Salem Witch Trials Daily

A Putnam Family Tragedy and Deaths Misattributed to Witchcraft We share the heartbreaking moment that hit Salem Village on April 13, when Hannah Putnam and John Putnam Jr. lost their infant after calling for a doctor, later describing the baby’s death in a June 29, 1692 joint deposition as “cruel and violent.” We also trace how, amid reports of more than 70 people afflicted during the Salem Witch...

We’re in Salem Village on Thursday, April 14, 1692, where spectral appearances are treated as proof of a diabolical pact. We dig into Mercy Lewis’s September 9 deposition accusing Giles Cory, describing his specter as unnaturally strong, tormenting her, pressuring her to sign the Devil’s book, and beating her nearly to the point of breaking her back—leading her to declare him a “dreadful wizard,”...

Our day begins with Samuel Parris trying to write as Marshal George Herrick arrives to inquire about John Procter, only for the room to erupt in interruptions as John Indian, Abigail Williams, and Mary Walcott repeatedly cry out that Procter is present—seen in the marshal’s lap, on a dog’s back, and alongside Elizabeth Procter and Sarah Cloyce—while fits escalate so violently that several men stru...

We’re back in Salem on Wednesday, April 13, 1692, pulling today’s report straight from sworn testimony and depositions. Abigail Williams’s records place Martha Cory, Elizabeth Procter, and Rebecca Nurse among the specters said to torment her—dragging, pinching, choking, and pressuring her to sign the Devil’s book, with lurid details like Procter nearly pulling her bowels out and Nurse urging her t...

Grievously Tormented: April 11, 1692 and the Procters’ ExaminationWe dive into the raw testimony surrounding April 11, 1692, when accusations against Elizabeth and John Procter—and Sarah Cloyce—ignited a courtroom spectacle of “most grievous” torment. Witnesses and ministers report the afflicted collapsing into trances, choking, biting, pinching, and being pressured to sign the devil’s book, while...

We follow the Salem crisis as it surges from village drama into colony-level spectacle: John Indian reports being bitten and pinched by Sarah Good’s specter, Mercy Lewis wavers after naming Sarah Cloyce, and then the focus snaps to April 11 when the Governor’s Council packs the Salem Town meetinghouse for the examinations of Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Procter. With Danforth and leading assistants...

In this episode, we move beyond the fictionalized drama of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible to uncover the real Elizabeth Procter. Born into a family already shadowed by witchcraft accusations, Elizabeth faced the full weight of the 1692 panic. We trace her journey from a high-profile examination in front of the colony's top officials to her harrowing months in prison. The "Inheritance"...

We track a pivotal shift on Friday, April 8, 1692, when Salem’s usual rush to warrants pauses and the Governor’s Council of Assistants decides to investigate the accusations themselves. After Jonathan Walcott and Nathaniel Ingersoll’s April 4 complaint against Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor sat without action, Salem magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin issue warrants only once the cou...

We revisit April 7, 1692, when Benjamin Gould reportedly experienced another wave of spectral visitations—an account he later shared during the April 11 examinations of Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Procter. We explore the striking list of alleged specters said to appear in his room, including Martha and Giles Cory, Elizabeth and John Procter, Sarah Cloyce, Rebecca Nurse, and the surprising inclusion...

April 6, 1692: Pinches, Apparitions, and Deodat Lawson’s First Published AccountIn this episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, we take you to Wednesday, April 6, 1692, as reports of pinching and spectral torment continue to ripple through Salem Village. We discuss an April 19 deposition in which farmer Benjamin Gould says Martha and Giles Cory appeared at his bedside and he felt two pinches as they...

The latest updates from the Salem Witch Trials. We check in on Salem Village, where a committee purchases land for a future school building, and head to Boston, where former Salem Village minister Deodat Lawson returns home after his stay and finishes writing his account of events, with a pamphlet expected soon. We also report from the Boston Jail, where keeper John Arnold buys two blankets for an...

April 4, 1692We walk through the latest developments in the Salem Witch-Hunt, as new testimony and complaints target recent suspects. We cover a reported spectral attack involving the shape of John Proctor afflicting Abigail Williams, then dig into multiple depositions against Rachel Clinton, including claims of meetinghouse disturbances, strange animal apparitions, a mysterious loss of beer, and...

Did the afflicted girls fake their symptoms? We explore a striking claim from within the crisis itself: that the afflicted may have been “dissembling.” We revisit Sunday, April 3, 1692, when Samuel Parris read aloud a note Mary Warren had posted at the Salem Village meetinghouse, inviting the congregation to offer prayers of gratitude for her deliverance—yet the note’s contents are unknown because...

