In the mid-17th century, amidst the turbulent backdrop of Scotland's witch trials, Sara Leonard of Borthwick near Edinburgh found herself the subject of grave and perilous accusations. At the age of 45, she became the focus of a presbytery who alleged that she had been practicing witchcraft for the past two decades. This claim suggests that whispers of her supposed involvement in the occult had lingered among her community for a significant portion of her adult life, though the specific elements of her alleged witchcraft remain unrecorded.
The historical documentation from October 11, 1649, categorizes Sara’s case under the formal proceedings of the time. However, the case records (C/JO/2809) and subsequent trial notes (T/JO/365) lack explicit details regarding whether Sara Leonard was ever apprehended or subjected to a formal trial by the authorities. Given the absence of further documentation, it remains uncertain whether Sara faced the fate of many similarly accused individuals or if the allegations dissipated over time. Her story, clouded by the shadows of hearsay and scant records, remains emblematic of the era's pervasive fear and the precarious lives of those branded as witches in early modern Scotland.