In the closing years of the 17th century, Elspeth Tarbat found herself embroiled in the turbulent sweep of witch trials that had yet to relinquish their hold over Scotland. Residing in Newark, Kilmacolm, which during this period was united with Port Glasgow under the parish of Kilmacolm in Renfrew, Elspeth’s life seemed otherwise ordinary for a woman of her time. She was married to a shoemaker, placing her within the middling ranks of society—neither impoverished nor particularly affluent.
The case against Elspeth traces back to a series of events in 1699 that appears to have stemmed from incidents involving unexplained fits and denunciations witnessed by several locals in Paisley. These occurrences, which must have struck fear and suspicion into the hearts of her contemporaries, led to a series of witness testimonies being recorded in April of that year, marking the onset of a legal shadow over Elspeth. Her trial, originally set to commence in Glasgow in May 1699, was postponed and seemingly forgotten until it resurfaced in the courts of Edinburgh nearly a year later.
On 12 March 1700, Elspeth Tarbat stood trial in Edinburgh. Despite the previous accumulation of witness statements and the painstakingly detailed accusations encapsulated in a dittay, the high court ultimately chose to release her. The desertion of her diet suggests that whether through lack of evidence, changes in perception, or procedural reasons, the case was not pursued to its potentially dire conclusions. Thus, Elspeth returned to her life in Kilmacolm, her encounter with the courts serving as a reminder of the perilous intersection of ordinary life and extraordinary allegations during this volatile chapter in Scottish history.