Salem Witch Trials Daily

August 11, 1692: Sarah Carrier Confesses as Abigail Faulkner and Elizabeth Johnson Jr. Face Salem MagistratesOn August 11, 1692, Salem magistrates examined seven-year-old Sarah Carrier, Abigail Faulkner Sr., and Elizabeth Johnson Jr. Sarah Carrier confessed she had been made a witch as a child by her mother, Martha Carrier, after touching a red book, described threats from a speaking cat, and admitted afflicting victims by pinching in her spirit, including Sarah Phelps with help from Elizabeth Johnson Jr. Abigail Faulkner Sr., daughter of Andover minister Francis Dane, denied witchcraft while afflicted witnesses claimed her look triggered fits that were relieved by her touch; she was pressed to confess and accused of conjuring with a sieve and manipulating a cloth. Elizabeth Johnson Jr. reiterated a four-year witchcraft confession, alleging diabolical baptism, meetings of about 120 with a minister named Burroughs, poppets used to harm multiple people, and named several alleged accomplices.00:00 Welcome and Setup00:05 Sarah Carrier Confession01:23 Abigail Faulkner Examined02:20 Pressure to Confess03:28 Elizabeth Johnson Confesses04:56 Witch Meeting Details06:00 Poppets and Afflictions06:47 Familiar Marks Found07:05 Final Accusations Recap

Andover Examinations: The Carrier Children and Elizabeth Johnson Jr. Confess (August 10, 1692)We follow the Salem witch trials to Andover on Wednesday, August 10, 1692, as examinations before Dudley Bradstreet produce confessions from Elizabeth Johnson Jr., seven-year-old Sarah Carrier, and Thomas Carrier Jr., alongside a claim that Abigail Faulkner Sr.’s shape attacked Ann Putnam Jr. Sarah describes being drawn into witchcraft at six through a “big red book,” alleged baptisms in Andrew Foster’s pasture, and learned methods of affliction; Thomas adds threats, a speaking yellow bird, and a night ride of ten witches to John Chandler’s house. Elizabeth Johnson Jr. admits signing a book tied to Martha Carrier, attending a Salem Village witch meeting with George Burroughs, and afflicting multiple victims, with Daniel Eames assisting on August 8–9. The account notes Elizabeth’s 1693 conviction, reprieve, and 2022 exoneration.00:00 Welcome And Date00:06 Andover Confessions Begin00:26 Sarah Carrier Testimony01:08 Thomas Carrier Jr Confesses01:44 Elizabeth Johnson Jr Examined02:33 Aftermath And Exoneration

Spectral Afflictions in Andover and Robert Pike’s WarningHosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack note a brief lull in new court records before recounting events of Tuesday, August 9, 1692: an affliction reported in Andover involving a child of Ephraim Davis, visited by afflicted Ann Putnam Jr. and Mary Walcott. They summarize August 10 examinations in which Sarah Carrier, daughter of Martha Carrier, claimed her mother gave her a spear used to prick Sarah Phelps and Ann Putnam Jr., while Thomas Carrier described traveling with a group of ten witches riding on two poles to John Chandler’s house, where Sarah Phelps and Ann Putnam Jr. were allegedly pinched. The episode also covers Thomas Bradbury’s copy of Salisbury Magistrate Robert Pike’s letter to Judge Jonathan Corwin, arguing the devil could send “fake specters,” warning testimony might be delusional, and insisting on corroboration, yet noting Corwin’s response is unknown and prosecutions continued unchanged.00:00 Welcome and Setup00:11 Andover Afflictions Begin00:36 Carrier Children Testify00:43 Witches Ride to Chandler01:04 Pike Challenges Spectral Evidence01:32 Standards of Proof and Doubt01:51 No Change in Convictions

