What We are Working On
We are committed in bringing you the most organized resource pertaining to the Salem Witch Trials. We are currently working on adding several new key officials and accusers. We are also working putting together transcriptions of the court documents with their original counter-parts. Check back often to see what has been added.
ADDED April 1: We have added the Malleus Maleficarum connection and other resources for information.
ADDED March 31: We have combined all of the court documents with the transcriptions for Alice Parker and Ann Pudeator. Places of interests section has been added in case you want to make a trip to Salem and Danvers.
Theories
Over the years many theories have risen to explain why the girls behaved the way they did. Three have turned out to be very popular.
The Ergot Theory: A Scientific Explanation for Salem's Nightmare
More than three centuries after the Salem witch trials, modern science offers a compelling theory that may explain the bizarre events that unfolded in 1692. The answer might lie in the agricultural foundations of Salem Village itself.
The community relied heavily on farming, with rye grain serving as a predominant crop. Valued for its hardiness and versatility, rye became a staple of the Puritan diet, transformed into everything from bread to beer. However, successful harvests were never guaranteed, and crop failure could mean starvation.
The spring of 1692 followed a particularly brutal winter that had severely depleted grain stores. Unfortunately, instead of bringing relief, the new growing season brought unusually damp weather—disastrous conditions for grain preservation as moisture promotes mold growth. When the rye crop emerged that year, Puritans may have noticed black stains on the grain but likely attributed this discoloration to sun exposure. Unaware of any danger, they harvested the crop and ground it into flour for their bread.
What these 17th-century farmers couldn’t recognize was that the black spots represented ergot fungus (Claviceps purpurea)—a highly toxic and remarkably resilient organism that thrives particularly well in rye. Modern fungicides still struggle to eradicate ergot, with crop rotation being the most effective preventative measure. However, Salem’s wetter, rockier terrain made regular crop rotation more challenging than in southern regions, potentially allowing ergot to flourish.
If ergot-contaminated grain made its way into the villagers’ bread, they would have unknowingly ingested the fungus, resulting in ergotism—historically known as “Saint Anthony’s fire” because tradition held that those who prayed to Saint Anthony after ingestion were spared death. Ergotism produces LSD-like effects including hallucinations and convulsions—symptoms strikingly similar to those exhibited by Betty and Abigail at the Paris homestead.
Behavioral scientist Linda Caparael first published this theory in 1976, noting the remarkable similarities between ergot poisoning symptoms and the afflictions documented in Salem: catatonia, convulsions, hallucinations, and vivid descriptions of spectral visions. Caparael suggested that young women would have been particularly susceptible due to their smaller body mass, which would intensify the toxin’s effects.
If ergot poisoning were indeed the culprit, no one in Salem could have identified it. When village doctor William Griggs attempted to diagnose the Paris girls, ergotism wasn’t yet recognized as a medical condition. Its non-contagious nature but variable impact—depending on exposure levels and individual consumption patterns—would have further complicated any medical assessment. Different family members eating from the same bread supply but consuming different amounts would experience varying symptoms, creating a confusing clinical picture.
Some scholars contest the ergot theory, however, noting that a diet rich in vitamin A can counteract ergot’s effects. Since the Massachusetts Bay Colony had access to abundant Atlantic fish—a significant source of vitamin A—Puritans likely maintained high vitamin A levels through their regular fish consumption, potentially mitigating ergot’s impact.
Whether ergot fungus truly triggered Salem’s witch panic remains debated, but this scientific hypothesis offers a tangible explanation for what previously seemed explicable only through psychology, politics, or supernatural belief—a reminder that environmental factors often shape human events in ways invisible to those experiencing them.
Salem's Hidden Threat: The Lyme Disease Theory
The dense forests surrounding Salem Village harbored numerous dangers for its Puritan inhabitants. Beyond the ongoing conflicts with Native Americans and the threat of predators like bears and wolves lurking at the settlement’s edge, some researchers now believe New England’s smallest inhabitants may have posed the most significant hazard of all.
Colonial New England struggled with deer overpopulation, which created both benefits and challenges for settlers. While deer frequently invaded croplands and consumed valuable grain, they also provided essential venison that became a dietary staple for villagers. What 17th-century hunters couldn’t comprehend was that with deer came a more insidious problem: deer ticks and the disease they carried.
Lyme disease wasn’t formally studied until the 1970s when a cluster of children and adults in Lyme, Connecticut developed mysterious symptoms including joint paralysis, fatigue, and distinctive rashes. Two persistent mothers ultimately identified the pattern by documenting their observations meticulously—each sufferer had experienced a tick bite in the Lyme area. Evidence now suggests this disease existed centuries earlier throughout New England, potentially including Salem.
In 2008, historian Dreiman published research proposing Lyme disease as the root cause of the Salem witch trials. She noted striking parallels between the Paris girls’ symptoms—intense headaches and sensations of being pinched or poked by invisible forces—and the clinical presentation of Lyme disease, which includes severe headaches and joint pains often described as stabbing sensations.
A particularly compelling element of this theory involves the characteristic “bull’s eye rash” that typically surrounds Lyme-infected tick bites. Court testimonies described numerous children with distinctive red marks on their bodies. Several children from one family exhibited red streaks across their skin, while another child reported marks resembling stab wounds. Four-year-old Dorcas Good, imprisoned for months after being accused of witchcraft, had a small red wound on her finger approximately the size of a flea bite. These marks, examined during witch investigations as potential evidence of the devil’s influence, may have actually been tick bites with their telltale rash.
Dreiman’s theory also addresses why girls and women predominantly manifested symptoms. Children typically play on the ground where ticks thrive, while women’s long skirts—which frequently brushed against the ground—provided ideal attachment points for ticks. The fibrous nature of cloth creates perfect opportunities for ticks seeking hosts. Even without direct contact with deer or wildlife, children playing in wooded areas could easily encounter deer ticks moving through the grass in search of prey.
While modern Lyme disease is readily treated with antibiotics like penicillin, such treatments wouldn’t become available until the 1930s—approximately 250 years after the Salem trials. Without effective medical intervention, Lyme infection could potentially explain even the more extreme symptoms displayed by the afflicted girls.
In rare cases, Lyme disease can act as a neurotoxin, causing neurological disruptions, behavioral changes, and hallucinations. The apparent long-term health effects experienced by some accusers lend additional credibility to this theory. Abigail Williams remained ill following the trials and died relatively young, while Ann Putnam also suffered ongoing health issues. Both may have been victims not of witchcraft but of untreated Lyme disease.
Life in 1692 Salem presented myriad challenges. Beyond spiritual concerns about hellfire and earthly fears of bewitchment, settlers faced very real environmental threats. While centuries of hindsight confirm that sorcery didn’t cause the girls’ symptoms, the confluence of psychological, political, and biological factors—including potentially undiagnosed Lyme disease—created perfect conditions for mass hysteria in a community already primed for fear by its precarious existence on the edge of wilderness.
The Jimsonweed Theory: Nature's Hallucinogen in Salem
Historical evidence points to another potential catalyst in the Salem witch trials: the consumption of a particular indigenous plant with powerful psychoactive properties. Jimsonweed (Datura stramonium), a common roadside plant belonging to the nightshade family, grows naturally throughout North America and possesses potent hallucinogenic compounds that could explain the bizarre symptoms exhibited in Salem.
The plant’s distinctive features—large white or purple trumpet-shaped flowers and small, egg-shaped fruits approximately two inches in diameter—make it visually appealing, particularly to young girls who might gather wildflowers. Though primarily known for its toxicity to livestock and wildlife, jimsonweed’s effects on humans who ingest it closely mirror the symptoms documented in Salem.
Jimsonweed’s cultural and historical associations further strengthen this theory. Throughout history, the plant has been linked to occult practices and dark magic traditions. Its consciousness-altering properties made it valuable in various spiritual rituals, including witchcraft ceremonies. The girls may have encountered jimsonweed either outdoors or within the Paris household on the day of the Venus glass incident, unwittingly exposing themselves to its psychoactive compounds.
Particularly intriguing is the possibility that someone in the Salem community already possessed knowledge of jimsonweed’s properties. Some historians suggest Tituba, the enslaved woman in Reverend Paris’s household, may have belonged to the Arawak tribe from the Caribbean, a culture known to utilize jimsonweed for both medicinal and ceremonial purposes. Indigenous American groups frequently incorporated jimsonweed into religious rituals, often preparing it in cakes that were consumed to induce altered states of consciousness believed to facilitate communion with ancestors or spiritual entities.
Modern confirmation of jimsonweed’s hallucinogenic effects came when four Los Angeles teenagers brewed jimsonweed tea and experienced psychedelic effects remarkably similar to the hallucinations described by the Paris girls in the 1690s. If Betty and Abigail had consumed jimsonweed cakes, they could easily have believed their resulting hallucinations were authentic supernatural experiences.
This scenario aligns with the psychological dynamics at play—engaging in a forbidden activity would have generated tremendous guilt, potentially feeding the girls’ sense that they deserved punishment for their transgression. However, as accusations multiplied and more accusers emerged throughout Salem Village, it becomes less plausible that all were simultaneously consuming jimsonweed, suggesting that while it might explain the initial outbreak, other factors likely contributed to the wider hysteria that followed.
