From Interrogation of Susannah Martin
Susannah Martin pleaded Not Guilty to the indictment of witchcraft brought in against her. The evidence of many persons very sensibly and grievously bewitched was produced The cast of Martin's eye struck people to the ground, whether they saw that cast or not. These were among the passages between the Magistrates and the Accused MAGISTRATE Pray, what ails these people MAGISTRATE But what do you think ails them MARTIN I don't desire to spend my judgement upon it. MAGISTRATE Don't you think they...
Things to remember while reading The Apology of Ann Putnam Jr
Ann Putnam, Sr. Ann Putnam, Jr.'s mother believed in the occult, and convinced Ann at an early age that there was an evil, hidden world of demons, devils, and witches. Ann Putnam, Jr. had accused many people of practicing witchcraft eventually some were executed. Ann Putnam, Sr. also played a principle part in accusing people of witchcraft. Historians have concluded that one of the motivating factors of the trials was the boundary dispute the Putnams had been waging with their neighbors for...
NeoPaganism recognized as religion
By the 1970s numerous covens and spiritual groups were independently reviving rituals and beliefs based on ancient documents or rein-terpretations of myths. Many Neo-Paganists called themselves Wiccans. In 1975 the Covenant of the Goddess CoG was formed to incorporate hundreds of separate Wiccan covens and was officially recognized as a church in the United States. The CoG is the largest Wiccan organization, representing a variety of belief systems and practices. Its acceptance by official...
The Apology of Samuel Sewall
Samuel Sewall, sensible of the reiterated strokes of God upon himself and his family and being sensible, that as to the guilt contracted, upon the opening of the late Commission of Oyer and Ter- Samuel Sewall regretted having ordered the executions of hardworking, good people such as Giles Corey. Reproduced by permission of Culver Pictures, Inc. court that conducted the witchcraft trials sovereignty supreme rule or excellence or an example of it vouchsafe to grant as a privilege or special...
Primary Sources
Heinrich Kramer and Jakob Sprenger Excerpts from Malleus Maleficarum Hammer of Witches, 1486 Increase Mather Excerpt from Remarkable Providences 1684 witch hysteria in the colonies 99 Cotton Mather and Ezekial Cheever The Salem Trials Interrogation of Susannah Martin who was later executed as a witch 105 Rebecca Nurse Examination of Rebecca Nurse 1691-92 testimony of a prominent community member who was later executed as a witch 109 Ann Putnam, Sr. The Testimony of Ann Putnam, Sr. against...
Ann Putnam Jr
The Apology of Ann Putnam, Jr. 1706 Reprinted in A Delusion of Satan The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials in 1995 Written by Frances Hill Many of the young girls who made accusations in the Salem witch trials apparently moved away from Salem when they became adults. Records do not indicate, however, what happened to Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Hubbard, Susannah Sheldon, or Mary Warren. The most detailed story found by historians is that of Ann Putnam, Jr. see biography entry , who stayed in...
Carl L Weschke
The Principles of Wiccan Belief Reprinted in Drawing Down the Moon in 1979 Written by Margot Adler Neo-Paganism is a term applied to a number of related movements that have attempted to revive ancient polytheistic belief in more than one god religions of Europe and the Middle East during the twentieth century. This term is customarily used in place of such words as pagan and witch because of negative associations with the witch-hunts that took place during the Middle Ages in Europe and during...
The Apology of Ann Putnam Jr
I desire to be humbled before God for that sad and humbling providence that befell my father's family in the year about '92 that I, then being in my childhood, should, by such a providence of God, be made an instrument for the accusing of several persons of a grievous crime, whereby their lives were taken away from them, whom now I have just grounds and good reason to believe they were innocent persons and that it was a great delusion of Satan that deceived me in that sad time, whereby I justly...
Things to remember while reading The Deposition of Thomas Knowlton
At this time in history it was very difficult for women to own property. It had to be left to them by their husbands when they died, and even then the government often found ways of taking the property away and giving it to some male relative. Rachel Clinton was said to have been seen flying around the village at night with her familiar. Reproduced by permission of the Gamma Liaison Network. For women of this time, it was often the case that one would be declared incompetent unable to manage...
Ann Putnam Sr
The Testimony of Ann Putnam, Sr. against Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse 1692 Reprinted in Major Problems in American Colonial History in 1993 Edited by Karen O. Kupperman As the New England winter tightened its icy grip, February 1692 drew to a close in Salem, Massachusetts. Two more girls Elizabeth Hubbard and Ann Putnam, Jr. joined Elizabeth Betty Parris and Abigail Williams in having fits and seeing visions. At the time of her bewitchment, Ann Putnam, Jr. was only twelve years old see her...
What happened next
The Malleus Maleficarum went on to be used as the definitive handbook for the identification and punishment of witches well into the nineteenth century. It was used as a guiding force for religious writers, and for many of the courts trying to condemn accused witches not only for witchcraft but for heresy. The Malleus Maleficarum was also used as a manual for witch-hunters such as Matthew Hopkins, who was famous for his witch-hunting tactics, and the number of witches he had captured.
Cotton Mather and Ezekiel Cheever
The Salem Trials Interrogation of Susannah Martin Reprinted in Eyewitness to America in 1997 Edited by David Colbert Cotton Mather, a Boston minister and a strong supporter of witch-hunts, and Ezekial Cheever, a court clerk, wrote an account of the Salem trials of 1692-93. The following excerpt shows a typical exchange, in this case between a magistrate judge here unnamed and an accused witch, Susannah Martin. Mather and Cheever supposedly provided a report on the Salem trials, yet Mather in...
Rachel Clinton
Born c. 1629 Suffolk County, England Died c. 1695 Ipswich, Massachusetts Homemaker, care giver, and accused witch Rachel Clinton was one of many people accused in the New England witch-hunts who regained her freedom in 1693 after a court-ordered reprieve. Her story shows how a formerly wealthy and respected citizen could be reduced to poverty after being wrongly accused of practicing witchcraft. It also one of the few documented accounts of witch-hunts elsewhere in Massachusetts prior to the...
Calef blasts bigots
A few participants in the Salem story tried to explain the events in full-length books. For instance, in 1696 John Hale This wax statue is supposed to represent the torture and ridicule of a witch waiting for execution. Reproduced by permission of Corbis Corporation Bellevue . This wax statue is supposed to represent the torture and ridicule of a witch waiting for execution. Reproduced by permission of Corbis Corporation Bellevue . wrote A Modest Inquiry, in which he contended that the witches...