Andover Affliction: Sarah Phelps Names Abigail Faulkner (August 1692)Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack recount events from Salem Witch Trials Daily, focusing on Saturday, August 6, 1692, when nine-year-old Sarah Phelps of Andover said she was afflicted by Abigail Faulkner in early August, a detail preserved in Sarah Carrier’s August 10 confession. The script identifies Sarah Phelps as the daughter of Samuel Phelps and Sarah Chandler and the granddaughter of Captain Thomas Chandler, a prominent Andover blacksmith. Chandler’s home is noted as being allegedly linked to Andover witch meetings.00:00 Show Introduction00:07 Affliction Claim00:16 Confession Source00:21 Phelps Family Background00:31 Andover Meeting Site

Salem Witch Trials Daily: Burroughs and the Proctors Convicted (August 5, 1692)On August 5, 1692, Salem’s townhouse overflowed as George Burroughs, Elizabeth Procter, and John Procter faced witchcraft trials before the Court of Oyer and Terminer, drawing Boston ministers including Deodat Lawson and Increase Mather to witness Burroughs’ case. After indictments for allegedly afflicting multiple girls, the court heard depositions from Hannah Harris and Thomas Ruck portraying Burroughs as claiming knowledge of others’ words and thoughts; sworn statements were treated as decisive while defense testimony lacked equal standing, and the jury found him guilty, leading to his scheduled hanging on August 19. The Proctors’ proceedings included fear-driven spectral claims, but also unusual defense support: petitions from longtime neighbors and Ipswich’s minister John Wise, plus testimony suggesting afflicted accusers joked, lied, or were coached. Despite this, John was convicted and set to hang August 19; pregnant Elizabeth received a temporary reprieve, later permanently spared as public opinion turned.00:00 Trials Begin in Salem01:00 Burroughs Accusations01:53 Strawberry Trip Testimony02:56 Guilty Verdict for Burroughs03:23 Proctors Spectral Claims06:26 Petitions and Defense Witnesses08:10 Afflicted Girls Exposed10:02 John Proctor Statements11:43 Convictions and Aftermath

August 4, 1692: Mary Clark Stands Firm as Jacobs and Willard Are ConvictedWe’re in Salem on August 4, 1692, where fear, spectacle, and power collide in court as Mary Clark is arrested in Haverhill and examined in Salem, pressed to confess yet refusing to admit to witchcraft despite accusations from Mary Walcott and others, pin “evidence,” and the Lord’s Prayer test. We track escalating claims against Martha Cory, Mary Esty, and George Jacobs Sr., including indictments for alleged afflictions and invasive searches for “witches’ teats,” alongside a flood of spectral testimony from accusers and witnesses. John Willard’s case builds through depositions describing apparitions, violence, and strange illness attributed to him while he hides from authorities. The day ends with convictions of George Jacobs Sr. and John Willard, set for execution on August 19, as distant catastrophe—news of Jamaica’s deadly earthquake and tsunami—reaches Massachusetts.00:00 Welcome and Date00:18 Mary Clark Examined00:37 Pins and Prayer Test02:15 Mary Daniel Deposition03:26 Indictments Cory Jacobs04:03 Witch Teats Evidence05:31 Spectral Attacks Jacobs08:07 John Willard Indicted08:22 Willard Witnesses10:01 Bray Wilkins Afflicted12:25 Rebecca and Samuel Wilkins13:58 Verdicts and Aftermath

August 3, 1692: Grand Jury True Bills and Martha Carrier’s Death SentenceWe take you into the packed courtroom of Salem’s Court of Oyer and Terminer on Wednesday, August 3, 1692, as arrests, complaints, and grand jury hearings collide: Mary Post is seized in Rowley, Robert and John Swan accuse Mary Clark of Haverhill, and Dudley Bradstreet issues a warrant. Testimony from Mary Warren and Ann Putnam Jr. drives grand jury “true bills” against George Burroughs on multiple counts and sends Mary Esty forward on two indictments. Then the trial of Martha Carrier turns on sworn accounts of threats, fits, livestock deaths, and alleged spectral torment from witnesses including Benjamin and Sarah Abbott, Phoebe and Bridget Chandler, Samuel Preston, the Putnams, and Allen Toothaker. The day ends with the jury finding cause for Carrier to be sentenced to death by Chief Justice William Stoughton, preceding her hanging on August 19, 1692.00:00 Daily Introduction00:03 Busy Court Day Overview00:17 New Arrests And Complaints00:43 Mary Warren Sabbath Claim01:03 Burroughs Grand Jury02:29 Esty Grand Jury Hearing02:58 Carrier Trial Begins03:26 Abbott Afflictions Testimony04:57 Chandler Poisoning Threat06:14 More Witnesses Against Carrier08:52 Verdict And Execution

