We discuss how Maine, then part of Massachusetts, was a war-torn frontier during the years surrounding the Salem Witch Trials and show that refugee movements, fear, and trauma from frontier conflict contributed to the Salem panic. The hosts focus on Salem figures connected to Falmouth (now Portland), including minister George Burroughs, afflicted witness Mercy Lewis, and confessor Abigail Hobbs, emphasizing how their experiences in Maine intersected with events and testimony in 1692. It ends by noting that magistrates Hathorne and Corwin also had a connection to the fall of Falmouth.

Links

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

The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel

⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub

Salem Witch Trials Daily Course Week 7: Families, Geography, and the Machinery of Accusation, February 9-15, 2026

⁠The Thing About Salem

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts

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

⁠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

Ben Wickey, More Weight: A Salem Story

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection

The Sermon Notebook of Samuel Parris, 1689–1694 - Colonial Society of Massachusetts

Richard Hite, In the Shadow of Salem: The Andover Witch Hunt of 1692

This episode explores an often-overlooked driver of the 1692 Salem witch trials: the fear and instability radiating from the Maine and New Hampshire frontier. Against the backdrop of war, raids, refugees, and political turmoil, the hosts trace how frontier experiences and beliefs seeped into Essex County and helped intensify the witch-hunt—connecting key Salem figures to events and accusations rooted far to the north.

00:00 1692 Orders to Secure Maine: Hutchinson’s Mission Begins

00:55 Welcome & Why the Northern Frontier Matters to Salem

01:27 King William’s War: Refugees, Trauma, and Rising Panic

01:58 Mercy Lewis: Frontier Orphanhood and the Afflictions

02:30 George Burroughs: From Maine Settlements to Salem’s Gallows

03:00 “The Eastward” and the Devil in the Woods: Abigail Hobbs’ Confession

03:27 New Hampshire’s Political Upheaval and Early Witchcraft Cases

04:17 Goody Cole: Repeated Accusations and a 1938 Public Rehabilitation

04:59 The Stone-Throwing Devil: Great Island’s Lithobolia Mystery

05:35 Frontier Fear Converges: How War and Wilderness Fueled Salem

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

The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel

⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub

Salem Witch Trials Daily Course Week 7: Families, Geography, and the Machinery of Accusation, February 9-15, 2026

⁠The Thing About Salem

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts

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

⁠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

Ben Wickey, More Weight: A Salem Story

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection

The Sermon Notebook of Samuel Parris, 1689–1694 - Colonial Society of Massachusetts

Richard Hite, In the Shadow of Salem: The Andover Witch Hunt of 1692

We recount John Proctor’s role in the Salem witch trials, from his defense of his wife Elizabeth after she was accused in 1692 to his own arrest and conviction. We describe his criticism of the proceedings, petitions arguing the trials were unfair, and his execution on August 19, 1692 after being denied a final prayer because he would not falsely confess. Elizabeth survived due to pregnancy, later received a reprieve, and the family suffered property seizure and lasting legal and financial damage before later reversal of the attainder and restitution.

00:00 John Proctor’s Final Morning: A Prayer Refused (Aug 19, 1692)

00:36 Who Was John Proctor? Early Life, Family, and Reputation

01:46 Elizabeth Proctor Accused: The April 11 Examination

02:24 John Speaks Out—and Becomes the First Male Arrested

03:10 Prison Petitions & Community Support Against the Trials

03:49 Conviction and Execution: The Gallows on August 19

04:09 Elizabeth Survives: Pregnancy, Prison Birth, and Reprieve

04:28 Aftermath: Family Ruin, Property Seizure, and Burial Legends

05:04 Restoring Rights: Estate Battles, Remarriage, and Restitution

05:34 Myth vs. History: Debunking The Crucible’s Proctor Story

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

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

⁠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

Ben Wickey, More Weight: A Salem Story

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection

The Sermon Notebook of Samuel Parris, 1689–1694 - Colonial Society of Massachusetts

Richard Hite, In the Shadow of Salem: The Andover Witch Hunt of 1692

The episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily profiles the influential Putnam family of Salem Village and their mixed roles during the 1692 witchcraft crisis. It traces the family’s origins and three main branches, highlighting that some Putnams were major accusers while others supported the accused, including signing a petition for Rebecca Nurse. The hosts also note a prominent Putnam opponent of the trials and concludes that people in Salem often played shifting and contradictory roles over time.