The End of Salem's Darkness
Whatever initially sparked the Salem witch trials, their resolution ultimately required outside intervention. Reverend Increase Mather of Boston, father of Cotton Mather, emerged as a voice of reason amid the hysteria. Though still believing demonic forces were at work in Salem, he proposed a crucial reframing—suggesting Satan’s influence manifested not in the accused but rather in those making the accusations. Mather’s perspective helped redirect community sentiment, allowing those caught in the fervor to eventually distance themselves from their actions by attributing them to diabolical influence.
The aftermath brought formal acknowledgment of wrongdoing. In 1697, the Massachusetts General Court declared a day of fasting for communal atonement for the sins committed during the witch trials. By 1702, the Superior Court of Judicature officially pronounced the proceedings unlawful and invalidated their outcomes.
The Salem witch trials offer profound lessons about human nature and social dynamics. They demonstrate the genuine dangers of cultivating fear within a population and how easily neighbors can turn against one another under its influence. The events reveal fundamental truths about tribalism and collective behavior—how rationality can become submerged beneath waves of shared hysteria.
This notorious chapter in American history serves as a perpetual warning about the hazards of groupthink and baseless accusations. While we may never conclusively determine what caused those disturbing symptoms in a group of young girls over three centuries ago—whether disease, environmental toxins, or psychological contagion—one truth remains undeniable: executing twenty innocent people provided no remedy for Salem’s affliction.
The Salem witch trials stand as a somber reminder that justice requires both evidence and compassion, and that fear, once unleashed within a community, can become more destructive than any malady it purports to cure.
Diving Deeper
The haunting legacy of the Salem witch trials continues to captivate our collective imagination centuries later. While the general narrative may be familiar to many, the individuals who shaped this tragic episode often remain obscured by time. To illuminate these historical figures, we present the central characters divided into three crucial categories: Key Locations, Key Accusers, Key Officials, and Key Victims.
Each of these groups played a distinct role in the unfolding drama that forever altered Salem and American history. Their stories reveal the complex interplay of fear, power, and injustice that fueled one of our nation’s most infamous moral panics.
Key Locations
Key locations stood out amid the many places where events unfolded. Understanding these crucial sites and their stories provides deeper insight into what happened.
Salem Town and Salem Village
around 500
around 1400
Salem Village was located to the north of Salem Town.
Salem Village (now Danvers) was the epicenter of the 1692 witchcraft hysteria, engulfing nearly all of its 500 residents. While Salem Town (modern Salem) hosted the formal trials and had several accused witches, it largely escaped the social and religious turmoil that followed.
After the witch trials ended, Salem Village sought to distance itself from this dark chapter. When it gained independence in 1752, it adopted the name “Danvers,” effectively obscuring its connection to the witchcraft events. Meanwhile, by the late 19th century, Salem Town embraced this history as a tourist attraction, transforming the horrific events into the harmless caricature of a witch with a broomstick and conical hat.
The 1692 Salem Village encompassed what is now Danvers, most of Middleton, and Peabody. Research indicates approximately 550 people lived in 90 houses spread across roughly 20 square miles (52 square kilometers). Today, these three communities have a combined population of around 70,000.
Salem Town itself covered approximately eight square miles (21 square kilometers) with 1,400 residents in 1692. Today, Salem’s population has grown to approximately 38,000.
Documents
First Meeting House
The first Salem Village meetinghouse was constructed in 1672 on an acre of land donated by Joseph Hutchinson. Five ministers served this congregation in succession: James Bayley (1672-79), George Burroughs (1680-83), Deodat Lawson (1684-88), Samuel Parris (1689-1697), and Joseph Green (1698-1701).
This meetinghouse became a pivotal site during the witch trials of 1692. Originally, the first examinations of the accused—Tituba, Sarah Osborne (also spelled Osborn, Osbourne, or Osburn), and Sarah Good—were scheduled for Ingersoll’s ordinary nearby. However, the overwhelming public interest forced officials to move the proceedings to the more spacious meetinghouse on March 1. The building later hosted the examinations of other prominent accused witches, including Rebecca Nurse, Dorothy Good, Martha and Giles Corey, Bridget Bishop, and Mary Easty (or Esty).
Though the original structure no longer exists, a replica was built on the Rebecca Nurse Homestead property in the 1980s for the American Playhouse television production.
Other meeting houses were also used during these times.
Today
The First Meeting House was located at what is now 175 Hobart Street, Danvers, MA, USA. The replica is located on the Rebecca Nurse Homestead property.
Court House
The Salem Courthouse of 1692 occupied the second floor of the Town House, with the Latin School housed below. Located in what is now the middle of Washington Street, just south of Lynde Street’s intersection, this building became the stage for the notorious witch trials and death sentences.
In May 1692, Governor William Phips established the Court of Oyer and Terminer (“to hear and determine”), appointing Chief Justice William Stoughton and eight prominent citizens: Jonathan Corwin, Bartholomew Gedney, John Hathorne, John Richards, Nathaniel Saltonstall, Peter Sargeant, Samuel Sewall, and Wait Winthrop. These successful merchants, landowners, and politicians presided over the trials.
The court convened multiple times, trying the accused in groups: Bridget Bishop on June 2; Sarah Good, Susannah Martin, Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth How, and Sarah Wildes around June 28; Martha Carrier, John and Elizabeth Proctor, John Willard, George Jacobs, and George Burroughs from August 2-5; Martha Corey, Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Mary Parker, Ann Pudeator, Dorcas Hoar, and Mary Bradbury the week of September 2; and finally Wilmott Redd, Samuel Wardwell, and Margaret Scott on September 13. Nineteen defendants were convicted and hanged. Giles Corey, refusing to stand trial, was pressed to death.
The executions ceased after September 22. Governor Phips dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer in December 1692, replacing it with a Superior Court. In 1693, this new court tried more than 50 remaining prisoners. Twenty-six cases were dismissed without charges. Of those tried, three women—Sarah Wardwell (widow of executed Samuel Wardwell), Betty Johnson, and Mary Post—were found guilty, while the rest were acquitted. Governor Phips ultimately reprieved these final three convicted women, much to the outrage of Chief Justice Stoughton, who had advocated for their execution.
Today
The court house was located at what is now 70 Washington St, Salem, MA 01970. The original building is gone. Today a Masonic Temple stands in its place.
Jail
In 1692, the Salem jail was located on Prison Lane, now known as St. Peter Street. The building stood at the corner of Prison Lane and County Street (now Federal Street) and measured 20 feet by 13 feet with a yard when it was first constructed as the county jail in 1684. It is believed to have had two stories. This jail was one of four primary facilities where the majority of the accused witches were held, alongside jails in Boston, Cambridge, and Ipswich.
The conditions inside the prison were deplorable. The floors were dirt, the air was filled with lice, and the environment was dark, damp, and reeked of tobacco and manure. The jail was unbearably hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter, with iron bars covering the windows. To prevent the accused witches’ “specters” from escaping and tormenting the afflicted, jailers kept the prisoners shackled, including the elderly, young, and infirm. Prisoners were charged for their room and board, approximately two shillings and sixpence per week, in addition to a fee for their chains. It’s unclear whether the jail had any underground cells, though the term “dungeon” likely referred to the main room on the first floor.
Salem jail was the site of several tragic events. It was here that Martha Corey was excommunicated before her execution by hanging on September 22. Also in Salem jail, Giles Corey was tortured to death by pressing in an attempt to force him to stand trial. Meanwhile, his 17-year-old granddaughter, Margaret Jacobs, wrote a letter asking for his forgiveness while awaiting his own execution in the jail. Margaret had accused her grandfather of witchcraft after confessing to her own involvement in the practice out of fear. Additionally, Mary Warren, the servant of John and Elizabeth Proctor, was examined by the magistrates and reverends at this jail. After claiming to be afflicted and accusing her employers, Warren later recanted her testimony and was herself accused of witchcraft.
Once a person was convicted of witchcraft, execution was typically carried out within days. The condemned would be collected by Essex County High Sheriff George Corwin and transported in a cart, flanked by mounted guards, to the execution site on the outskirts of town.
In 1813, a new Salem jail was built across Prison Lane, where it intersected with Bridge Street, closer to the North River. The timbers from the old jail were repurposed in 1863 to build a residence by Abner Cheney Goodall on the original site. The Goodall family, who owned the building until the 1930s, opened Salem’s first “Witch City” attraction in that decade, recreating the old jail and charging admission to visit the “Old Witch Jail and Dungeon.”
Today
Proctor's Ledge
For many years, it was believed that the nineteen innocent people executed in Salem in 1692 were hanged at the top of Gallows Hill, located on the western edge of town. The exact site was never memorialized, as this tragic event was something Salem residents wished to leave behind. Maps from 1700 show “Gallows Hill,” but there was no marker to indicate the execution location.
In 1921, local historian Sidney Perley claimed to have identified the actual site of the executions, near the base of the hill at Proctor’s Ledge. His findings prompted the City of Salem to acquire part of Proctor’s Ledge in 1936, naming it “Witch Memorial Land.” However, no memorial was ever built, and for decades, most people continued to believe the executions took place at the hill’s summit.
In 2010, a team of researchers revisited the evidence and ultimately confirmed Perley’s theory. In January 2016, it was officially determined that the executions took place at Proctor’s Ledge. This conclusion was supported by eyewitness accounts from residents in 1692, who had witnessed the hangings from their nearby homes.
