Margaret Lowis, hailing from the small village of Humbie in Haddington, found herself embroiled in a harrowing sequence of events that culminated in one of Scotland’s notorious witch trials. At the age of 36, she had garnered a reputation over 11 years, a period marked by suspicion and whisperings that gradually wove the fabric of her accusation. In the societal climate of 17th-century Scotland, where witchcraft fears percolated within communities, such a reputation could quickly become perilous.
On September 13, 1678, Margaret stood trial in Edinburgh—a city that had become familiar with the darkness surrounding witch trials. The process was swift. Prosecuted by the Lord Advocate, a senior legal officer responsible for the public prosecution of crimes, her guilt was established primarily through confessions she gave on September 11 and again during the trial on September 13. The nature of these confessions, like many of the era, remains vague to us, recorded as they were in the concise style of the time, but they sealed her fate.
Once convicted, Margaret's sentence was severe and final. She was executed by strangulation and burning at the Gallow on September 18, 1678, a fate reserved for those found guilty of witchcraft. The stark reality of Margaret’s life and its abrupt conclusion casts a light on the turbulent and often tragic intersections of fear, law, and community in 17th-century Scotland. Her story remains a poignant reminder of the individuals who endured these grim episodes in history.