The Thing About the Salem Witch Trials

Episode Summary

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 didn't emerge from nowhere. They emerged from a library. This episode traces the centuries of theological and legal texts that shaped how Salem's magistrates understood witchcraft, the demonic pact, and the infamous Devil's book.

From a 15th-century inquisitor's manual to a Scottish king's royal obsession to a Boston minister's bestseller, Josh and Sarah open the books that made Salem possible.

Books and Sources Covered

Malleus Maleficarum (1486) — Heinrich Kramer's foundational witch-hunting manual codified the idea of a vast anti-Christian conspiracy sealed by a formal pact with the devil. It provided the theological and legal framework for prosecuting witchcraft across Europe for centuries.

Daemonologie (1597) — Written by King James VI of Scotland (later King James I of England), this royal text argued that witches entered the devil's service through a pact alone. The king's authority gave the work enormous cultural weight, and his framework for the devil's covenant shaped New England Puritan thought directly.

A Discourse of the Damned Art of Witchcraft (1608) — William Perkins detailed the diabolical compact in legal terms, distinguishing between explicit verbal pacts and implicit ones inferred through action. He also established seven grounds for suspicion of witchcraft. During the Salem crisis, Cotton Mather specifically recommended judges follow the guidelines of Perkins and his successor Richard Bernard.

A Guide to Grand Jury-men (1627) — Richard Bernard's practical manual for witch trial proceedings was among the texts Cotton Mather recommended to the Salem court.

The Discovery of Witches (1647) — Matthew Hopkins, the self-styled Witch Finder General, ran one of the most lethal witch-hunting campaigns in English history across East Anglia. His methods, his obsession with the witch's mark, and the confessions he extracted helped cement the Devil's book as a recognizable cultural image decades before Salem.

Hudibras (Samuel Butler, 17th century) — Butler's satirical poem mocked Hopkins by portraying him as a secret witch himself, hanged for possessing the very Devil's book he hunted. The satire is significant: it confirms the Devil's book was already deeply embedded in the popular imagination.

Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions (1689) — Cotton Mather's account of the Goodwin children's afflictions, attributed to an Irish woman named Goody Glover, circulated widely through New England. When Salem's afflictions began in 1692, the symptoms closely mirrored the Goodwin case.

The Devil's Book at Salem: First Appearances

• February 27, 1692 — Ann Putnam Jr. claimed Sarah Good's specter tormented her and pressured her to sign the Devil's book. This is the first accusation involving the Devil's book in the Salem crisis. Elizabeth Hubbard named Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne as tormenters, alleging Osborne's specter urged her to write in the book.

• March 2, 1692 — Tituba confessed to making her mark in the Devil's book with blood and stated the book was already signed by nine witches, including Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne. Seven signers remained unidentified, located in Roxbury, Salem, and Boston.

• March 14, 1692 — Abigail Williams claimed she was tempted to put her hand to the Devil's book and saw Martha Corey at a Devil's Sacrament. Mercy Lewis reported similar pressure to sign.

Links

Buy Book: The Hammer of Witches, ed. Christopher S MacKay

Daemonologie by King James VI/I

The Discovery of Witches by Matthew Hopkins

Hudibras

A Discourse of the Damned Art of Witchcraft by William Perkins

Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions by Cotton Mather

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

Massachusetts Witch-Hunt Justice Project

Support the nonprofit End Witch Hunts Podcasts and Projects

We cover March 21, 1692, when Joseph Herrick arrests Martha Cory and notices an unusual ointment in her home that she says came from a recipe given by magistrate Major Bartholomew Gedney. We follow Cory to the packed Salem Village meetinghouse, where Nicholas Noyes opens with prayer and magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin question her while Samuel Parris records the interrogation and Deodat Lawson documents events. We describe how multiple afflicted accusers—including Mrs. Pope, identified as Benjamin Franklin’s aunt—claim Cory torments them, and how physical gestures by Cory are said to correspond with their injuries and fits. We also discuss how, after the examination and Cory’s commitment to Salem prison, witnesses submit depositions that will later serve as legal evidence.

00:00 Aunt’s Shoe Throw

00:25 Arrest and Ointment

00:44 Meetinghouse Begins

02:06 Accusers and Spectral Claims

04:03 Fits and Physical Signs

05:15 Drumbeats and Devil Talk

06:10 Catechism and Commitment

06:40 Depositions as Evidence

The Examination of Martha Cory, as Recorded by Samuel Parris

Deodat Lawson, A Brief and True Narrative

Sign the petition to exonerate Massachusetts witch trial victims

Find My Massachusetts Legislators

The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel

⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub

⁠The Thing About Salem

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts

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

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

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection

In this episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, we revisit March 20, 1692, when guest preacher Deodat Lawson delivered a sermon in Salem Village and later described the day in A Brief and True Narrative. We share who Lawson observed attending the meeting, including several of the “afflicted persons,” and how their fits and interruptions disrupted public worship. We recount some of the remarks attributed to Abigail Williams and Mrs. Pope during the prayers and sermon, and we touch on the moment when Goodwife Cory was singled out with a vivid accusation involving a “yellow bird.” We also note Ann Putnam’s claim about a yellow bird and how those nearby tried to keep her from speaking out loudly.