In today’s Salem Witch Trials Daily, we walk through Saturday, April 2, 1692, focusing on Abigail Williams’ claims that the specters of Elizabeth Procter and Rebecca Nurse repeatedly afflicted her in March and April, including being “grievously pinched” and tempted with fine things to sign the book. We also explore how accusers often listed dates of spectral attacks and why our day-by-day approach...

In our April 1, 1692 episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, we explore how the afflictions continue to mislead people in Salem and nearby communities through the reported testimony of Mercy Lewis. We recount her vivid description of being taken to a “glorious place” filled with light, where she saw a multitude in white robes singing from Revelation 5:9, Psalm 110, and Psalm 149—passages we connect t...

Fast Day in Salem: Prayer, Fasting, and Abigail Williams’ Witch Feast VisionIn this episode, we follow Thursday, March 31, 1692, as Salem observes a Puritan fast day while Abigail Williams reports seeing about 40 witches feasting near the Salem Village parsonage of minister Samuel Parris and claims the specter of Rebecca Nurse attacks her. We explore how Puritans in New England viewed prayer and f...

In this episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, we cover Wednesday, March 30, 1692, when Rachel Clinton—arrested the day before—was slated for examination, though no record of that hearing survives. We focus on three depositions made against her that day: Thomas Burnam Jr. describes watching for a cow-milker he associates with Clinton and claims the figure vanished and later turned into a gray cat; M...

We are happy to introduce Salem Witch Trials Daily , our new podcast that follows the 1692 Salem Witch Trials in real time, day by day, court date by court date, through the documented record. In Salem, Massachusetts, 19 people were executed, one man was pressed to death for refusing trial, and more than a hundred others were accused and imprisoned, leaving a lasting mark on American history. Buil...

In our March 29, 1692 episode, we track escalating turmoil in Salem Village and Ipswich as Elizabeth Proctor’s specter is said to assault Abigail Williams and Mercy Lewis, and Samuel Nurse and John Tarbell address the prior day’s dispute at the Putnam house over who named Rebecca Nurse as Ann Putnam Jr.’s spectral attacker. We also follow the Essex County Court session in Ipswich, where routine ca...

We walk through Monday, March 28, 1692, highlighting a chilling behind-the-scenes look at how accusations formed—and how some family and community members pushed back. We focus on two confrontations: first, John Tarbell investigates who first named Rebecca Nurse at the Putnam household and finds the afflicted and Ann Putnam Sr. shifting blame and contradicting each other. Then, William Rayment and...

We revisit Sunday, March 27, 1692, when Reverend Samuel Parris led Salem Village through two Sabbath services shaped by the recent “dreadful witchcraft” crisis and the public suspicion of alleged witches. We cover how his sermon warned that Christ knows how many devils are in the church, prompting Sarah Cloyce—sister of Rebecca Nurse—to flee the meetinghouse, and we note later claims about what wi...

We revisit Mercy Lewis’s reported afflictions and connect them to later depositions involving Elizabeth Proctor and Martha Cory. We also discuss a pivotal event recorded by former Salem Village minister Deodat Lawson in A Brief and True Narrative, describing how magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin, along with minister John Higginson, examined the youngest witchcraft suspect at the prison...

In this episode, we dig into Friday, March 25, 1692, as tensions surge in Salem Village and beyond. We discuss John Procter’s furious confrontation with Samuel Sibley at Walter Phillips’ Tavern over Mary Warren’s fits and his harsh skepticism toward the afflicted girls. Back in the village, we cover Ann Putnam Jr.’s reported violent spectral assault—attributed to Rebecca Nurse—with witnesses claim...

In our February 26, 1692 episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, we look at the moment the Salem Witch Trials escalated when the first specific accusation of witchcraft was made. We discuss how neighboring ministers and gentlemen visited Samuel Parris at the Salem Village parsonage, witnessed Betty and Abigail’s afflictions, and concluded Satan’s hand was involved while advising caution. We also cove...

In this episode, we revisit Thursday, March 24, 1692, when Salem Village’s packed meetinghouse witnessed chaotic examinations that sent Rebecca Nurse and the very young Dorothy Good toward jail. We follow how accusations and courtroom theatrics escalated under Magistrates Hathorne and Corwin, with Reverend Parris recording the proceedings and the afflicted reacting violently to the accused’s movem...