Today
Key Accusers at Trial
The following are the main accusers. After the trials, most of the accusers moved and changed their last names. Out of all of the accusers, Ann Putnam was the only person to confess that she was lying and ask for forgiveness.
Abigail Williams
July 12, 1680, Salem, MA
11 or 12
57
Unknown
Unknown
17
October 1697, Massachusetts
In the bitter winter of 1691-92, an innocent parlor game set in motion one of America’s most infamous episodes of mass hysteria. Several young girls in Salem Village experimented with folk divination—specifically, the “venus-glass” technique—dropping egg whites into water to glimpse shadows of their future husbands. According to Reverend John Hale’s account in “A Modest Enquiry Into the Nature of Witchcraft,” terror struck when the girls discerned the ominous shape of a coffin in the glass.
This seemingly trivial incident triggered a sequence of disturbing events. By January 1692, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams exhibited alarming behaviors—convulsing in violent fits, shrieking in pain, and claiming invisible spirits were tormenting them. The mysterious affliction soon spread to Ann Putnam Jr. and other local girls, creating widespread fear in the community.
Concerned for their wellbeing, Reverend Samuel Parris summoned physician William Griggs in late February. Finding no medical explanation for their suffering, Dr. Griggs reached a chilling conclusion—the girls must be under the influence of dark forces. Within days of a subsequent witch cake incident, the afflicted girls made their first accusations, naming three women as their tormentors: Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osbourne.
These accusations would spark a wildfire of suspicion and fear that would forever mark American history.
Today
Abigail Williams lived with her uncle, Reverend Samuel Parris and his daughter Betty Parris at what is now 67 Centre Street Danvers, MA.
Ann Putnam
October 18, 1679, Danvers, MA
12
62
Never Married
0
37
1716, Salem, Massachusetts
At just twelve years old, Ann Putnam emerged as one of the most influential accusers in the Salem Witch Trials, a dark chapter that unfolded in late 17th-century colonial Massachusetts. Born in 1679 to Thomas and Ann Putnam in Salem Village (present-day Danvers), Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, she was their firstborn child and would soon become entangled in one of America’s most notorious episodes of mass hysteria.
Initially connected to the circle of girls who claimed to be tormented by supernatural forces, Putnam declared herself afflicted in March 1692, joining Elizabeth Hubbard, Mary Walcott, Mercy Lewis, Abigail Williams, and Mary Warren in their supposed supernatural torment. What distinguishes Putnam in this historical tragedy was the staggering scope of her accusations—she personally named sixty-two individuals as practitioners of witchcraft.
The consequences of these accusations proved devastating. Combined with claims from other accusers, Putnam’s testimonies directly contributed to twenty executions, with several additional victims perishing while imprisoned under harsh conditions. Her young voice carried extraordinary weight in a community gripped by fear, forever marking her as a central figure in one of America’s earliest and most consequential moral panics.
On August 25, 1706, at the Salem meeting-house, a large congregation from Salem and other places assembled. Reverend Joseph Green read Putnam’s confession while the congregation sat and Putnam stood in her place:
“I desire to be humbled before God for that sad and humbling providence that befell my father’s family in the year about ninety-two; that I, then being in my childhood, should, by such a providence of God, be made an instrument for the accusing of several people for grievous crimes, whereby their lives was taken away from them, whom, now I have just grounds and good reason to believe they were innocent persons; and that it was a great delusion of Satan that deceived me in that sad time, whereby I justly fear I have been instrumental, with others, though ignorantly and unwittingly, to bring upon myself and this land the guilt of innocent blood; though, what was said or done by me against any person, I can truly and uprightly say, before God and man, I did it not out of any anger, malice, or ill will to any person, for I had no such thing against one of them; but what I did was ignorantly, being deluded by Satan. And particularly, as I was a chief instrument of accusing Goodwife Nurse and her two sisters, I desire to lie in the dust, and to be humble for it, in that I was a cause, with others, of so sad a calamity to them and their families; for which cause I desire to lie in the dust, and earnestly beg forgiveness of God, and from all those unto whom I have given just cause of sorrow and offense, whose relations were taken away or accused.”
After the reading, Ann Putnam declared it was her confession, acknowledged her signature, and received Communion.
Today
Ann Putnam Jr lived with her father Thomas Putnam and her mother Ann Putnam Sr. The house was located in what is now called Danielle Drive, Danvers, MA, USA.
Betty Parris
November 28, 1682, Salem, MA
10 or 11
at least 3 directly, 144 to 185 accusations are based on her behavior
Benjamin Baron
4
77
March 21, 1760 Concord, MA
In the wake of Reverend Samuel Parris’s tumultuous church affairs in 1692, a troubling pattern emerged—his daughter Elizabeth (“Betty”) and niece Abigail Williams began disappearing for brief periods. During these absences, the girls, along with several friends, engaged in forbidden divination rituals taught by Tituba, the Parris household’s enslaved servant. Seeking glimpses of their future husbands and social standing, they employed a “Venus glass,” watching as egg whites formed prophetic shapes in water. Terror struck when one girl observed the ominous silhouette of a coffin materializing in her glass—an incident that marked the beginning of Betty and Abigail’s disturbing behavioral transformation.
The strange affliction soon spread among Betty’s circle of friends, exhibiting similar unsettling symptoms. Summoned by a concerned Reverend Parris, Dr. Griggs found himself baffled by the mysterious condition affecting only children—an observation that fueled the community’s growing suspicion of witchcraft. In desperation, neighbor Mary Sibley suggested a folk remedy known as a “witch’s cake.” Following Sibley’s instructions, Tituba prepared a rye cake mixed with the victims’ urine and fed it to a dog—an animal believed to be susceptible to witches’ commands and supernatural influence. When her suffering persisted, Betty finally named Tituba as one of the “Evil Hands” tormenting her.
Though the infamous trials would forever change Salem, Betty Parris herself recovered completely. She eventually married and mothered four children, carrying her story into adulthood without ever retracting her accusations or offering apologies for her role in the tragedy that claimed twenty lives.
Today
Betty Parris lived with her father Reverend Samuel Parris and her cousin Abigail Williams at what is now 67 Centre Street Danvers, MA.
Elizabeth Booth
1674, Salem Village, MA
17 or 18
62
Married Israel Shaw on December 26, 1695
2
Unknown
Unknown
At merely eighteen years old, Sarah Booth emerged as one of the six pivotal accusers during the 1692 Salem Witch Trials—a dark chapter in Massachusetts colonial history. Court records document her accusations against ten individuals, with five executions directly attributed to her testimony. Her targets included the entire Proctor family—John and Elizabeth, their fifteen-year-old daughter Sarah, sons William and Benjamin, and relative Woody—as well as Giles and Martha Corey, Job Tookey, and Wilmont Redd.
Booth’s devastating influence in Salem’s hysteria crystallized on May 20, 1692, when she claimed John and Elizabeth Proctor had murdered at least four people. Her testimony, bolstered by her sister Alice and mother, alleged that the specters of the murdered had visited her, pleading for Elizabeth to cease her killing. This testimony secured death sentences for both Proctors, though Elizabeth’s pregnancy with her sixth child temporarily delayed her execution. When the trials eventually collapsed, Elizabeth received a reprieve and was released.
The young accuser’s allegations grew increasingly elaborate. She testified that her deceased stepfather’s ghost had revealed Goody Proctor as his murderer. Later, she accused Giles Corey of orchestrating gatherings where “fifty specters had flooded into their rural home for a devil’s communion of wine and bread.” Corey endured five months chained in prison before being crushed to death for refusing to enter a plea. On June 8, 1692, Booth claimed Martha Corey (Giles’s wife) had murdered Thomas Goold Senyer, insisting his spirit had revealed this to her. Martha Corey was hanged on September 22, 1692—among the last victims of Salem’s witch hunt. That same day, Wilmont Redd was executed based primarily on Booth’s accusations, despite the evidence being largely speculative.
Booth’s testimony against Job Trooney proved less effective. Though she and fellow accuser Susannah Sheldon claimed on June 7, 1692, that he had afflicted eight townspeople and “looked as red as blood,” the jury deemed Sheldon’s testimony “overly visual and dramatic” and not credible, a ruling that undermined Booth’s accusations as well.
On December 26, 1695, Booth married Israel Shaw and later bore two children. Unlike Ann Putnam, she carried her role in Salem’s tragedy to her grave, never offering apology or expressing remorse for the lives her testimony had destroyed.
Elizabeth Hubbard
1675, Massachusetts Bay Colony
17 or 18
29 – 32
May have changed last name and married John Bennett
May have had 4 children with John Bennett
Unknown
Unknown
Elizabeth Hubbard was the first to testify and the primary instigator of the Salem witch trials.
Hubbard’s age allowed her to testify under oath, leading her to have a major role in the trials. Her testimony was considered especially convincing, and she was known for being particularly susceptible to being thrown into fits during trials. During Elizabeth Proctor’s trial, Hubbard purported to be under a deep trance and unable to speak:
“I saw the apparition of Sarah Good, which did torture me most grievously, but I did not know her name until the 27th of February, and then she told me her name was Sarah Good, and then she did prick me and pinch me most grievously, and also since, several times, urging me vehemently to write in her (devil’s) book”
As the trials progressed, Hubbard began instigating more and more accusations. She gave her last testimony on January 7, 1693. Records show that she filed 40 legal complaints and testified 32 times. As a result of her testimonies, 17 people were arrested, 13 were hanged, and two died in jail.
