Margaret Dods, a woman of Paiston in Crichton, Edinburgh, found herself at the center of one of the many witchcraft trials that marked the history of early modern Scotland. Official records list her age at accusation as 27, though descriptions suggest she was considerably older, likely around 60 at the time of her trial in 1678. Notably, this discrepancy stems from the narrative that she was unable to perform the physical feat expected for the 'crown of her head, sole of her foot' renunciation of baptism, implying a more advanced age. Such age discrepancies were not unusual in an era when records were often poorly maintained and personal identification imprecise.
On September 13, 1678, Margaret was tried in Edinburgh under the accusation of attending witches' meetings, a common charge in witchcraft prosecutions of the period. The trial, presided over by Scotland's Lord Advocate, resulted in a guilty verdict. Margaret's sentence was execution, set to be carried out less than a week later. Details of the trial process, noted as 'Trial T/JO/611', reveal that she was strangled and then burned—a grim fate that was all too familiar in the witch hunts of the 17th century. The speed with which her execution followed her trial is testament to the severity and efficiency with which these cases were often handled.
Margaret's confessions, taken on three separate occasions prior to her trial—on July 1, and subsequently on September 11 and 13—are substantial pieces of the sparse but telling record. In a web of accusations and counter-accusations, Margaret was implicated by others, becoming enmeshed in the broader network of witchcraft allegations that rippled through the community. Her name surfaced in the trials of several women, including Katherine Halyday, Marion Campbell, and Sarah Cranston, among others. Some mentioned her as an accomplice, while others spoke of her in terms of denunciation, reflecting the fraught and perilous nature of social relations in this period of Scottish history. Each mention adds layers to the portrait of Margaret as both a figure in her own right and part of the collective that the witch hunts sought to dismantle.