Salem Witch Trials Daily

June 7, 1692: Job Tookey’s Second Examination and John Allen’s Deposition Against Susannah MartinWe’re back with Salem Witch Trials Daily as we drop into Tuesday, June 7, 1692, where Job Tookey endures a second examination marked by the afflicted collapsing at his gaze and the touch test seemingly “working” once he touches their hands and wrists. Mary Warren, Susannah Sheldon, Elizabeth Booth Jr., and Mary Walcott escalate the spectacle with claims of poppets, pins, and a courtroom filled with ghosts in winding sheets—naming Gamaliel Hawkins, Andrew Woodbury, Trask’s child, and others crying for vengeance. Meanwhile, Magistrate Robert Pike records John Allen’s deposition against Susannah Martin, centering on an old dispute over hauling staves and a chilling aftermath: oxen said to run “diabolically” into the sea, leaving 13 lost.

June 6, 1692: Mary Ireson and Ann Dolliver Questioned at Beadle’s TavernWe head to Salem on Monday, June 6, 1692, where justices Bartholomew Gedney, John Hathorne, and Jonathan Corwin interrogate two accused women at Thomas Beadle’s tavern, guided by records kept by Simon Willard—who had also testified that George Burroughs possessed devil-given, preternatural strength. Mary Ireson faces the classic “touch test,” claims of spectral torment, and accusations of the devil’s book, while being urged to confess. The day escalates with a warrant for Ann Higginson Dolliver, the deserted daughter of Rev. John Higginson Sr., whose own brother refuses to sign. We follow accusations of poppets, nocturnal wanderings, dead-child vengeance, and courtroom claims that the devil stands present—an intense window into Salem Witch Trials examinations, afflicted girls’ testimony, and witchcraft evidence.00:00 Daily Introduction00:13 Willard Against Burroughs01:07 Mary Ireson Examined02:05 Devil In The Courtroom02:54 Ann Dolliver Arrested04:09 Ann Faces Accusers04:52 Poppets And Touch Test05:43 Devil Appears Again

Cotton Mather’s “Good Men Described” and a Quiet Day in SalemWe take you to June 5, 1692, a rare calm Sunday in Salem: the Court of Oyer and Terminer is not in session, and there are no reported afflictions from witch specters. Our focus shifts to Boston, where Governor Phips attends services at the North Church and Cotton Mather delivers his sermon “Good Men Described,” warning that people might sell their souls for “money or frolic” and equating rebellion with the sin of witchcraft. We connect Mather’s call to aspire to sainthood, imitate angels, and resist “following a multitude in the doing of evil” to the growing momentum of accusations during the Salem Witch Trials.00:00 Quiet Sunday in Salem00:18 Salem Witch Trials Daily Intro00:23 Cotton Mather Sermon in Boston00:42 Warning Against Following the Crowd

June 4, 1692: Mary Ireson Arrest Warrant and Job Tookey ExaminedWe track the Salem Witch Trials on Saturday, June 4, 1692, as magistrates John Hathorne, Jonathan Corwin, and Bartholomew Gedney record accusations against Mary Ireson of Lynn for allegedly afflicting multiple Salem Village girls, leading to a warrant for her arrest and delivery to Thomas Beadle’s tavern. We follow constable Henry Collins as he takes Ireson into custody, and we also examine witness accounts tying Mary Warren’s fits to claims about the devil’s book and threats attributed to Mary Toothaker and Ireson. Our timeline then moves to Beverly with the examination of Job Tookey, reconstructed through testimony from afflicted witnesses and neighbors who allege he boasted of raising the devil, admitted to murder, and sought a leading role among witches—claims that trigger further reported afflictions and corroborating statements.00:00 Daily Introduction00:13 Warrant for Mary Ireson01:04 Mary Warren Fit Testimony01:52 Job Tookey Examined02:52 More Witness Statements03:23 Devil Talk and Ringleader Claim03:43 Afflicted Response and Wrap Up

Grand Jury Indicts Rebecca Nurse and John Willard | Salem Witch Trials Daily (June 3, 1692)We head inside the Salem Court of Oyer and Terminer on June 3, 1692, as the grand jury—led again by foreman John Ruck—hears spectral testimony and older depositions against Rebecca Nurse and John Willard, with no physical evidence presented. Our focus is the turning point as Nurse is charged on four counts for allegedly afflicting Ann Putnam Jr., Mary Walcott, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Abigail Williams, while a handful of witnesses speak up for her before the jury returns billa vera on every count. Then the pressure shifts to Willard: accusations from multiple afflicted, “touch test” and Lord’s Prayer claims, and links to the Wilkins family case drive indictments on several affliction charges, with one count rejected. We also track surprising defense testimony for Elizabeth How, new spectral allegations against John Procter, and fresh arrests of Elizabeth Fosdick and Elizabeth Paine.00:00 Grand Jury Opens01:16 Rebecca Nurse Accusations04:49 Defense for Nurse05:54 Nurse Indicted06:27 Willard Evidence List09:17 Willard Folk Tests11:26 Willard Indictments12:22 Ministers Defend How13:44 More Arrests Reports