Mary Warren
1674, Salem, Massachusetts
17 or 18
unknown
unknown
unknown
35 or 36
1710
In the fateful spring of 1692, Mary Warren found herself caught in Salem’s growing web of hysteria. Early March saw her succumbing to mysterious seizures, during which she claimed to encounter the ghost of Giles Corey. Her employer, John Proctor, dismissed these visions as mere shadows and set her to work at the spinning wheel, threatening physical punishment should she display any more fits. For a period, Warren’s supernatural encounters ceased under this harsh treatment.
The Proctors maintained strict discipline, warning Warren that should she fall into fire or water during her episodes, they would offer no rescue. When her afflictions temporarily subsided, Warren posted a thanksgiving note at the Meeting House one Sabbath evening—an act that would prove consequential. That same night, she alleged that John Proctor awakened her specifically to torment her about the note.
On April 3, 1692, Reverend Samuel Parris read Warren’s note aloud to the congregation, who proceeded to question her after services. Her responses suggested something profound: the afflicted girls had been fabricating their accusations. Warren stated that her improved condition now allowed her to distinguish between reality and visions—an admission that threatened to unravel the entire foundation of the trials.
This revelation provoked the fury of her fellow accusers, who retaliated by turning their accusations against her. On April 18, 1692, Warren herself faced formal charges of witchcraft. Under the weight of interrogation, she reverted to having fits and, buckling under duress, not only confessed to practicing witchcraft but began implicating others—including the Proctors who had attempted to curb her behavior.
Warren’s wavering between truth and self-preservation exemplifies the impossible choices faced by those swept up in Salem’s deadly tide of accusation and counter-accusation.
Mercy Lewis
1675, Maine
16 or 17
29
Allen
1 illegitimate son
unknown
unknown
In the terrifying spectacle of the 1692 Salem witch trials—a hysteria that claimed twenty lives—Mercy Lewis emerged as a pivotal figure whose testimony carried fatal weight. Her accusations proved particularly devastating for her former master, Reverend George Burroughs, who would face execution based partly on her claims. Lewis’s influence extended to other tragic cases; after all charges against Mary Eastey had been dismissed and her release seemed imminent, Lewis’s renewed accusations sent Eastey back to prison and ultimately to the gallows. Similarly, her testimony against Elizabeth Proctor alleged supernatural torment inflicted upon both herself and Abigail Williams in their respective homes.
Court records suggest Lewis herself was a victim of childhood abuse, with testimonies from Abigail Williams and Thomas Putnam supporting this dark history. This trauma may have shaped her subsequent behavior and vulnerability to the mass hysteria.
Living in the Putnam household, Lewis formed close bonds with Ann Putnam Jr. and Mary Walcott—relationships that positioned her at the epicenter of Salem’s growing accusations. By early April 1692, her claims had escalated dramatically. She testified that Satan himself had approached her, tempting her with “gold and many fine things” in exchange for signing his book. More ominously, she claimed Burroughs appeared to her as an agent of Satan, taking her “up to an exceeding high mountain” where he offered her dominion over “all the kingdoms of the earth” if she would pledge allegiance in writing.
While no formal medical records exist regarding Lewis’s mental state during the trials, documents note she suffered from seizures. One particularly violent episode occurred on May 7, 1692, allegedly triggered by Burroughs’s supernatural torture after she refused to sign her name in his book as a declaration of allegiance.
Beyond Burroughs, Lewis’s accusations reached numerous others, including Mary Eastey (sister of the condemned Rebecca Nurse), Giles Corey, Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin, John Willard, and Sarah Wildes—all of whom faced dire consequences. Paradoxically, Lewis herself briefly became a target when Ann Putnam Jr. claimed to have seen Lewis’s apparition, though Putnam admitted it had caused her no harm.
After Salem’s fever of accusation finally broke, Lewis relocated to Boston to live with her aunt. There, she bore a child out of wedlock before marrying a man identified only as “Mr. Allen” by 1701, leaving behind the shadow of Salem but carrying its legacy within her.
Thomas Putnam
Born
March 22, 1652, Danvers, MA
39 or 40
43
Ann Putnam Sr
12
47
Jun 3, 1699 Danvers, MA
Despite his lineage as the son of one of Salem Village’s most affluent citizens, Thomas Putnam found himself deliberately excluded from significant inheritances by both his father and father-in-law—a slight that would ultimately fuel one of colonial America’s most notorious chapters. The wound deepened when his half-brother Joseph, who had received the lion’s share of their father’s estate, married into the prosperous Porter family of Salem Town, intensifying an already bitter rivalry between the two clans.
This inheritance dispute transformed into something far more sinister during the witch trials of 1692. Thomas, his wife Ann, and their daughter Ann Jr. emerged as a formidable triumvirate of accusers, systematically targeting extended members of the Porter family with allegations of witchcraft. Court records reveal the staggering scope of their campaign: Thomas personally accused 43 individuals, while his daughter leveled charges against an astonishing 62 people, making them collectively responsible for the majority of accusations during the entire hysteria.
The family’s reign of terror ended only with death—both Thomas and Ann perished in 1699, having already buried two of their children. Their passing left ten surviving children orphaned, inheritors not of wealth but of a legacy forever entangled with one of America’s darkest episodes of personal vengeance disguised as religious fervor.
Today
Ann Putnam Jr lived with her father Thomas Putnam and her mother Ann Putnam Sr. The house was located in what is now called Danielle Drive, Danvers, MA, USA.
Tituba
Maybe between 1662 to 1666 and born near Venezuela
maybe 26 to 30
possibly up to 9
John Indian (exonym)
unknown
unknown
unknown
In January 1692, Tituba became the pivotal first figure accused of practicing witchcraft by Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, setting in motion Salem’s descent into hysteria. Some historians suggest she may have shared tales of Haitian Vodou and folk magic with the girls before their accusations. Despite her enslaved status, Tituba was permitted to testify in court—a legal anomaly that would prove consequential.
Though initially denying involvement in witchcraft, Tituba eventually confessed to creating a “witch cake”—but only after enduring a brutal beating from her master, Reverend Samuel Parris. Her confession expanded dramatically under duress; she claimed the devil had commanded her to worship him and harm the village children. In subsequent questioning, she elaborated that she had learned occult protective techniques from her previous mistress in Barbados, knowledge she insisted was meant to ward off evil rather than cause harm. She maintained she was not a witch, despite acknowledging her participation in creating the witch cake to help Elizabeth Parris.
The initial accusations by the young girls did not immediately reach court. However, a month later, Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne faced renewed accusations from two adult women whose claims carried judicial weight. On March 7, 1692, all three women were imprisoned in Boston awaiting trial—though no evidence ever substantiated Tituba’s forced confessions.
As the trials expanded to ensnare dozens from surrounding communities, Tituba’s testimony evolved into something extraordinary—a survival strategy that redirected attention from herself toward others. Her confessions became increasingly elaborate, describing supernatural encounters with black dogs, hogs, a yellow bird, rats of different colors, cats, foxes, and wolves. She spoke of flying on sticks and claimed Sarah Osborne possessed a winged, two-legged creature with a woman’s head.
This testimony—blending European demonology with possibly Caribbean folk elements—both confused and captivated Salem’s residents. The theatrical nature of her confessions provided macabre entertainment while convincing many that Satan had indeed infiltrated their community. More importantly for Tituba, this strategy of calculated confession likely saved her life, as she navigated the dangerous intersection of racial prejudice and supernatural fear that defined her precarious position in colonial Massachusetts.
Key Officials
There were many officials that took part in the trials. Judge Samuel Sewall was the only official to apologize for his part in the trials. The following officials stand out for their participation.
Judge John Hathorne
August 1641, Salem, MA
50 or 51
Ruth Gardner
1
75
May 10, 1717, Salem, MA
John Hathorne was a prominent merchant and magistrate in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Salem, Massachusetts. He is most remembered for his significant role as one of the leading judges during the infamous Salem witch trials.
Despite his central role in the preliminary examinations, Hathorne was notably absent from the official Court of Oyer and Terminer appointed in June 1692. This court heavily utilized the spectral evidence, interrogations, and affidavits that Hathorne had previously conducted alongside Jonathan Corwin, which were documented by Reverend Samuel Parris and Ezekiel Cheever Jr. On September 22, 1692—the day of the final eight executions—Hathorne met with William Stoughton and Cotton Mather to discuss using court records for a publication promoting the trials. Unlike his colleague Samuel Sewall, Hathorne never expressed remorse for his actions during this dark chapter of colonial history. He was a direct ancestor of the renowned writer Nathaniel Hawthorne.
In the late 1690s, Hathorne followed his father’s military tradition, becoming increasingly involved in King William’s War. He led colonial forces during the 1696 Siege of Fort Nashwaak (now Fredericton, New Brunswick) and continued his military service, eventually attaining the rank of colonel in 1711. Governor Joseph Dudley appointed him to the Superior Court, a position he held until 1711. Hathorne died in Salem in 1717 and was buried in the Old Burying Point Cemetery alongside many of his descendants.
