The Thing About the Salem Witch Trials

In this episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, we discuss the practice of folk magic in Colonial America. They discuss how accusers and neighbors in Salem employed so-called countermagic, such as witch bottles, concealed objects, and apotropaic symbols, for protection and future-telling. The infamous witch cake, a pivotal element in the Salem Witch Trials, is also examined. For more insights, viewer...

In this episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack explore whether the witch panic in America was an isolated phenomenon or influenced by external factors. They discuss how the early American colonies, despite appearing isolated, were highly connected to Europe through transatlantic communication. This exchange included books, pamphlets, and letters that profoundly s...

This episode of 'Salem Witch Trials Daily' delves into the life and tragic fate of Sarah Good, one of the first accused witches in Salem Village. Hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack explore Sarah Good's troubled life, including her early family tragedies, poverty, and the harsh Puritan mindset that branded her a witch. The episode details the accusations against her, the severe examin...

In this episode of 'Salem Witch Trials Daily,' hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack delve into the unique role animals played in the Salem Witch Trials. They explore instances of livestock being bewitched, animals as manifestations of the devil, and the spectral creatures that haunted the courtroom testimonies. From Elizabeth Howe's bewitched mare to Dorothy Good's snake familiar,...

What's in This Episode: The Court of Oyer and Terminer operated for less than five months in 1692, but the nine judges who sat on that bench sentenced nineteen people to death by hanging and allowed another man to be pressed to death under stones. This episode goes judge by judge, revealing the real men who wielded power without accountability during the Salem witch trials. What You'll Lea...

In this episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack delve into the significant role of the afflicted persons during the Salem Witch Trials. They reveal that 73 individuals, not just a handful of girls, claimed affliction, including adults like Ann Putnam Sr. and John Indian. The episode traces the origins and evolution of the afflictions, from earlier witchcraft cases...

In this episode of 'Salem Witch Trials Daily,' hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack explore the mundane disputes that escalated into deadly witchcraft accusations during the Salem Witch Trials. They discuss key examples, such as Martha Carrier's land dispute with Benjamin Abbott, Sarah Good's muttered curses, Susannah Martin's confrontation over oxen, Margaret Scott's harve...

This episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, hosted by Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack, explores the Massachusetts Body of Liberties, New England's first legal code compiled in 1641 by Nathaniel Ward. The document introduced rights that resemble those in today's U.S. Bill of Rights but also reflected the Puritanical norms of its time by prohibiting practices like witchcraft. It laid out rights...

On January 28, 1692, Salem Village voted to present a petition for independence. This episode delves into the history of Salem, established in 1626, and its geographical expansion. Key figures like Nathaniel Putnam, John Putnam, Francis Nurse, and others played crucial roles. The script also examines the evolution of land ownership and the establishment of Salem Farms. By the late 1660s, farmers s...

This episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily , hosted by Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack, explores the life of George Burroughs, a former Salem Village minister accused and executed for witchcraft in 1692. Born in Virginia around 1653, Burroughs faced multiple attacks by French and Wabanaki forces throughout his life and survived each one. He held various ministerial positions in Maine before moving to...

In this episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack delve into the life and career of William Stoughton, the Chief Justice of the Salem Witch Trial courts. They outline his early life, education, and various roles in government and judiciary from his beginnings in England to his significant positions in Massachusetts, including his controversial involvement in the Sal...

Today, we examine the life of William Phips. Born in 1651 in Maine, Phips learned to read at 21 and made his fortune diving for Spanish treasure. His efforts led to his appointment as Massachusetts Bay's first royal governor in 1692. However, his governorship became infamous due to his involvement in the Salem Witch Trials, where 20 people were executed. The episode covers his creation of the...

The Salem Witch Trials became a publishing phenomenon before they even ended. Discover how writers raced to document the crisis in real time, defying colony-wide publication bans to get their accounts into print. This episode explores the groundbreaking early writings about Salem, from Minister Deodat Lawson's eyewitness account published just two weeks after his 1692 visit to Salem Village, t...