00:00 Welcome + Why the Putnams Matter in 1692

00:48 Origins of the Putnam Dynasty & the Three Branches

01:03 Branch 1: Captain John Putnam Sr. & Lt. Nathaniel—Accusations and the Rebecca Nurse Petition

01:54 Aftermath Connections: Benjamin Putnam Takes in Dorothy Good

02:26 Branch 2: The Thomas Putnam Line—The Accusation Powerhouse

03:13 Ann Putnam Jr. in Court & Her 1706 Public Apology

03:39 Family Crosscurrents: Supporters, Step-Relations, and the Afflicted Circle

04:16 The Dissenter: Joseph Putnam Opposes the Trials (and Israel Putnam’s Legacy)

04:54 Wrap-Up: Salem’s Complexity—Accusers, Defenders, and Changing Minds

George Francis Dow: Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Sidney Perley: The History of Salem, Massachusetts

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

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

⁠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

Ben Wickey, More Weight: A Salem Story

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection

The Sermon Notebook of Samuel Parris, 1689–1694 - Colonial Society of Massachusetts

Richard Hite, In the Shadow of Salem: The Andover Witch Hunt of 1692

We discuss colonial physicians in the Salem area and their role in shifting unexplained illness from a medical issue to a spiritual and legal crisis. On February 16, 1692, physician William Griggs Sr. bought a home and land in Salem Village for 71 pounds, where he lived with his wife and his niece Elizabeth Hubbard, who became afflicted on February 25. Griggs is widely believed to have diagnosed Betty Parris and Abigail Williams as being under an “evil hand,” though the source does not name the physician, leaving open the possibility another doctor made the diagnosis. We compare Salem to Boston’s medical scene, highlighting Dr. Thomas Oakes’s 1688 diagnosis of the Goodwin children as afflicted by “hellish witchcraft,” a precedent connected to the Goody Glover case. Finally, we describe remedies recorded from Salem physician Zerubabel Endicott’s papers, including dried stone horse liver for bloody flux and a childbirth prescription using a lock of a virgin’s hair.

00:00 Welcome to Salem Witch Trials Daily: Doctors Enter the Story

00:22 Feb 16, 1692: Dr. William Griggs Buys Land in Salem Village

00:56 Elizabeth Hubbard & the First Afflictions Begin

01:11 “Under an Evil Hand”: When Medicine Turns to Witchcraft

01:43 Colonial Medicine’s Power Families: Endicott & the Winthrops

02:27 Salem’s Medical Roster & the Swinnerton Family Web

03:33 Medicine in the Courtroom: Judge Gedney’s Drugs and Ointments

04:02 Was It Really Griggs? Doubts About the Famous Diagnosis

04:43 Boston’s Precedent: Dr. Thomas Oakes, the Goodwin Children & Goody Glover

05:55 What Did They Prescribe? Zerubabel Endicott’s Wild Remedies

07:50 From Horse Livers to “Evil Hands”: Why the Supernatural Won Out (Conclusion)

George Francis Dow: Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Sidney Perley: The History of Salem, Massachusetts

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

The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channe

⁠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

⁠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

Ben Wickey, More Weight: A Salem Story

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection:

The Sermon Notebook of Samuel Parris, 1689–1694 - Colonial Society of Massachusetts

Richard Hite, In the Shadow of Salem: The Andover Witch Hunt of 1692: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781594164378

Martha Carrier was dubbed the “Queen in Hell.” We trace how her 1692 witchcraft case expanded into a royal family saga. The episode outlines her arrest, trial, and execution, then follows the accusations and confessions that swept through multiple connected relatives and in-laws in the Allen, Ingalls, Toothaker, Carrier, Dane, and Johnson branches, showing how family ties and reputation intensified the crisis in Andover.

00:00 Welcome to Salem Witch Trials Daily + Today’s focus: Martha Carrier

00:37 From Billerica to Andover: Outsiders, smallpox blame, and suspicion

01:03 Accusation to execution: warrants, “Queen in Hell,” and the trial timeline

01:51 The Ingalls family web: a dynasty of accusations (and a surprising descendant)

02:19 Immediate circle: Toothakers, testimony, and family turning on family

02:47 Martha’s children arrested: coerced confessions and brutal pressure

03:13 The Dane connection: Reverend Francis Dane and the Johnson/Faulkner cases

04:32 Not just one “Queen in Hell”: how kinship networks were dismantled

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

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

⁠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

Ben Wickey, More Weight: A Salem Story

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection

The Sermon Notebook of Samuel Parris, 1689–1694 - Colonial Society of Massachusetts

Richard Hite, In the Shadow of Salem: The Andover Witch Hunt of 1692

History remembers Tituba—but she wasn’t the only enslaved woman caught in Salem’s 1692 witch hunt. Meet Candy of Barbados, whose courtroom testimony turned Puritan assumptions upside down.

When magistrates asked if she was a witch, Candy gave an answer that indicted the entire colony: “Candy no witch, Barbados. This country, mistress give Candy witch.” Then she brought cheese and grass into the courtroom as proof.

What followed was one of the strangest examinations of the summer—complete with burning rags, forced grass-eating, and an enslaved woman accusing the woman who held her in bondage of witchcraft. Discover the story of resistance, strategy, and survival that the history books rarely tell.