His tombstone, now preserved within a protective granite block, bears the inscription: “Here lyes interd ye body of Colo John Hathorne Esqr Aged 76 years Who Died May ye 10th 1717.”
Today
Judge Jonathan Corwin
November 14, 1640, Salem, MA
51 or 52
unknown
1
77
June 9, 1718, Salem, MA
Today
Judge Jonathan Corwin lived at what is now 310 1/2 Essex Street, Salem, MA. Below the following map is what the house looks like today.
Judge Jonathan Corwin is buried in the Broad Street Cemetery in Salem, MA.
Rev. Samuel Parris
1653, London, United Kingdom
38 or 39
Elizabeth Eldridge, Dorothy Noyes
1 to Elizabeth Eldridge
67
February 27, 1720, Sudbury, MA
Samuel Parris was a Puritan minister in the Province of Massachusetts Bay who became infamous for his role in the Salem witch trials of 1692. A former businessman and plantation owner, Parris served as minister of Salem Village (now Danvers), Massachusetts when accusations of witchcraft—initiated by his own household—sparked one of America’s most notorious episodes of mass hysteria.
After a devastating hurricane damaged his Barbados property in 1680, Parris sold part of his land and relocated to Boston. He brought with him an enslaved woman named Tituba and married Elizabeth Eldridge, who was renowned for her exceptional beauty. The couple had three children: Thomas, Elizabeth, and Susannah. Despite his merchant activities, Parris struggled financially and turned to ministry for stability. After briefly serving as minister in Stow, Massachusetts in 1685, he accepted the position in Salem Village in July 1689.
The Salem witch trials began when Parris’s daughter Betty and her cousin Abigail Williams accused Tituba of witchcraft. Parris physically abused Tituba until she confessed to being a witch, after which her husband John Indian began making accusations against others. The ensuing hysteria resulted in numerous arrests and imprisonments. By the end of the 16-month ordeal, 19 people had been hanged and one man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death.
During the height of the trials, Parris fanned the flames of suspicion in a 1692 sermon, declaring that “as in our text John 6:10 there was one devil among the 12 disciples… so in our churches, God knows how many Devils there are.” These inflammatory words encouraged villagers to identify and eliminate suspected “witches”—often individuals with whom Parris and his allies, particularly the Putnam family, had previous grievances.
In 1693, as public sentiment turned against the trials, Parris’s own parish brought charges against him for his role in the prosecutions. He issued an apology in his November 1694 essay “Meditations for Peace,” after which Increase Mather led a church council that vindicated him. Parris subsequently became embroiled in a property dispute with his congregation over parsonage land he had claimed as compensation for unpaid salary. Though an Ipswich court ordered in 1697 that his salary be paid and the land returned, Parris found his position unsustainable and resigned in 1696.
Following his wife Elizabeth’s death in 1696, Parris married Dorothy Noyes in Sudbury in 1699. His later years were spent preaching in various communities: he returned to Stow for two or three years, moved to Concord around 1704/05, and served six months in Dunstable in 1711. Parris died in Sudbury on February 27, 1720, leaving behind a complicated legacy tied forever to one of colonial America’s darkest chapters.
Record Book
The Salem Village Church Record Book (12″ × 7¼”) once contained 260 rag paper leaves bound in vellum, though only the front cover remains today. Its faded title reads “Church Book Belonging to Salem Village 1689,” with two holes suggesting it once closed with ribbons.
Samuel Parris became minister when the “Church of Christ at Salem Village” was established in 1688-89. The first 33 pages, handwritten by Parris, cover church activities from November 1689 to October 1696. Key entries include:
- Original 27 covenant members
- Church meeting notes and membership changes
- The first witchcraft records (March 27, 1692)
- Martha Cory’s excommunication after her witchcraft conviction
Later pages document the conflict between Parris and his opponents, featuring church meetings, petitions, letters, and Parris’s “Meditations for Peace” (1694), all recorded in his increasingly compact handwriting.
Today
Reverend Samuel Parris lived with his daughter Betty Parris and his niece Abigail Williams at what is now 67 Centre Street Danvers, MA.
Sheriff Geroge Corwin
February 26, 1666
25 or 26
None
None
30
April 12, 1696, Salem, MA
George Corwin served as the High Sheriff of Essex County, Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials, where he played a pivotal role by signing warrants for both the arrest and execution of those condemned for witchcraft. He personally selected the execution site in Salem where 19 innocent people were hanged.
On September 16, 1692, the Court of Oyer and Terminer directed Corwin to oversee one of the most brutal episodes of the trials—the torture of Giles Corey. The 81-year-old Corey refused to enter a plea to witchcraft charges and was subjected to pressing (the placement of heavy stones on his chest) until his death on September 19, 1692. Corey’s strategic refusal to plead meant he technically died innocent, preventing the legal seizure of his property to benefit his heirs.
Despite this legal protection, Corwin attempted to extort money from Corey’s family. In 1710, Corey’s daughter Elizabeth and her husband filed a lawsuit against Corwin’s estate, stating: “After our father’s death the sheriff threatened to seize our father’s estate and for fear that of we complied with him and paid him eleven pound six shillings in money.”
Corwin’s life was cut short when he died of a heart attack on April 12, 1696, at just 30 years of age. Even in death, controversy followed him. Phillip English, a Salem resident who had been accused during the witch trials and had his property confiscated by Corwin, blocked the sheriff’s burial by placing a lien on his corpse. English refused to allow the burial to proceed until he received compensation for his seized property. Only after this reimbursement was made could Corwin finally be laid to rest.
Today
George Corwin lived at what is now 148 Washington Street, Salem, MA, USA. The original structure is no longer there. In 1784 a new structure was built. Today it is called The Merchant, a hotel that you can stay at.
George Corwin is buried in the Broad Street Cemetery in Salem, MA.
Key Victims
The Salem witch trials claimed many victims, with numerous individuals imprisoned and twenty executed—nineteen by hanging and one by crushing under heavy stones. While the broader narrative of this dark chapter in American history is well-known, the personal stories of those who lost their lives are often overshadowed.
We have researched and compiled the individual histories of all twenty people executed during the trials, bringing to light their personal experiences, accusations, trials, and final moments. These stories provide a human dimension to this historical tragedy and honor their memory beyond their status as mere statistics.
Alice Parker
Born
Around 1627
Probably John Parker
1
Around 66
September 22, 1692
October 31, 2001
On May 12, 1692, Alice Parker faced escalating accusations of witchcraft in Salem. The charges against her included supernatural involvement in the disappearance of Thomas Westgate and allegedly bewitching the sister of Mary Warren. Margaret Jacobs further testified that she had witnessed Parker’s spectral form appearing in North field.
Confronted with these accusations, Parker vehemently denied all charges. In her desperation, she made the poignant declaration that she “wished the earth could open and swallow her” and pleaded for God’s mercy.
Historical records indicate that Alice was married to John Parker, a local fisherman. However, the presence of multiple Parker families in the Salem area during this period has created some historical confusion about her precise identity and family connections.
Legal Documents
To view the actual legal documents, you must have a PDF reader installed on your device. Due to the size of the PDF, it may take a moment to pull up depending on your internet connection. Files will open in a new tab or window.
Today
Alice Parker lived in a rented home on the Salem Harbor waterfront. The Parker’s landlady was Mary English, who lived at the other end of English Street. Below is the address today.
Ann Pudeator
Born
November 13, 1621
Thomas Greenslade, Jacob Pudeator
5
70
September 22, 1692
1957
When Ann Pudeator was accused of witchcraft during the Salem hysteria, she faced an extraordinary catalog of alleged supernatural crimes:
- Forcing a girl to sign the Devil’s Boo
- Causing the death of a neighbor’s wife through bewitchment
- Appearing in spectral form to torment the “afflicted girls”
- Possessing witchcraft materials (which she maintained was simply grease for soap-making)
- Torturing victims with pins
- Causing a man to fall from a tree
- Murdering both her second husband and his first wife
- Transforming herself into a bird to fly into her house
Many of these sensational claims originated from Mary Warren, one of the principal “afflicted girls.” Additional accusations came from Ann Putnam Jr., John Best Sr., John Best Jr., and Samuel Pickworth. Following her trial, Ann Pudeator was sentenced to death on September 19 [O.S. September 9], 1692, alongside four other women: Alice Parker, Dorcas Hoar, Mary Bradbury, and Mary Easty.
On October 2 [O.S. September 22], 1692, Pudeator was hanged on Gallows Hill in Salem Town. Her final resting place remains unknown, though a memorial stone honoring her stands at the Salem Witch Trials Memorial in Salem.
In a tragic twist, Ann’s son Thomas had previously testified against George Burroughs in his witchcraft trial, resulting in Burroughs’ execution in August. Following Burroughs’ hanging, Thomas desperately attempted to save his mother’s life by offering additional testimony—an effort that ultimately proved futile.
In October 1710, the General Court passed an act reversing the convictions of those for whom their families had pleaded, but Ann Pudeator was not among them. Pudeator was exonerated in 1957 by the Massachusetts General Court, partly because of the efforts of Lee Greenslit, a Midwestern textbook publisher who learned about Pudeator’s execution while researching his family origins.
