The tale of Margaret Smaill is a somber reflection of the witch trials that beleaguered Scotland during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Margaret, a 35-year-old resident of the small parish of Humbie, Haddington, faced accusations that would seal her fate in September of 1678. Historical records reveal that she confessed to practicing witchcraft for a decade, a confession that formed the crux of the trial against her.
The proceedings against Margaret unfolded swiftly in Edinburgh, where she stood trial before the Lord Advocate. The charges brought against her included participation in witches' meetings, a common indictment that carried grave implications in the period's highly superstitious context. Their rapid succession from confession on the 11th of September to a guilty verdict and sentencing just two days later underscores the intense speed and severity with which such cases were often handled.
Margaret's fate was sealed on the 18th of September, less than a week after her trial commenced. She was executed by strangulation and then burned, a method typical of the era's execution of alleged witches, at Gallow. Her case, enmeshed in local whispers of witchcraft, was not isolated. Jannet Borthwick, mentioned in connection with Margaret's prosecution, identified her as an accomplice, further entwining Margaret in a network of accusations that underscored the hysteria surrounding witchcraft at the time.