Salem Witch Trials Daily Videos & Course

The Thing About Salem Website

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts YouTube

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts Website

Sign the Petition: MA Witch Hunt Justice Project

www.massachusettswitchtrials.org

Support the nonprofit End Witch Hunts Podcasts and Projects

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

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

⁠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

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection

We trace Reverend Samuel Parris’s sermons from late 1691 through 1692 to show how his preaching shifted from general theology to targeted rhetoric during the Salem witch trials. Beginning November 22, 1691, amid village disputes over his salary and firewood, Parris preaches on Psalm 110:1 about enemies. On January 3, 1692, he intensifies his message, calling even the elect “children of wrath,” warning that the devil actively threatens the church and that wicked men assist Satan, cutting the sermon short due to extreme cold. On February 14, 1692, he urges the congregation to “war a good warfare” before accusations fully erupt. By March 27, he directly addresses the “dreadful witchcraft” outbreak, invokes Judas and the idea that “one of you is a devil,” and lists sins he associates with being a devil, including “envious persons as witches.” That day he also publicly chastises Mary Sibley for making a witch cake, saying it sought the devil’s help and “raised” the devil among them. Sermon notes for June and July are missing, but church records document August 1692 actions as executions begin and accused families stop attending; the church sends a delegation and learns Samuel Tarbell is ill and Peter Cloyce is frequently at the Ipswich prison with his wife Sarah. On September 11, after more condemnations including church member Martha Cory, Parris preaches that the devil has found assistants “from amongst us,” and the church votes to excommunicate Cory; Parris personally delivers the sentence in jail, describing her as stubborn and noting she refused to pray with him. The episode ends with Parris’s October 23 sermon on the sweetness of “kisses” after “jars and differences” and long absences, highlighting a stark disconnect as the congregation is missing relatives of people he helped condemn.

00:00 A Not-So-Romantic Salem Valentine’s Day Sermon (1692)

00:36 Meet the Hosts & Why Parris’s Sermons Matter

01:11 Nov 1691: ‘Enemies’ at the Door—Sermon as Village Power Struggle

01:46 Jan 1692: God’s Wrath, the Devil Appears—and the Meetinghouse Freezes

02:58 Feb 1692: ‘War a Good Warfare’ Before Accusations Begin

03:18 Mar 1692: Witchcraft Breaks Out—Judas, Devils in the Pews, and the Witch Cake

04:22 Summer Gap: Lost Sermon Notes & a Shift to Church Records

04:43 Aug 1692: Trials, Executions, and Policing ‘Empty Seats’ in Church

05:52 Sept 1692: Excommunicating Martha Cory—Pulpit to Prison Cell

06:38 Oct 1692: ‘Sweet’ Kisses After ‘Differences’—A Hollow Closing Note

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

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

⁠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

Ben Wickey, More Weight: A Salem Story

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection
The Sermon Notebook of Samuel Parris, 1689–1694 - Colonial Society of Massachusetts

We examine the unwavering defiance of many individuals accused of witchcraft in 1692, looking into the stories of Rebecca Nurse, George Jacobs Sr., Susannah Martin, John Willard, and more, who refused to confess despite immense pressure and the threat of execution. Additionally, we discuss those who did confess, like Samuel Wardwell, and examine the physical and psychological pressures faced by the accused. The episode also highlights Mary Esty's poignant petition and the brutal execution of Giles Cory.

00:00 Introduction to the Salem Witch Trials

00:39 Meet Your Hosts

00:45 The Integrity of the Accused

01:24 Examples of Refusal to Confess

03:06 Confessions and Their Consequences

03:21 The Case of Samuel Wardwell

04:15 Rumors and Physical Pressure

04:56 Tituba's Confession

05:07 Acts of Defiance

05:19 Mary Esty's Petition

05:53 The Story of Giles Cory

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

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

⁠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

Ben Wickey, More Weight: A Salem Story

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection

We examine the critical role of geography in the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. They discuss the stark contrasts between Salem Town and Salem Village, the widespread nature of the accusations, and the influence of the broader region, including the impact of the Frontier War in Maine and the significant number of accusations in Andover. They also debunk common misconceptions about the accusers' proximity and detail the physical realities of property disputes and the execution sites, emphasizing the trials' concrete historical context.

00:00 Introduction to Cotton Mather and the Salem Witch Trials

00:38 Geographical Context of Salem

00:56 Salem Town vs. Salem Village

01:51 Misconceptions About the Afflicted Girls

02:55 The Spread of Accusations

03:10 Impact of the Frontier War

03:38 Andover's Role in the Witch-Hunt

04:14 Land Disputes and Accusations

05:05 Geography of the Executions

05:48 Conclusion: Understanding the Map of 1692

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

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

⁠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

Ben Wickey, More Weight: A Salem Story

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection