In the spring of 1662, a miller by the name of John Homme found himself once more at the center of Scotland's turbulent witch trials, this time amid the storied town of Haddington. Almost thirteen years earlier, in 1649, John had first been denounced for the alleged practice of witchcraft, though the records give little insight into the outcome of that initial accusation. This period coincided with heightened tensions throughout the country, as fear and suspicion of witchcraft surged and communities sought to identify and expel those thought to consort with dark forces. However, it wasn't until the denunciations of a young accuser, James Welch, that John's name returned with marked notoriety to the fore of legal proceedings.
By 1662, John Homme faced renewed charges, aggregated by Welch's somewhat anomalous role in the trials. Despite Welch's youth, which disqualified him from standing trial himself, his confessions held considerable sway, significantly shaping the fates of those he accused. Although Welch was imprisoned due to his age, authorities still considered his denunciations substantive. This climate of accusation extended to John's wife, highlighting a pattern often seen where entire households or family units came under suspicion, exacerbating the ordeal for those accused. Unfortunately, the specifics of these trials—the tender scars of testimony, evidence, and verdict—remain shrouded, leaving historians to ponder the exact resolutions meted out in John Homme's case. What persists, instead, is the unsettled legacy of a period in which societal fears could swiftly rewrite the destinies of ordinary individuals steeped in the everyday trades of life, like milling.