Marion McNab, residing in the parish of Lecropt in Stirling, found herself enmeshed in the turbulent witch trials of Scotland, indicative of the era's intense religiosity and societal fears surrounding witchcraft. On September 18, 1590, Marion was brought to trial with accusations of witchcraft, a common issue faced by many women during this period. The case, recorded in Stirling's presbytery records despite Lecropt's jurisdiction falling under the Dunblane presbytery, reflects the often overlapping and sometimes chaotic nature of record-keeping during the witch craze. It is critical to note that this Marion McNab is distinct from another individual of the same name implicated in witchcraft accusations in Stirling in 1649, as differences in case dates suggest they are not the same person.
The available records from Marion's trial notably include a confession, a pivotal component in many witchcraft cases of the time. Such confessions were typically obtained through intense interrogation and, at times, torture, reflecting the legal procedures and beliefs that underscored trials of this kind in the late sixteenth century. The specifics of Marion’s confession are not detailed in the surviving records, but its mere existence marks a crucial element of the prosecution's evidence against her. Her case provides insight into how communities in Scotland at the time often dealt with perceived threats to the religious and social order, with the figure of the "witch" serving as a focal point of these anxieties.