Legal Documents
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Today
Bridget Bishop
Born
1632, Kingdom of England
Samuel Wesselby, Thomas Oliver, Edward Bishop
5
60
June 10, 1692
October 31, 2001
Bridget Bishop faced examination on April 19, 1692, on suspicion of “sundry acts of witchcraft.” She stood accused of bewitching five young women: Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and Elizabeth Hubbard.
Bishop’s eight-day trial marked the official beginning of the Salem Witch Trials. Cotton Mather documented the proceedings in his infamous work, “Wonders of the Invisible World.” According to Mather’s account, multiple witnesses testified that Bishop’s spectral shape would physically assault them through pinching, choking, or biting. One witness claimed Bishop’s apparition threatened to drown her unless she signed a mysterious book. Mather noted that whenever Bishop looked at her accusers during the trial, they would collapse immediately, only to be revived by her touch.
The accusations grew increasingly elaborate as the trial progressed. One woman testified that Bishop’s apparition tore her coat—a claim seemingly verified when the exact tear was discovered upon examination. Despite acknowledging that these numerous allegations carried “too much suspicion,” Mather did not dismiss them outright.
The formal complaint against Bishop was filed by Ezekiel Cheevers and John Putnam. Among the many accusations, Ann Putnam claimed Bishop called the devil her God. Richard Coman alleged that Bishop supernaturally grabbed his throat and pulled both him and his wife from their bed. Several young women insisted she could harm them with just a glance. Even Bishop’s own husband testified against her, claiming she praised the devil.
William Stacy, a middle-aged Salem Town resident, testified that Bishop had previously acknowledged to him that others in town suspected her of witchcraft. When he confronted her about using witchcraft against him, she denied it. Another local, Samuel Shattuck, accused Bishop of bewitching his child and striking his son with a spade.
Shattuck further testified that Bishop had asked him to dye lace that appeared too small for any purpose except for a poppet—a doll used in spellcasting. John and William Bly, father and son, claimed to have found such poppets in Bishop’s house and reported that their cat seemed bewitched or poisoned following a dispute with her. Mather’s record includes additional victims: Deliverance Hobbs, John Cook, Samuel Gray, and John Louder.
During sentencing, a female jury initially reported finding a “witch’s teat” (third nipple) on Bishop’s body—considered definitive evidence of witchcraft—yet this mark mysteriously disappeared upon a second examination. Mather concluded that Bishop’s numerous lies in court were ultimately her greatest condemnation, stating: “there was little occasion to prove the witchcraft, it being evident and notorious to all beholders.”
Bridget Bishop holds the grim distinction of being the first woman executed by hanging during the Salem witch trials.
Legal Documents
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Today
Elizabeth Howe
Born
May 14, 1637, East Riding of Yorkshire, United Kingdom
James Howe II
6
54
July 19, 1692
1711
The Perley family (sometimes spelled Pearly) of Ipswich, Massachusetts emerged as primary accusers of Elizabeth Howe during the Salem witch trials. They claimed their ten-year-old daughter was being tormented by Howe, reporting that the child experienced pin pricks and suffered from mysterious fits. In their June 1, 1692 testimony against Howe, they quoted their daughter saying, “I could never afflict a dog as Good Howe afflicts me.” Initially skeptical of these accusations, the parents consulted several physicians who concluded the girl was “under an evil hand.” Her condition persisted for two to three years until she tragically “pined away to skin and bones and ended her sorrowful life.” Court records show that Howe stood accused of afflicting several other girls in Salem Village as well.
On May 28, 1692, magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin issued a warrant for Elizabeth Howe’s arrest. The document ordered that she be apprehended and brought to Lieutenant Nathaniel Ingersoll’s home to face charges of “Sundry Acts of Witch-craft done or [committed] on the [bodies] of Mary Walcott, Abigail Williams, and others of Salem Village.” Ephraim Wildes, constable of Topsfield, arrested her the following day.
Like other accused “witches,” Howe endured horrific prison conditions—bound with “cords and irons for months, subjected to insulting, unending examinations and excommunication from the church.” According to Marion L. Starkey’s “The Devil in Massachusetts,” the accused were “periodically subjected by prison officials, especially by the juries assigned to search them for witch marks.” Throughout her imprisonment, Howe received crucial support from her devoted family. Her daughters and occasionally her blind husband took turns making regular journeys to Boston, bringing her “country butter, clean linen, and comfort.”
After being found guilty at trial, Elizabeth Howe was hanged on July 19, 1692, alongside four other women: Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, Sarah Wildes, and Susanna Martin—victims of one of America’s most infamous miscarriages of justice.
Legal Documents
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Today
Elizabeth Howe and her blind husband lived at what is 417 Linebrook Road, Ipswich, MA, USA today.
George Jacobs
February 13, 1609, Bishop’s Stortford, United Kingdom
Mary
2
83
August 19, 1692
No
George Jacobs Sr., an English colonist in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, became one of the tragic victims of the 1692 Salem witch trials. Accused of witchcraft in Salem Village, he was convicted and hanged on August 19, 1692. In a heartbreaking twist, his accusers included members of his own family—his daughter-in-law and granddaughter, Margaret. His son, George Jr., was also accused but managed to escape arrest.
Following his execution, Jacobs’ body was buried near the hanging site. According to local tradition, he was interred on his own farm, but the exact location was forgotten after the property was abandoned. The story took an unexpected turn in the 1950s when developers began bulldozing the former farmland and uncovered human remains. These bones were collected and subsequently passed through several local historical societies, their significance initially unrecognized.
In the 1970s, the remains resurfaced and were believed to belong to George Jacobs Sr. Supporting this theory, medical examination revealed signs of osteoarthritis—consistent with historical accounts that Jacobs walked with two canes. The bones had been stored in a drawer at the Danvers Historical Society until their rediscovery.
The final chapter of Jacobs’ physical journey came during a ceremony in 1992 marking the 300th anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials. After three centuries of posthumous displacement, his remains were finally given a proper burial at the Nurse Graveyard on the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, which continues to be maintained as a historic site commemorating the victims of this dark period in American history.
Legal Documents
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Today
George Jacobs Sr lived at what is now 20 North Shore Avenue, Danvers, MA, USA. The original house was torn down and a new one built. A photo below was taken by Frank Cousins of the actual George Jacobs Sr’s house.
Giles Corey
August 1611, Northampton, United Kingdom
Martha Corey, Mary Bright, Margaret Corey
1
81
September 19, 1692
Was not convicted due to not entering a plea
Giles Corey, born in 1611 in Northampton, England, moved to Salem by 1640. Initially living in Salem Town, he later relocated to Salem Village (now Danvers) to work as a farmer. Despite minor legal troubles for petty theft, Corey became a prosperous landowner who married three times—first to Margaret in England, then to Mary Bright in 1664, and finally to Martha Rich.
In 1676, Corey was charged with murdering his indentured servant Jacob Goodale after beating him with a stick for allegedly stealing apples. Though the beating proved fatal, Corey was only found guilty of using “unreasonable force” and fined, as corporal punishment of servants was permitted.
The Salem witch trials engulfed the Corey family when Martha was arrested for witchcraft on March 19, 1692. Giles initially believed the accusations until he himself was arrested on April 18. When brought to trial in September, Corey refused to plead guilty or not guilty—a strategic move to protect his estate from confiscation, which would occur with a conviction.
Under English law, those who refused to plead were subjected to “peine forte et dure”—being pressed under heavy stones. On September 17, Sheriff George Corwin began the torture, placing boards on Corey’s naked body and adding rocks progressively. When asked to enter a plea, Corey reportedly requested “More weight.” After two days of excruciating torture, the 80-year-old Corey died without yielding. His wife Martha was hanged three days later.
Despite Corey’s legal maneuver to protect his estate, Sheriff Corwin allegedly extorted eleven pounds and six shillings from Corey’s heirs by threatening to seize the property anyway—a claim that led to a lawsuit against Corwin’s estate in 1710.
Legal Documents
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Today
John Proctor
October 9, 1632, Assington, United Kingdom
Elizabeth Proctor, Elizabeth Thorndike, Martha Giddens
18
59
August 19, 1692
October 31, 2001
The accusations of witchcraft initially targeted John Proctor’s third wife, Elizabeth Bassett. When Proctor began defending her and openly questioning the accusers’ credibility, he himself became a target. Though Abigail Williams served as his principal accuser, Mary Walcott also claimed he attempted to strangle her, and his former servant Mary Warren testified on April 21 that Proctor had beaten her for posting a prayer request before forcing her to sign the Devil’s Book. Additional allegations followed, growing increasingly lurid.
Throughout the proceedings, Proctor staunchly challenged both the reliability of spectral evidence and the legitimacy of the Court of Oyer and Terminer. His reputation in the community prompted 32 neighbors to sign a petition vouching for his character, stating he had lived a “Christian life in his family and was ever ready to help such as stood in need.”
Despite this support, both John and Elizabeth Proctor were tried on August 5, 1692, convicted, and sentenced to death by hanging. While they remained imprisoned, the sheriff confiscated all their household possessions. Their livestock was sold at reduced prices, slaughtered, or shipped to the West Indies. The tavern they operated was emptied of its supplies, leaving their children destitute.
John Proctor was executed on August 19, 1692. Elizabeth, who was pregnant at the time, received a temporary reprieve until after childbirth—by which time the trials had concluded.
