Janet Boyd, a servant residing in Craigtoun, Govan, was swept into the turbulent undercurrents of a late 17th-century Scottish witch hunt following an accusation from Margaret Murdoch, a local girl whose fits had enraptured the parish with tales of witchcraft. Murdoch, the daughter of Boyd's employer, John Murdoch, identified Janet among others in a series of dramatic announcements, claiming torment at the hands of witches. The accusations were leveled during bouts of convulsions and distress in front of numerous witnesses in Glasgow in April 1699.
As records indicate, Janet's trial proceedings were formally set to occur on May 19, 1699. However, they appear to have been postponed and subsequently transferred to Edinburgh, where the case was revisited on March 12, 1700. Despite the weighty charges, Janet was ultimately released when the diet was deserted, effectively discontinuing the prosecution against her in the high court. The cessation of the trial without any verdict highlights the precarious nature of witchcraft accusations during this period, an era suffused with fear and often bewildering legal proceedings. Janet Boyd's journey through the Scottish legal system serves as a stark reminder of the social forces and individual testimonies that prominently influenced witch trial outcomes in early modern Scotland.