00:00 Welcome to the Show

00:11 Setting the Date and Scene

00:29 Afflicted at Worship

00:46 Disruptions During Prayer

00:56 Abigail Challenges the Sermon

01:06 More Interruptions and Critiques

01:27 Goodwife Cory and the Yellow Bird

01:40 Ann Putnam Spots a Bird

Deodat Lawson, A Brief and True Narrative

Sign the petition to exonerate Massachusetts witch trial victims

Find My Massachusetts Legislators

The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel

⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub

⁠The Thing About Salem

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts

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

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

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection

We cover March 19, 1692, when Henry Kinney and Edward Putnam file a witchcraft complaint against Martha Corey for allegedly afflicting several Salem Village residents, leading magistrates to issue a warrant for her arrest and examination at Nathaniel Ingersoll’s tavern. We also follow reports from Ann Putnam Sr. of intense spectral torment attributed to Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse. Our story then turns to the arrival of former minister Deodat Lawson, who lodges at Ingersoll’s and records striking observations of the afflictions, including Mary Walcott’s apparent bite marks and Abigail Williams’ severe fit and accusations, notes he later publishes in his narrative of events.

00:00 Welcome to Salem

00:14 Complaint Against Corey

00:53 Spectral Torment Reports

01:13 Lawson Arrives

01:43 Mary Walcott Bitten

02:19 Abigail's Violent Fit

02:47 Devil's Book Refusal

03:13 Firebrand Frenzy

Deodat Lawson, A Brief and True Narrative

Sign the petition to exonerate Massachusetts witch trial victims

Find My Massachusetts Legislators

The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel

⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub

⁠The Thing About Salem

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts

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

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

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection

In today’s March 18, 1692 episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, we recount renewed spectral activity in Salem Village as Ann Putnam Senior describes being attacked and pressured to sign a book by the specter of Martha Corey while trying to rest. We also shift to Ipswich, where late-night fears of witchcraft accusations erupt when Rachel Clinton visits James Fuller, Jr. amid talk of fits in the community. After sudden news of Betty Fuller’s apparent death and Rachel’s abrupt disappearance into the night, we follow the confusing aftermath as Betty later revives and describes a terrifying encounter with something ghastly that pursued and struck her down.

00:00 Welcome and Date

00:15 Martha Corey Attacks

01:02 Red Book Temptation

01:27 Ipswich Night Visit

02:37 Betty Fuller Found Dead

02:53 Beast Chase Aftermath

Between God and Satan: Thomas Thornton, Witch-Hunting, and Religious Mission in the English Atlantic World, 1647–1693

Sign the petition to exonerate Massachusetts witch trial victims: https://change.org/witchtrials

Find My Massachusetts Legislators: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator

The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCliis4vjMIUgg3wcA0pXeYQ/

⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub: https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/⁠

⁠The Thing About Salem: https://aboutsalem.com⁠

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.com⁠

⁠Mary Beth Norton, In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780375706905⁠

Bernard Rosenthal, ed., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781107689619⁠

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

https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780190627805⁠

⁠Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781589791329⁠

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection: https://pem.quartexcollections.com/collections/salem-witch-trials-collection

Links

In this St. Patrick’s Day episode, we explore overlooked trans-Atlantic links between Ireland and Colonial New England that helped shape the intellectual and theological foundations of the 1692 Salem Witch-Hunt, drawing on Katherine A. Hermes and Beth M. Caruso’s article on Thomas Thornton and the English Atlantic world. We follow Puritan networks forged during Cromwell’s 1650s conquest of Ireland, including the Mathers’ time in Dublin under Samuel Winter and Thornton’s ministry at military garrisons, and we trace how the 1660 Restoration drove ejected ministers to Massachusetts, where they reconnected and influenced responses to alleged afflictions. We also discuss how Irish-focused ideas about possession affected cases like Goody Glover and how Ireland connections both fueled panic and contributed to later doubts about spectral evidence, plus humanitarian aid raised in Dublin during King Philip’s War.

00:00 St Patrick Intro

01:03 Why Ireland Matters

01:26 Cromwell Era Exchange

02:44 Mathers In Dublin

03:14 Thomas Thornton Story

04:37 Restoration And Ejections

05:39 Possession Theology Shift

06:07 Goody Glover Case

07:51 Ministers Fuel Salem

08:57 Thornton In Boston

10:02 Skepticism And Legacy

10:45 Aid And Closing Call

Between God and Satan: Thomas Thornton, Witch-Hunting, and Religious Mission in the English Atlantic World, 1647–1693

Sign the petition to exonerate Massachusetts witch trial victims

Find My Massachusetts Legislators

The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel

⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub

⁠The Thing About Salem

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts

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

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

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection

In this episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, we examine the Porter family’s extraordinary wealth and political influence in Salem Village and how it shaped their experience of the 1692 witch trials and their aftermath. We discuss patriarch John Porter Sr.’s massive estate and how his sons became the village’s leading taxpayers while aligning with Salem Town commerce. We explore why Porter blood members avoided accusations, even as their wider circle faced danger, and how the family used petitions and sworn testimony to support key accused neighbors like Rebecca Nurse. We then follow the Porters’ decisive post-trial role in the movement to remove Reverend Samuel Parris, including behind-the-scenes strategy, escalating petitions, and a confrontation that forced Parris to address grievances and seek forgiveness.

