Issobell Gotterson, a married woman residing in Lauder, Berwick, found herself at the unsettling focal point of witchcraft accusations on the 16th of September, 1679. In a time when Scotland was gripped by fear and an intense search for the deviant and supernatural, Issobell's name appeared before the circuit court at Berwick. The records inform us that she was labeled a "delinquent," a term that suggests she was among those suspected of witchcraft, a grave and perilous accusation in the late seventeenth century.
The outcomes of these witchcraft trials were often fraught with anxiety, as such charges could carry dire repercussions including, in extreme cases, execution. Issobell's trial notes include a poignant and perhaps foreboding annotation—beside her name on the delinquents' porteous roll, a record of those accused, the word "dead" is marked. This notation indicates that by the time of her trial, or shortly thereafter, Issobell was no longer alive, but the specific circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear in the available records. This brief glimpse into Issobell Gotterson's life and fate reflects the harrowing reality for many who, like her, were swept up in the web of suspicion and consequence that characterized the era of the Scottish witch trials.