Bridget Bishop on Trial: The Court of Oyer and Terminer Opens in Salem (June 2, 1692)The new Court of Oyer and Terminer opens at the Salem Town House as we follow Bridget Bishop through the first full force of Salem Witch Trials justice—oaths sworn by William Stoughton, Thomas Newton, and Stephen Sewall, preliminary actions in other accused witches’ cases, and a startling jailhouse body search for “witches’ teats” on Bridget Bishop, Rebecca Nurse, and Elizabeth Procter. We trace Bishop’s arraignment and five-count indictment for afflicting Mercy Lewis, Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Hubbard, Ann Putnam Jr., and likely Mary Walcott, then move into vivid witness claims: spectral attacks, poppets, a cursed pig, and a bizarre “monkey” creature offer drawn from demonology-fueled fear. The day ends with a guilty verdict and a second search where marks seem to vanish—raising sharp questions about evidence, credibility, and the machinery of the Salem witchcraft trials.00:00 Bridget Bishop On Trial00:31 Court Convenes First Time01:45 Jailhouse Body Searches03:26 Indictments And Arraignment05:34 Witness Stories Begin06:03 Louder And The Creature08:09 Shattuck Family Accusations09:50 Poppets And Bewitched Sow10:54 More Depositions And Doubts12:01 Guilty Verdict And Reexamination12:42 Rebecca Nurse Petition Wrap Up

June 1, 1692: Spectral “General Meeting,” Perley Testimony vs. Elizabeth How, and Trials on the Brink

Salem is at a breaking point on June 1, 1692, with the Court of Oyer and Terminer about to open and overcrowded Massachusetts jails feeding a steady transfer of witchcraft suspects from Boston to Salem. We follow magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin as they question Abigail and Deliverance Hobbs, while Mary Warren describes a noisy parade of specters—George Burroughs, Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Procter, and others—offering a grisly “sweet bread and wine” feast at Mr. Parris’ house. Tension spikes with detailed testimony from Ruth and Samuel Perley against Elizabeth How, including years of alleged affliction, a child’s death, and strange livestock events. Confessions and counter-accusations collide as Sarah Churchill’s devil’s book claims are challenged as coerced, and jailed defendants push back by calling the accusers fraudulent—while summons go out for witnesses against Rebecca Nurse and John Willard on the eve of the first trials.

00:00 Trials About to Begin

01:21 Hobbs Hearing Specters

03:11 Perley Case Against How

06:09 Confessions And Poppets

07:19 Accusers Called Out

08:46 Jailhouse Pushback

10:13 Summons For Tomorrow

10:54 Wrap Up And Anniversary

May 31, 1692: John Alden Arrested as Salem Witch Trials NearWe’re racing toward the start of the Salem witch trials, and May 31, 1692 explodes with action: John Alden’s shocking arrest, seven examinations in the Salem meetinghouse, and a flood of depositions as the colony braces for court in just two days. We follow surviving records for Alden, Martha Carrier, Elizabeth How, and Wilmot Redd, alongside the missing examinations of Philip English, William Procter, and Sarah Rice—and the possibility that Mary and Margaret Toothaker were also questioned. We also track a powerful Rebecca Nurse petition and two pivotal letters: Cotton Mather’s guidance to Judge John Richards on evidence and confessions, and Attorney General Thomas Newton’s urgent transfer orders for key inmates ahead of June 2. Salem Witch Trials Daily dives into spectral evidence, courtroom chaos, and accusations that spared no one.00:00 Daily Intro00:19 Busy Day Overview01:18 Rebecca Nurse Petition02:17 Cotton Mather Advice03:30 Newton Trial Prep Letter05:06 John Alden Examined07:25 Martha Carrier Examined08:41 How and Redd Exams09:13 Closing and Next Episodes

Spectral Attacks, a Boston Arrest, and the Oyer and Terminer Jury CallWe dive into a chilling cluster of late-May 1692 developments: a tantalizing, barely recorded claim that Elizabeth How’s specter dragged Susannah Shelden to a pond, and the strange death of Captain John How’s sow—followed by countermagic, a numb hand, and lasting pain that pointed suspicion back to Elizabeth. Tension spikes as Philip English, hidden for a month, is seized in Boston and transferred into Essex County custody. We also track fresh accusations that never become warrants and revisit the vivid, decades-old testimonies Samuel Gray and William Stacy used to condemn Bridget Bishop—midnight visitations, vanished figures, sudden mishaps, and fleeting mentions of dead children. Everything races toward the turning point: jurors are ordered, witnesses warned, and the Court of Oyer and Terminer is set to convene in Salem.

00:00 Daily Briefing May 30

00:35 Philip English Arrested

01:08 Mysterious Pig Incident

01:52 Samuel Gray Testimony

03:49 William Stacy Testimony

07:11 Court of Oyer and Terminer

07:44 Trials Begin and Fear

Sunday Arrests and Spectral Attacks: May 29, 1692We drop you into a shocking Sabbath in Salem’s 1692 crisis, when Wilmot Redd, Sarah Rice, and Elizabeth How are seized despite the day’s sacred rules—one arrest made even as the constable’s own mother sits jailed for witchcraft. Tension spikes as Captain John How refuses to escort his own sister-in-law to Salem Village, declaring he won’t be part of a witchcraft charge at any price. Our story races through reports of spectral assaults blamed on members of the Procter family, a sudden turn from stomach pain to fits, a frantic ride home through “devils in the woods,” and troubling contradictions in Elizabeth Hubbard’s account. The accusations widen further with claims against Elizabeth How’s and Rebecca Nurse’s specters.00:00 Welcome and Date00:14 Sunday Arrests00:39 Captain How Refuses00:54 Procter Specter Attack01:22 Ride Home and Devils01:44 Skipping Sabbath Meeting02:02 More Spectral Assaults02:12 Nurse Specter Claim