The Thing About the Salem Witch Trials

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...

The Witch Cake That Sparked Salem’s PanicWe revisit the crisis in Reverend Samuel Parris’s Salem Village household in February 1692, when his daughter Betty and niece Abigail Williams suffered violent fits and a doctor declared they were under an “evil hand.” With no natural cure, neighbor Mary Sibley intervened while the Parrises were away, directing Tituba and John Indian to make a traditional w...

We introduce the early events that sparked the Salem witch trials, focusing on January and February 1692 in Reverend Samuel Parris’s Salem Village household. Parris’s 9-year-old daughter Betty and 11-year-old niece Abigail began exhibiting alarming, inexplicable behaviors and violent physical afflictions. The family tried prayer, fasting, and medical treatment without relief, and around February 2...

Before Salem: Boston’s Forgotten Witchcraft Victims and the Push for Exoneration We open with a 1692 London story involving Increase and Samuel Mather and a warning that supposed ghosts could be devils deceiving the grieving. Then we share an update on Massachusetts bill H.1927 to exonerate people accused of witchcraft in Boston and elsewhere: it has been favorably reported out of the Judiciary Co...

Eight Survival Strategies in the Salem Witch Trials We look at how accused people tried to stay alive during the 1692 Salem witch panic, when witchcraft convictions often led to the gallows. We outline eight strategies that were used to delay or avoid execution—ranging from confession and pregnancy to seeking spiritual reprieves, accusing others, presenting as afflicted, and leaning on petitions a...

The Putnam Family's Role in the Salem Witch Trials No family is more associated with the Salem Witch Trials than the Putnams. And for good reason. One man in this family filed complaints against 35 people. His wife, his daughter, and their maid were all among the afflicted. The depositions, the courtroom drama, the relentless momentum of accusation after accusation. The Putnams were not bystan...

We look back to May 1690, two years before the Salem witch trials, to examine the fall of Falmouth and Fort Loyal and how it helped fuel an atmosphere of fear in New England. We trace Boston’s wartime strategy in King William’s War, including plans for offensives against Port Royal and Montreal, and the council’s tendency to blame frontier settlers for raids. We follow John Hathorne and Jonathan C...

We discuss how Maine, then part of Massachusetts, was a war-torn frontier during the years surrounding the Salem Witch Trials and show that refugee movements, fear, and trauma from frontier conflict contributed to the Salem panic. The hosts focus on Salem figures connected to Falmouth (now Portland), including minister George Burroughs, afflicted witness Mercy Lewis, and confessor Abigail Hobbs, e...

This episode explores an often-overlooked driver of the 1692 Salem witch trials: the fear and instability radiating from the Maine and New Hampshire frontier. Against the backdrop of war, raids, refugees, and political turmoil, the hosts trace how frontier experiences and beliefs seeped into Essex County and helped intensify the witch-hunt—connecting key Salem figures to events and accusations roo...

We recount John Proctor’s role in the Salem witch trials, from his defense of his wife Elizabeth after she was accused in 1692 to his own arrest and conviction. We describe his criticism of the proceedings, petitions arguing the trials were unfair, and his execution on August 19, 1692 after being denied a final prayer because he would not falsely confess. Elizabeth survived due to pregnancy, later...

The episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily profiles the influential Putnam family of Salem Village and their mixed roles during the 1692 witchcraft crisis. It traces the family’s origins and three main branches, highlighting that some Putnams were major accusers while others supported the accused, including signing a petition for Rebecca Nurse. The hosts also note a prominent Putnam opponent of the t...

We discuss colonial physicians in the Salem area and their role in shifting unexplained illness from a medical issue to a spiritual and legal crisis. On February 16, 1692, physician William Griggs Sr. bought a home and land in Salem Village for 71 pounds, where he lived with his wife and his niece Elizabeth Hubbard, who became afflicted on February 25. Griggs is widely believed to have diagnosed B...

Martha Carrier was dubbed the “Queen in Hell.” We trace how her 1692 witchcraft case expanded into a royal family saga. The episode outlines her arrest, trial, and execution, then follows the accusations and confessions that swept through multiple connected relatives and in-laws in the Allen, Ingalls, Toothaker, Carrier, Dane, and Johnson branches, showing how family ties and reputation intensifie...

