In the annals of 17th-century Scottish witch trials, the case of Isobell Hislop offers a lens into the societal tensions and legal proceedings of the time. Residing in Crichton, near Edinburgh, Isobell was a 60-year-old widow at the time of her accusation in 1679. She had lived her life in this region, having been married to James Wilson. As was common during this period, the charges against her were broad and severe, including accusations of witchcraft, sorcery, necromancy, and the more spiritually ominous allegations of renouncing baptism and giving herself over to the Devil in body and soul.
The trial took place on September 8, 1679, at the circuit court in Edinburgh. Isobell was tried alongside G. Penman and several others from Crichton, all implicated in similar charges. The legal documentations, specifically the Edinburgh Porteous Roll from July 1683, mention their indictment as a group under these accusations. Despite the severity of such charges, which were routine across Scotland during this era, a marginal note in the trial records hints at an uncommon outcome: noted simply as "all absent and resited," suggesting that Isobell and her co-accused may have evaded participation in the proceedings, either by deliberate absence or resistance.
This case reflects the climate of fear and suspicion prevalent in Scotland's early modern period, where accusations of witchcraft could readily lead to judicial prosecution. The fact that Isobell's name appears in subsequent records indicates the persistence of her case in legal memory, while details about her absence highlight the complex interplay of fear, belief, and the pursuit of justice that characterized this dark chapter in history.