In the mid-17th century, the town of Dumfries found itself gripped by the fervor of witchcraft accusations, and Jannet Corsan was among those who fell under such perilous scrutiny. Jannet, a married woman of middling socioeconomic standing, lived with her husband on a croft—a small farmstead where they cultivated wheat and tended to their livestock, including a swine. The possession of such resources hints at a life marked by hard work and the modest returns it provided. However, it is these very means that allowed her the scant opportunity to attempt bribery, a desperate measure to gain favor from her jailor when she found herself accused of witchcraft in early April 1659.
The trial of Jannet Corsan was convened in Dumfries on April 4, 1659. Despite her plea of innocence, the court rendered a guilty verdict the following day in the case labeled C/EGD/793. Her trial, documented under T/LA/1146, aligned with the harsh and unforgiving justice system of the time, culminating in a sentence of execution. Jannet's punishment was to be carried out through strangulation followed by burning, a grim ritual reflective of the severe retribution exacted upon those convicted of witchcraft. During this turbulent period, Jannet was implicated by others facing similar fates, such as Jonet Miller and Grissell McCairtnay, who named her as an accomplice in their own trials. This web of mutual accusations underscored the chaotic nature of the witch trials, where suspicion and fear fueled narratives that ultimately led to Jannet's tragic demise.