History remembers Tituba—but she wasn’t the only enslaved woman caught in Salem’s 1692 witch hunt. Meet Candy of Barbados, whose courtroom testimony turned Puritan assumptions upside down. When magistrates asked if she was a witch, Candy gave an answer that indicted the entire colony: “Candy no witch, Barbados. This country, mistress give Candy witch.” Then she brought cheese and grass into the co...

We trace Reverend Samuel Parris’s sermons from late 1691 through 1692 to show how his preaching shifted from general theology to targeted rhetoric during the Salem witch trials. Beginning November 22, 1691, amid village disputes over his salary and firewood, Parris preaches on Psalm 110:1 about enemies. On January 3, 1692, he intensifies his message, calling even the elect “children of wrath,” war...

We examine the unwavering defiance of many individuals accused of witchcraft in 1692, looking into the stories of Rebecca Nurse, George Jacobs Sr., Susannah Martin, John Willard, and more, who refused to confess despite immense pressure and the threat of execution. Additionally, we discuss those who did confess, like Samuel Wardwell, and examine the physical and psychological pressures faced by th...

We examine the critical role of geography in the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. They discuss the stark contrasts between Salem Town and Salem Village, the widespread nature of the accusations, and the influence of the broader region, including the impact of the Frontier War in Maine and the significant number of accusations in Andover. They also debunk common misconceptions about the accusers' proxi...

In this episode, we explain the criteria set by English Puritan theologian William Perkins for identifying witches, as detailed in his book 'A Discourse of the Damned Art of Witchcraft.' The discussion includes the seven grounds for examining alleged witches, such as public defamation and association with other witches, and the insufficiency of various olden-day practices like the swimming...

We investigate the lives of the afflicted persons during the Salem Witch Trials, focusing on their roles as servants and their marriage prospects. The episode delves into the stories of key figures Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Hubbard, Mary Warren, Mercy Lewis, Sarah Churchill, Elizabeth Parris, Ann Putnam Jr., Mary Walcott, Susannah Sheldon, and Daniel Wilkins. Listeners will learn about the diver...

We look into the lesser-known yet significantly impacted town of Andover during the 1692 witch-hunt. Despite common assumptions of a rift due to its two ministers, Francis Dane and Thomas Barnard, historical research by Richard Hite reveals that Andover's massive outbreak of accusations was not driven by ministerial factions. The episode examines the geographical distribution of the accused an...

On February 8th, 1692, news of a new Massachusetts charter heightened fears of losing colonial independence. As hosts of Salem Witch Trials Daily, we're deeply connected to this history. We, are descendants of Mary Esty and Rebecca Nurse. Today, we delve into the heart-wrenching stories of the Towne sisters—Rebecca Nurse, Mary Esty, and Sarah Cloyce—our own ancestors who faced unimaginable tri...

Episode Description This episode examines the story of Mary Black, an enslaved woman accused of witchcraft in April 1692, and the complex household she lived in. Mary Black was owned by Nathaniel Putnam, a politically active Salem Village leader who opposed Reverend Parris before the trials began and later defended Rebecca Nurse—yet left no documented advocacy for the enslaved woman in his own hou...

Dorothy Good, the youngest Salem Witch Trials victim, was arrested at the age of four or five and imprisoned for nearly nine months in 1692. Though she survived, the trauma from her incarceration had lasting impacts. Research by Rachel Christ-Doane indicates that Dorothy's life was marked by instability, financial hardship, and abandonment. She lived a transient life, moving between households...

In this episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, we explore the significant connection between the Swedish witch panic of the late 1660s and the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. We discuss the vivid details of Swedish witchcraft, including the account of Blockula and the meetings with the devil, and how these stories influenced the spectral testimonies in Salem. We highlight the role of Reverend Cotton Mat...

In this episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, we talk about the primary source documents that form the backbone of our understanding of the Salem Witch Trials. They highlight the monumental work behind the 'Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt,' published in 2009, which involved 12 scholars over a decade to compile. Despite the loss of official court records, 980 surviving documents provide a ta...