In the cold December of 1626, Margaret Turnour, a resident of Tulliowne in Aberdeen, finds herself caught in the unsettling web of accusations that marked the Scottish witch trials. As records from that wintry day reveal, Margaret was married, suggesting she had familial ties within the small community. The specifics of what led to her accusation remain shrouded in the opaque shadows of history, yet her involvement in the community would have placed her squarely in the local consciousness—perhaps explaining how suspicion came to rest upon her.
During this period, Aberdeen was no stranger to the fervour surrounding witchcraft, which swept across Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. The gravity of being accused in such a trial was immense; it was a time rife with fear and superstition. The local courts, driven by a blend of religious zeal and communal pressure, often sought to root out perceived practitioners of malevolent magic. Margaret's case, identified in the historical archives as case number C/LA/2658, and further detailed under trial record T/LA/466, was just one in a series of such inquiries during this tumultuous time.
Though specific details of her trial proceedings do not survive in these brief entries, the historical context allows us to understand the serious nature of her circumstances. Accusations of witchcraft could stem from neighbourly disputes, unexplained misfortunes, or deviations from the strict social norms of the day. In a society where the unseen was as feared as the visible, Margaret Turnour's trial marked a crucial point in her life and in the community of Tulliowne, reflecting the ever-present anxieties of early modern Scotland.