Learn about the first publications printed about the Salem Witch Trials in this episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily . Hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack delve into the rich and complex narrative of the 1692 witch trials through an analysis of primary documents. They discuss how early accounts like Reverend Deodat Lawson's 'A Brief and True Narrative' fueled the panic, while later wri...

In this episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack explore the origins and use of so-called 'witch marks' as evidence in the Salem Witch Trials. The episode delves into Tituba's testimony about being tormented by supernatural beings, the examination of women like Rebecca Nurse and Elizabeth Proctor for supposed witch marks, and the role of English legal g...

In this episode of 'Salem Witch Trials Daily,' we look into witch trials across North America, covering various colonial regions, including New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and New Mexico. We highlight key cases, like the executions of French Jesuit missionaries in New York, the trial of Grace Sherwood in Virginia, and the legal proceedings against Indigenous women in New Mexico...

Today on Salem Witch Trials Daily , we examine witch trials in England and New England before the Salem Witch Trials, as we look into the origins and impacts of witchcraft beliefs and trials in colonial America, tracing their roots back to England. With insights from experts and historical researchers, the episode explores how English legal frameworks, notably the Witchcraft Acts of 1563 and 1604,...

In today’s Salem Witch Trials Daily, we continue our discussion of European Witch Trials. How were these witch trials conducted, and how did the age of witch-hunting in Europe ever end after 350 years of mass violence? The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel ⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub ⁠Week 2 Course Work ⁠The Thing About Salem ⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts Wolfgang Behringer, W...

To provide context for the Salem Witch Trials, we look into the age of witch-hunting in Europe, from its origins through its conclusion. Why were tens of thousands accused of witchcraft between 1400 and 1750?  We present the broader historical context of witch trials outside Salem, trace its origins from ancient fears of harmful magic, through medieval skepticism, leading to the 15th-century trans...

On yesterday's Salem Witch Trials Daily, we began our discussion of the forms of evidence admitted in court during the witch-hunt. Today, we turn from testimony to material evidence. Though none of the items brought into court or discussed in testimony actually proved that anybody harmed others through magic, many different types of objects were used against suspects. In addition, several test...

Description: What kind of world produces a witch trial? The same world where Newton's physics coexists with spectral evidence. Where a ship captain faces witchcraft charges because he couldn't save a town from military raid. Where an opera about fairies premieres the same day a minister is arrested for consorting with the devil. 1692 reveals a world caught between eras. The Scientific Revo...

During the Salem Witch Trials, several forms of evidence were presented in court, but chief among these was witness testimony. In today’s Salem Witch Trials Daily , we look at what people were testifying about. ⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub ⁠Week 2 Course Work ⁠ The Thing About Salem ⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel ⁠People Accused of Witchcraf...

What made the afflicted people of the Salem Witch Trials behave strangely? What caused the painful sensations they said they felt? Medical theories of the afflictions date back to the trials themselves. From the get-go, physicians were consulted. Unfortunately, they were unable to make a clinical diagnosis, and one finally said Betty Parris and Abigail Williams were “under an evil hand.” Newer the...

Today, we talk about the events of January 15, 1692 and discuss the afflictions of Rev. Samuel Parris' daughter and niece, which are quite like the afflictions suffered 4 years earlier by the children of John Goodwin in Boston. Why were the symptoms so much alike? Was a way of responding to suspected bewitchment embedded in the minds of Massachusetts residents? Links ⁠ Salem Witch Trials Daily...

The Mather family of ministers was highly influential in New England. Beginning with the first immigrant of the line, Richard Mather, we share biographical details about the 3 key generations of this ministerial dynasty. Richard Mather helped shape Puritan policy in New England. His son, Increase, shaped religious thought and politics. Finally, Cotton Mather helped to shape the Salem Witch Trials....