Scottish history.
The documentation of Nicoll's trial, noted as T/LA/1349, remains a stark reminder of the fear and suspicion that pervaded the period. While he may not have been tried in the conventional sense due to his age, his forced confession and the subsequent empowerment of his denunciations contributed to the climate of fear and paranoia. Nicoll Wadie’s narrative is emblematic of the broader societal hysteria that precipitated one of Scotland's most fraught historical episodes.