00:00 Porter Family Focus

00:35 Wealth and Power

01:23 Why They Were Spared

02:11 Defending Rebecca Nurse

03:27 Aftermath and Anti Parris

04:51 Dissenting Brethren Strategy

05:11 Grievances Read Aloud

06:57 Parris Seeks Forgiveness

07:46 Legacy and Impact

Sign the petition to exonerate Massachusetts witch trial victims

Find My Massachusetts Legislators

The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel

⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub

⁠The Thing About Salem

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts

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

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

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection

It’s March 15, 1692, and specters are reported to roam Salem Village and torment the afflicted. We discuss claims involving Martha Cory and Elizabeth Hubbard, including testimony about the devil’s book, and we recount disturbing reports tied to the specter of Rebecca Nurse at the Salem Village parsonage involving Abigail Williams. We also examine how these spectral encounters are said to include temptations and startling confessions, as new allegations emerge connecting Rebecca Nurse and Sarah Cloyce to recent deaths among people linked to Salem’s leading families.

00:00 Show Introduction

00:11 March 15 Spectral Attacks

00:20 Martha Cory Accusation

00:40 Rebecca Nurse Specter

01:08 Confessions and Alleged Murders

Sign the petition to exonerate Massachusetts witch trial victims

Find My Massachusetts Legislatorsegislator

The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel

⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub

⁠The Thing About Salem

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts

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

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

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection

This special Podcasthon 2026 episode of The Thing About Salem brings together two stories separated by more than three centuries. Hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack share a clip from End Witch Hunts' International Women's Day panel featuring Maimunat Mohammad, a woman from Niger State, Nigeria, who grew up in a community that accused her mother of witchcraft after her father's death. Her account is followed by the story of Dorothy Good, a four-year-old girl jailed during the Salem witch trials of 1692 after her mother, Sarah Good, was accused and hanged.

The parallel is not coincidental. It is the point. Podcasthon is a global event where podcasts raise money for nonprofits. This episode is End Witch Hunts' contribution to that effort, and it makes the case for why the work of this organization matters now.

Donate at endwitchhunts.org/donate.

What You'll Learn

• What Podcasthon is and how it supports nonprofit work

• Who Maimunat Mohammad is and what her family endured after her father's death

• How witchcraft accusations spread beyond the accused person to children and family members

• What happened to Dorothy Good, one of the youngest people detained during the Salem witch trials

• How the experience of accusation affects a person's sense of self over time

• Why End Witch Hunts connects historical witch trials to contemporary witch hunting

Support End Witch Hunts

End Witch Hunts is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Colorado. It produces two weekly podcasts, advocates for legislative recognition of witch trial victims, and partners with advocates working on the ground in countries where witchcraft accusations cause harm today.

Donate: endwitchhunts.org/donate Share this episode to help spread the word.

Links

Article by Dr. Leo Igwe, Give to Gain: Justice for Women Accused of Witchcraft in Africa

Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW)

End Witch Hunts

International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA)

Association of Women against Gender-Based Violence

Radio Nigeria

UN Human Rights Council Resolution 47/8

In this episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, we examine March 14, 1692, a pivotal and chaotic day at the Putnam household when Martha Corey—unusually, a covenanted church member—arrives at the Putnams’ invitation in an effort to prove her innocence. Using depositions and testimony, including Edward Putnam’s account, we track how Ann Putnam Jr. and Mercy Lewis report immediate fits and violent, surreal phenomena, alongside claims from Abigail Williams of spectral assault and pressure to sign the Devil’s book. We also consider how recurring themes like the Devil’s sacrament and an organized diabolical conspiracy shaped magistrates’ fears. Finally, we note that these mid-March events were formally attested on May 31, 1692, helping build a legal case against Corey and others.

00:00 Welcome and Setup

00:10 March 14 Context

00:44 Corey Arrives

01:22 Ann's Fits and Bird

01:55 Mercy and Abigail Attacks

02:23 Dragged Toward Fire

02:47 Spit and Iron Rod

03:05 Devil's Book Pressure

03:47 From Chaos to Court

04:04 Closing Reflection

Sign the petition to exonerate Massachusetts witch trial victims

Find My Massachusetts Legislators

The Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel

⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub: https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/⁠

⁠The Thing About Salem

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts

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

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

Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection