Salem Witch Trials Daily

Mary Lacey Sr. Confesses, a Search for Poppets, and Boston’s Fast Day for John Alden — July 20, 1692We pick up the day after five convicted witches were hanged in Salem, as Mary Lacey Sr. confesses to witchcraft and claims she traveled on a stick with her mother Ann Foster and Martha Carrier to a Salem Village witch meeting. During her examination, Elizabeth Hubbard and Mercy Lewis fit until the confession, then stop and calmly shake her hand, as magistrates John Hathorne, Jonathan Corwin, John Higginson Jr., and Bartholomew Gedney issue a warrant for Mary Lacey Jr. and order a search for poppets and other witchcraft paraphernalia—yielding rags, yarn, tape, and tied quills. Records also note new afflictions, including Elizabeth Parris Sr., while in Boston friends of jailed Captain John Alden hold a fast day attended by Samuel Sewall and ministers including Cotton Mather, who also observes Mercy Short denouncing devilish “promises” after the Salem executions.00:00 Daily Introduction00:09 Lacey Confession Fallout00:40 Warrant and Home Search01:15 New Afflictions Reported01:43 Alden Fast Day in Boston02:03 Mercy Short Observations02:25 Defying the Devil02:58 Closing Accusation

July 19, 1692: The First Mass Execution at Proctor’s LedgeFive innocent women were hanged on this date in 1692: Sarah Good, Sarah Wilds, Elizabeth Howe, Susannah Martin, and Rebecca Nurse, bringing the death toll to nine. We trace how the witch hunt escalated from the Parris household afflictions to the Court of Oyer and Terminer under William Stoughton, fueled by ministerial pressure, spectral evidence, and panic. At the gallows, Sarah Good refuses to confess and delivers her unforgettable warning to Nicholas Noyes. We also follow a key legal moment as Joseph Ballard pursues complaints against Mary Lacey Sr. and Mary Lacey Jr. with a rare prosecution bond, while fear spreads toward Andover and more mass executions ahead.00:00 Welcome and Series Recap00:18 Road to Mass Execution01:32 Remembering the Five Women02:31 The Hangings at Proctor’s Ledge03:06 Sarah Good’s Final Words04:09 Aftermath and Burial Questions04:34 Andover Complaint Against the Laceys05:06 Procedure and Prosecution Bonds06:02 Panic Spreads and Darker Claims07:36 What’s Next and Closing

Ann Foster’s Jailhouse Confession and an Ipswich Militia Alarm | July 18, 1692We’re back in Salem Village on Monday, July 18, 1692, as magistrates press Ann Foster in jail and she delivers a chilling confession: the devil appeared to her as a man, Martha Carrier stood beside him, and a bargain for prosperity led to a terrifying flight to a witch meeting above the treetops—until their stick snapped and Foster crashed, injuring her leg. Our account traces what she claims she heard there, including talk of hundreds of witches and plans to destroy Salem Village, plus her allegation that Carrier foretold the death of James Hobbs’ child. Then the story pivots to Ipswich, where Major Samuel Appleton mobilizes about 60 men to relieve the Eastern Gloucester garrison house, only for gunfire and a tense swamp pursuit to erupt in the woods.00:00 Daily Introduction00:09 Ann Foster Questioned00:12 Devil’s Pact and Flight00:46 Salem Meeting Revelations01:04 Carrier’s Threat and Death01:26 Ipswich Militia Mobilizes01:43 Swamp Pursuit01:53 Closing Beat

Gloucester Garrison Alarm: Unknown Men at John Row’s Deserted House (July 17, 1692)We take you straight into Gloucester’s escalating Salem Witch Trials-era tension on Sunday, July 17, 1692, as a garrison house is shadowed by three or four strange men who stay frustratingly out of range. Our account follows Richard Dolliver and Benjamin Ellery as they slip down a hill and witness 11 unknown men emerging from an orchard, pacing backward and forward and striking John Row’s deserted house with sticks—until Dolliver fires into the center of them and the group vanishes from sight for the rest of the day. We also flag the historical source behind this dramatic Gloucester encounter: Cotton Mather’s Decennium Luctuosum.00:00 Daily Introduction00:09 Gloucester Incident Begins00:18 Orchard Encounter00:27 Attack on Row House00:34 Shot Fired and Aftermath00:43 Source Attribution

Ann Foster’s Jailhouse Confession: Martha Carrier, Poppets, and a Daylight Witch MeetingWe follow the Salem Witch Trials on Saturday, July 16, 1692, as magistrates examine Ann Foster in jail and she delivers a sweeping confession: she says Martha Carrier made her a witch about six years earlier under threats of the devil, admits bewitching John Lovejoy’s hog to death, and claims she hurt people in Salem Village. Ann alleges Carrier ordered her to bewitch two children of Carrier’s brother Andrew Allen using poppets and pins, resulting in one child sickening and the other dying. She describes attending a Salem Village witch meeting about two months prior, flying on sticks with Carrier, hearing George Burroughs address about 25 witches, and attempting harm with knots and poppets. Minister John Hale later records her account of an Andover witches’ picnic in daylight and her fear that Burroughs and Carrier would kill her for confessing and naming them.00:00 Welcome and Setup00:05 Ann Foster Confesses00:34 Poppets and Children01:02 Witch Meeting Claims01:24 John Hale Interviews01:42 Picnic in Daylight02:08 Spectral Threats02:26 Closing Reflection

Frenchmen in the Woods and Ann Foster’s Devil-Bird Confession (July 15, 1692)We follow Cotton Mather’s account of a tense July 15, 1692 day as Gloucester men, including Ezekiel Day, scout the woods after reports of Frenchmen and other strangers near a garrison house; Day fires at a distant figure in blue, another man appears and flees, and John Hammond later spots a similarly dressed stranger, but no one is found. Our focus then shifts to Salem Village, where magistrates examine Ann Foster and record her confession of seeing the devil as a white bird that turns black, promises prosperity and witchcraft, and returns repeatedly, with Foster also implicating Martha Carrier. We also touch on Andover, where Mary Lacy Jr. is later indicted for allegedly attacking Timothy Swan but is tried and found not guilty in 1693.00:00 Welcome and Hosts00:06 Gloucester Woods Scouting00:46 Strangers Near Garrison01:17 Ann Foster Examined01:20 Devil Bird Confession01:51 Martha Carrier Implicated02:06 Andover Indictment Wrap Up

July 14, 1692: Thanksgiving in Massachusetts and Elizabeth Ballard’s Affliction in AndoverWe recount events on July 14, 1692, when Massachusetts held a day of Thanksgiving for Governor Phips’ safe return from London and for the defense of Wells, Maine, as Phips hosted ship carpenters to celebrate his blessings. In Gloucester, men left the garrison house to confront strangers seen nearby, chased them into the woods, and fired, but no one was reportedly killed and the strangers escaped. In Andover, Elizabeth Ballard suffered pinching, choking, and pressure on her stomach, leading her husband Joseph to summon Salem Village’s afflicted girls Ann Putnam Jr. and Mary Walcott to identify the witch attacking her; later testimony named Richard Carrier, Martha Carrier, Ann Foster, Mary Lacy Sr., and Mary Lacy Jr. as afflicting Ballard and drinking their cider.00:00 Welcome and Hosts00:05 Thanksgiving Day 169200:21 Gloucester Garrison Alarm00:34 Andover Affliction Begins00:57 Accused at the Cider01:13 Cider Joke Wrap-Up

July 13, 1692: Boston Common Militia Drills and Andover’s Town Payments Amid the Salem Witch TrialsWe take you to Wednesday, July 13, 1692, where the militia trained on Boston Common and some participants were called into King William’s War. Back in Andover, Dudley Bradstreet returned from his service as the town’s representative to the General Court in Boston and was paid by the selectmen, who also issued Rebecca Johnson six shillings and nine pence from her annual 40-shilling wage for sweeping the meetinghouse and ringing the bell. Johnson, a widow, was accused of witchcraft in 1692 and confessed on September 7, but on January 7, 1693 her indictment for afflicting Alice Booth was returned ignoramus when the grand jury found insufficient evidence. We also share End Witch Hunts nonprofit plans to visit New England August 7–9 for History Camp Boston and the Connecticut Witch and Culture Fest, plus ways to volunteer, donate, and support the Connecticut Witch Trial Memorial fundraising campaign.00:00 Daily Introduction00:08 Boston Common Militia00:17 Andover Town Payments00:37 Rebecca Johnson Case00:55 New England Trip Announcement01:03 Events and Itinerary01:16 How to Get Involved01:46 Donate and Follow Along02:09 Visit and Register02:26 Closing Farewell

Harvard Commencement Day Amid the Salem Witch Trials | July 6, 1692We take you to Cambridge on Wednesday, July 6, 1692—Harvard College commencement day—when hundreds, including the governor and other dignitaries, gathered to watch six young men receive their bachelor’s degrees. Among them was Zachariah Alden, son of witchcraft suspect Captain John Alden, linking the world of elite colonial education to the rising Salem Witch Trials panic. As the day continues, master’s graduates are awarded their degrees in the afternoon, and the evening culminates with a fancy dinner supplied by the graduates for college officials and distinguished guests, offering a vivid glimpse of Massachusetts Bay ceremony and social power during a tense summer.00:00 Welcome and Hosts00:09 Harvard Commencement Day00:22 Zachariah Alden Spotlight00:31 Degrees and Dinner Finale

Rebecca Nurse’s Reprieve Reversed: Stoughton’s Death Warrant and the Salem Pressure CampaignWe race through the brutal political mechanics behind the Salem Witch Trials on July 12, 1692, when Lieutenant Governor and Chief Justice William Stoughton signed a death warrant for Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Sarah Wilds, Sarah Good, and Elizabeth How. Our focus is Nurse’s whiplash journey: a shocking conviction after an initial acquittal and a jury sent back to reconsider, followed by her family’s defense depositions and petition carried to Boston to appeal directly to Governor William Phips. Phips grants a reprieve that briefly halts her execution—until the afflicted accusers erupt in intensified fits to protest her release. We trace how unnamed Salem gentlemen, possibly including local magistrates, confront Phips and successfully pressure him to revoke the reprieve, sealing Nurse’s fate.00:00 Welcome and Hosts00:06 Stoughton Signs Warrant00:33 Reprieve and Family Appeal01:05 Accusers Protest Release01:25 Salem Pressure Reverses Reprieve