Legal Documents
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Today
John Proctor lived at what is now 348 Lowell Street, Peabody, Massachusetts, USA. Below the following map is what the outside and inside of the house looks like today.
John Willard
1657
unknown
unknown
34 or 35
August 19, 1692
October 17, 1711
John Willard, executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials, was hanged on Gallows Hill on August 19, 1692. Initially serving as a constable responsible for arresting accused witches, Willard began doubting the accusations’ validity and refused to make further arrests in May 1692. In retaliation, Ann Putnam Jr. and others accused him of witchcraft and murdering thirteen people.
Willard’s own in-laws, the Wilkins family, turned against him with multiple accusations. Benjamin Wilkins claimed Willard had abused his wife, Samuel Wilkins testified about being tormented by Willard’s spectral form, and John Wilkins blamed him for his wife’s death after childbirth. Family patriarch Bray Wilkins alleged falling ill after Willard gave him the “evil eye.”
After Willard publicly questioned the accusations, Ann Putnam Jr. began experiencing visions of his specter, claiming he admitted to killing her sister Sarah. When Willard sought help from Bray Wilkins, his request for prayers was rebuffed. Following a series of mysterious illnesses in the Wilkins family—which accusers Mercy Lewis and Ann Putnam Jr. attributed to Willard’s spectral attacks—an arrest warrant was issued on May 11, 1692.
Willard initially fled to Lancaster but was eventually captured. During his examination on May 18, magistrates presented testimony about his alleged cruelties and supernatural attacks. When asked to recite the Lord’s Prayer, Willard stumbled and nervously laughed, claiming “I think I am bewitcht as well as they.”
Found guilty on August 5, Willard was hanged alongside George Burroughs, John Proctor, George Jacobs Sr., and Martha Carrier on August 19, 1692. He maintained his innocence until the end.
Legal Documents
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Today
John Willard lived in the area of what is now Liberty and Peabody Street. The exact location is unknown.
Margaret Scott
Born
1615
Benjamin Scott
7
76 or 77
July 19, 1692
October 31, 2001
Margaret Scott, born in England on March 28, 1616, likely immigrated to the American colonies with her lower-class family. Her first documented appearance in America was her 1642 marriage to Benjamin Scott, with whom she had seven children, though only three survived to adulthood. In 1664, Benjamin received a land grant in Rowley and was declared a freeman, despite having previously been fined for theft. When he died in 1671, he left a meager estate of just 67 pounds and 17 shillings—barely enough to sustain Margaret, who never remarried and eventually resorted to begging.
Margaret was arrested late in the Salem witch trials as part of the Andover witch hunt, which had been initiated by Mary Walcott and Ann Putnam Jr. during their visits to that town on June 11 and July 26, 1692. Her primary accusers came from Rowley’s two most influential families, the Nelsons and the Wycombs.
During her August 5 examination (following her likely arrest the previous day), a self-confessed witch identified only as “M.G.” claimed that she and Margaret had turned invisible to assault Captain Wycomb with a stick—an accusation he himself supported. When Margaret denied this, M.G. expressed disbelief and maintained her accusation. Margaret was subsequently indicted for witchcraft against two young Rowley women: 17-year-old Frances Wycomb and 19-year-old Mary Daniel, a servant in Reverend Edward Payson’s household.
On September 22, 1692, Margaret Scott was hanged alongside seven others in what would be the final executions of the Salem witch trials. As the bodies hung from the gallows, Reverend Nicholas Noyes reportedly remarked, “What a sad thing it is to see eight firebrands of hell hanging there.” Shortly afterward, Governor William Phips halted the trials, and eventually, all remaining accused were freed, except those who had already died in custody.
Legal Documents
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Today
Martha Carrier
Born
August 19, 1650, Andover, Andover, MA
Thomas Carrier
6
42
August 19, 1692
October 17, 1711
In May 1692, Martha Carrier was accused of witchcraft by the infamous “Salem Girls”—Susannah Sheldon, Mary Walcott, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Ann Putnam Jr.—who traveled throughout Essex County identifying suspected witches through theatrical displays. When confronted with their wild accusations, Martha responded rationally, which only seemed to intensify their claims. The girls alleged she commanded a witch army of 300, used occult powers to murder and cause disease, and was designated to become the “Queen of Hell.” Martha firmly denied these charges and countered by questioning her accusers’ sanity.
A warrant for Martha’s arrest was issued on May 28, 1692. She was apprehended alongside her sister Mary, brother-in-law Roger Toothaker, and their daughter Margaret. In a cruel attempt to extract a confession, authorities imprisoned Martha’s young children with her. As the first accused witch in Andover, Martha faced allegations from her neighbor Benjamin Abbot, who blamed his illness on her “bewitching” following a land dispute. She was jailed and placed in chains, supposedly to prevent her spirit from wandering.
Despite maintaining her innocence throughout her examination three days later, Martha Carrier was found guilty and hanged on August 19, 1692—one of the many victims of the Salem witch trials’ tragic miscarriage of justice.
Legal Documents
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Today
Martha and her husband lived on what is known as Billercia Ave. The exact location is unknown.
Martha Cory
Born
1619
Henry Rich, Giles Corey
2
73
September 22, 1692
1711
Martha Panon, born in New England to unknown parents, had a complicated past by Puritan standards. She bore a mixed-race son, Benoni, out of wedlock—likely with an African or Native American father—which marked her as morally suspect in the eyes of her community. She later married Henry Rich in 1684, had another son named Thomas, and after her first husband’s death, wed wealthy farmer Giles Corey in 1690. Both Martha and Giles carried controversial reputations—his included theft charges and a trial for a servant’s murder.
Despite her past, Martha had become known for her religious devotion and was formally admitted to Salem Village Church in 1691. She openly opposed the witch trials, believing the accusers were lying and that witches didn’t exist. This skepticism proved dangerous when two young accusers, Ann Putnam Jr. and Mercy Lewis, targeted her after hearing her criticisms.
During her examination, Martha simply maintained her innocence, asking Judge Hathorne not to believe “the rantings of hysterical children.” In response, the girls mimicked her movements as if possessed and claimed to see supernatural phenomena—including a “yellow bird” sucking on Martha’s hand—which convinced the jury of her guilt. Her accusation represented a critical turning point in the trials, as she was a respected, church-going woman of good standing.
Martha was hanged on September 22, 1692, at age 72. Her husband Giles, who had defended her innocence, was also accused. He refused to stand trial—likely to prevent his property from being confiscated—and was pressed to death under stones on September 19, three days before Martha’s execution. With his dying breath, when asked to plead, he famously requested only “more weight.”
Legal Documents
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Mary Esty
1619
Henry Rich, Giles Corey
2
73
September 22, 1692
1711
Like her sister Rebecca Nurse (who was also hanged), Mary Eastey (also spelt as Esty) was a pious and respected citizen of Salem, and her accusation came as a surprise. During the examination on April 22, 1692, when Eastey clasped her hands together, Mercy Lewis, one of the afflicted, imitated the gesture and claimed to be unable to release her hands until Eastey released her own. Again, when Eastey inclined her head, the afflicted girls accused her of trying to break their necks. Mercy claimed that Eastey’s spectre had climbed into her bed and laid her hand upon her breasts. In the face of such public hysteria, Mary Eastey defended herself with remarkable eloquence: when she was asked by the magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin how far she had complied with Satan, she replied, “Sir, I never complyed with Satan but prayed against him all my dayes, I have no complyance with Satan, in this … I will say it, if it is my last time, I am clear of this sin.” Hathorne, showing a momentary doubt about her guilt, went so far as to ask the girls if they were quite sure that Mary Eastey was the woman who afflicted them.
For reasons unknown, Eastey was released from prison on May 18 after two months. However, on May 20, Mercy Lewis claimed that Eastey’s spectre was afflicting her, a claim which other girls supported. A second warrant was issued that night for Eastey’s arrest. She was taken from her bed and returned to the prison; Lewis ceased her fits after Eastey was chained. Eastey was tried and condemned to death on September 9.
She was hanged on September 22, along with Martha Corey, Ann Pudeator, Alice Parker, Mary Parker, Wilmot Redd, Margaret Scott, and Samuel Wardwell: Cotton Mather, to his later embarrassment, denounced them as “eight firebrands of Hell”. On the gallows she prayed for an end to the witch hunt. Of her two sisters, likewise charged with witchcraft, Rebecca Nurse was hanged on July 19, 1692, but Sarah Cloyce was released in January 1693.
Legal Documents
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Mary Parker
Born
1637, Massachusetts
Nathan
1
55
September 22, 1692
1711
Mary Parker, daughter of John Ayer and widow of Nathan Parker (who died in 1685), was executed during the Salem witch trials on September 22, 1692. At 55 years old, she was hanged alongside several others after being convicted of witchcraft, with Reverend Nicholas Noyes presiding over the execution.
Following the tradition for executed “witches,” it is believed that Mary’s family secretly recovered and buried her body on their private property rather than allowing her to be disposed of in an unmarked grave. The tragic reach of the Salem hysteria extended to Mary’s family, as her daughter Sarah Parker was also accused of witchcraft.