Aug 2, 1692: Mary Post Arrest Warrant, Burroughs at Casco Bay, and New Depositions Against Carrier & EnglishWe follow Tuesday, August 2, 1692 as accusers Timothy Swan, Mary Walcott, and Ann Putnam Jr. complain against Mary Post of Rowley, prompting Justice Dudley Bradstreet to issue an arrest warrant and send her to Salem for examination, backed by Swan’s 20-pound bond. In Rowley, John Shepard helps his sister-in-law Mary Green escape the Ipswich Jail. Testimony from Mary and Samuel Webber reaches back to Casco Bay, describing Sarah Burroughs’ fear and alleged nighttime disturbances around minister George Burroughs, alongside claims of his unusual strength. John Rogers of Billerica adds grievances against Martha Carrier involving lost sows and a cow’s milk stoppage he believed was bewitchment. William Beale of Marblehead testifies against Philip English, recounting a frightening apparition, family deaths after smallpox, and a land dispute that ends with a dramatic, prolonged nosebleed.00:00 Welcome and Date00:05 Mary Post Arrest Warrant00:39 Rowley Jailbreak00:49 Webber Testimony on Burroughs02:03 Burroughs Supernatural Strength02:25 Martha Carrier Bewitched Livestock03:16 Philip English Shadow Apparition05:10 Land Dispute Motive06:27 Nosebleed and Closing

August 1, 1692: Witness Summons, Cambridge Ministers, and Border Violence Near AndoverWe follow the Salem Witch Trials Daily entry for Monday, August 1, 1692, as constables in Andover and Billerica summon multiple witnesses—including Allen Toothaker, Ralph Farnum Jr., Benjamin Abbott, and others—to testify against Martha Carrier, with John Rogers and Jonathan Danforth also called. Our focus shifts to Cambridge, where eight Boston-area ministers in the Cambridge Association—Cotton Mather, Charles Morton, James Allen, Michael Wigglesworth, Samuel Willard, Nathaniel Gookin, Nehemiah Walter, and Jonathan Pierpoint—debate whether the devil can take the shape of an innocent person, echoing Abigail Hobbs’s claim about sending the devil to impersonate her. The day’s tensions deepen as King William’s War reaches the Andover-Billerica border, where enemy soldiers kill members of two households near where Mary Toothaker and her daughter Margaret lived, though they were jailed at the time.00:00 Daily Introduction00:08 Witnesses Summoned00:36 Ministers Debate Specters00:42 Afflicted Claims Questioned01:01 Cambridge Association01:22 War Reaches Billerica

July 31, 1692: Meetinghouse Afflictions and Spectral Harassment in AndoverOur Salem Witch Trials Daily entry for Sunday, July 31st, 1692 drops listeners straight into the meetinghouse, where a 12-year-old Andover girl says an intense stare from Richard Carrier triggered sudden pain, burning, and an eerie silence through prayer and singing. We also track fresh August depositions describing spectral harassment, including Mary Daniel’s claim of being tormented by multiple specters—naming Margaret Scott—and Rebecca Wilkins’ account of being sorely afflicted on her way to services after seeing her uncle, John Willard. With courtroom testimony, eyewitness fear, and accusations of witchcraft colliding in church, this episode highlights how the Salem Witch Trials spread through Andover and into daily worship.00:00 Welcome and Hosts00:09 Phoebe Chandler Deposition00:30 Mary Daniel Specter Claims00:42 Rebecca Wilkins Sees Willard