Katherine Hill, a resident of Dalmeny in the historical county of Linlithgow, found herself at the centre of accusations that would thrust her into the judicial maelstrom of early modern Scottish witch trials. On the 20th of July, 1615, a formal record notes her case, marking perhaps a culmination of local suspicions and fears. During this period, the village of Queensferry, which would later become its own parish in 1635, was under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Dalmeny, indicating the regional authority overseeing Katherine's fate.
By the 21st of July, a trial was convened in Linlithgow, a signal of the gravity with which such accusations were treated. The records reveal an organized effort by the presbytery to marshal the ecclesiastical brethren, underscoring the community's collective scrutiny and the church's role in adjudicating cases of witchcraft. This summons of clerical attendees reflects the religious and social imperatives interwoven with the legal proceedings of the time. Katherine's trial was more than just an individual inquiry; it was a public discourse on morality, control, and perceived supernatural influence in a community grappling with uncertainties of the early 17th century.