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 shaped the witch trials in New England. The hosts highlight the influence of English Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins' methods on American trials and the impact of European literature, such as Cotton Mather's accounts and the Swedish witch trials, on shaping the symptoms and confessions during the Salem witch trials. The episode underscores the role of global exchange in the development of witch hunts in America.

The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel

⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub

Salem Witch Trials Daily Course Week 5: The Framework of Death

⁠The Thing About Salem

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts

⁠Emerson W. Baker, A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience

⁠Bernard Rosenthal, ed., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt

⁠Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege

Mary Beth Norton, In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692