Legal Documents
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Rebecca Nurse
Born
February 21, 1621, Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom
Francis Nurse
8
71
July 19, 1692
Yes
In 1672, Francis Nurse served as Salem’s Constable. His wife Rebecca had established “a reputation for exemplary piety that was virtually unchallenged in the community,” making her among the most unlikely candidates for witchcraft accusations.
In 1678, the Nurses began leasing a 300-acre farm in Salem Village (now Danvers), originally granted to Townsend Bishop in 1636. This property, preserved today as the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, remained in their family for generations. Despite being active in Salem Village affairs, the Nurses officially maintained membership in the Salem Town church. Francis became well-respected in the community, frequently serving as a mediator in local disputes.
On March 23, 1692, authorities issued a warrant for Rebecca’s arrest based on accusations by Edward and John Putnam. Upon hearing the charges, the frail 71-year-old responded, “I am innocent as the child unborn, but surely, what sin hath God found out in me unrepented of, that He should lay such an affliction on me in my old age.”
Her accusation sparked public outcry due to her sterling reputation. Neighbor Sarah Holton claimed Rebecca had cursed her husband Benjamin to death following a dispute over trespassing pigs, though Sarah later reconsidered and became an early critic of the trials. Thirty-nine prominent community members signed a petition supporting Rebecca. Even the examining magistrates, John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin, showed unusual consideration in her case, likely influenced by Hathorne’s sister Elizabeth Porter, who was Rebecca’s close friend and defender.
Rebecca’s trial began on June 30, 1692. Like all accused witches, she represented herself without counsel. Despite many respected community members testifying on her behalf, the “afflicted” girls frequently disrupted proceedings with fits, claiming Rebecca was tormenting them through “spectral evidence.” In response, she simply stated, “I have got nobody to look to but God.”
Initially, the jury found her not guilty. However, due to the accusers’ renewed fits and public pressure, the judges reviewed the case. When asked to explain her statement that fellow accused witch Deliverance Hobbs was “of her company,” Rebecca, who was hard of hearing, failed to hear the question. She later explained to her children she meant Hobbs was similarly accused, but this misunderstanding proved fatal—the jury reversed their verdict and sentenced her to death on July 19, 1692.
In 1706, her primary accuser, Ann Putnam Jr., publicly confessed her regret in a statement read to the Salem Village congregation by Reverend Joseph Green.
In 1885, Rebecca Nurse became the first accused witch in North America to receive a memorial when her descendants, church members, and townspeople dedicated a monument in her honor. The Nurse family retained the homestead until 1784, when it was sold to Phineas Putnam. By 1909, volunteers had preserved the property as a historic house museum, maintaining 27 acres of the original estate including the house and cemetery.
Legal Documents
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Today
Rebecca Nurse lived at what is now 149 Pine St, Danvers, MA 01923. Below the following map are photos of the outside and inside of the house.
Rev George Burroughs
1652, Scituate, MA
Hannah Burroughs, Sarah Ruck
2
40
August 19, 1692
1711
George Burroughs, a non-ordained Puritan preacher, holds the tragic distinction of being the only minister executed during the Salem witch trials. He is particularly remembered for reciting the Lord’s Prayer during his execution—an act commonly believed impossible for a witch to perform.
Before the trials, Burroughs had connections to prominent families. In 1691, letters from the Littlefields, founders of Wells, Maine and in-laws to Peter Cloyce, were sent to the Governor and Council advocating for improved conditions in Wells. These documents were co-signed by Burroughs and Peter’s brothers, John and Nathaniel Cloyce. Peter’s second wife, Sarah Cloyce, was the sister of fellow accused witches Rebecca Nurse and Mary Easty, who later relocated to Salem End (now West Framingham).
Burroughs was arrested on May 4, 1692, following accusations from former congregation members who had previously sued him for debt. His May trial resulted in a guilty verdict based on unusual evidence, including his demonstrations of extraordinary strength—such as lifting a musket by inserting his finger into the barrel—which prosecutors claimed required supernatural assistance. Additional evidence against him included his failure to baptize his children or attend communion, and suspicions that he had killed his wives through witchcraft (though historical evidence suggests he may have simply treated them poorly).
His religious practices raised particular concern among Congregational authorities, including Cotton Mather. Burroughs’ failure to baptize his younger children led to suspicions he might be a crypto-Baptist, as Baptists reject the necessity of sacraments for salvation. During cross-examination, he admitted that only his eldest child was baptized and that he had frequently missed Sabbath communion.
In a poignant moment before his execution, Burroughs recited the Lord’s Prayer perfectly while standing on the ladder awaiting hanging—an act the Court of Oyer and Terminer believed impossible for a witch. Despite this compelling demonstration of innocence, Cotton Mather intervened, reminding the crowd from atop his horse that Burroughs had been legally convicted. Mather’s persuasive speech effectively silenced any doubts, allowing four more executions to proceed after Burroughs’.
Below is the original account as first compiled and published in 1700 by Robert Calef in More Wonders of The Invisible World:
Mr. Burroughs was carried in a cart with others, through the streets of Salem, to execution. When he was upon the ladder, he made a speech for the clearing of his innocency, with such solemn and serious expressions as were to the admiration of all present; his prayer (which he concluded by repeating the Lord’s Prayer) was so well worded, and uttered with such composedness as such fervency of spirit, as was very Affecting, and drew tears from many, so that it seemed to some that the spectators would hinder the execution. The accusers said the black man [Devil] stood and dictated to him. As soon as he was turned off [hanged], Mr. Cotton Mather, being mounted upon a horse, addressed himself to the people, partly to declare that he [Mr. Burroughs] was no ordained Minister, partly to possess the people of his guilt, saying that the devil often had been transformed into the Angel of Light. And this did somewhat appease the people, and the executions went on; when he [Mr. Burroughs] was cut down, he was dragged by a Halter to a hole, or grave, between the rocks, about two feet deep; his shirt and breeches being pulled off, and an old pair of trousers of one executed put on his lower parts: he was so put in, together with Willard and Carrier, that one of his hands, and his chin, and a foot of one of them, was left uncovered.
— Robert Calef
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Samuel Wardwell
May 16, 1643, Boston, MA
Sarah Wardwell
3
49
September 22, 1692
1711
Samuel Wardwell was born on May 16, 1643, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Thomas Wardwell and Elizabeth Woodruff. His father had been a follower of religious dissenters John Wheelwright and Anne Hutchinson. Before his marriage, Samuel fathered an illegitimate son, Thomas, with Mercy Playfer (sister of fellow witch trial victim Bridget Bishop). Following the Wardwells’ witchcraft conviction, Thomas adopted the surname Tailer to distance himself from the family’s stigma.
Samuel’s wife, Sarah, brought considerable wealth to their marriage—a 188-acre estate inherited from her first husband, Adam Hawkes. This property became vulnerable when Massachusetts Bay Colony enacted legislation providing for attainder in witchcraft cases, which stripped accused “witches” of their civil rights and property.
The Wardwell family fell victim to the Salem hysteria when 14-year-old William Baker Jr. accused Samuel, Sarah, and their 19-year-old daughter Mercy of witchcraft. All three confessed immediately upon interrogation, though Samuel later retracted his statement, claiming it had been coerced.
Despite his retraction, Samuel was executed at Proctor’s Ledge in Salem. His noticeably short stature became a curious focus during his trial. Local legend claims that before his execution, Wardwell defiantly muttered a Latin curse, predicting all his descendants would be similarly “blessed” with short height. While Sarah was eventually reprieved and released, the family’s suffering continued. After Sarah’s death in 1712, their son Samuel Wardwell Jr., left destitute by the ordeal, successfully sued the Colony and received some compensation for the family’s unjust treatment.
Legal Documents
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Today
Samuel Wardwell lived in an area that is now Highland Rd & Rogers Brook E, Andover, MA 01810, USA.
Sarah Good
Born
July 21, 1653, Wenham, MA
William Good, Daniel Poole
2
39
July 29, 1692
1711
Sarah Solart was born in 1653 to John Solart, a prosperous tavern owner in Wenham, Massachusetts. Her life took a devastating turn in 1672 when her father committed suicide without leaving a will. His substantial 70-acre estate, valued at around 500 pounds, was divided primarily between his widow and two sons, with only a meager portion allocated among his seven daughters. Even this small inheritance was denied to the girls by their mother’s new husband.
Left without a dowry or prospects, Sarah married Daniel Poole, an indentured servant who died shortly thereafter, leaving her heavily in debt. Creditors seized what little land she had inherited, forcing Sarah and her second husband to sell their remaining property. Destitute and homeless, they resorted to begging throughout Salem. Sarah developed a reputation for being disagreeable—reportedly “muttering” after receiving charity from Reverend Samuel Parris and being described by temporary hosts Samuel and Mary Abbey as having “so turbulent a spirit, spiteful and so maliciously bent” that they evicted her. Her own husband told examiners she was “an enemy to all good.” When questioned about her absence from church, she simply stated she lacked proper attire.
Sarah’s poverty and dependency on neighbors, combined with her challenging demeanor toward Puritan expectations, made her an easy target during the witch trials. When accused alongside Sarah Osborne and Tituba, Good maintained her innocence while Tituba confessed, claiming a man dressed in black had forced them to sign a book. Tituba implicated Good, describing her with supernatural yellow and black birds that allegedly harmed the accusers.
Despite her vigorous defense and counter-accusations against Tituba and Osborne, Sarah Good was convicted of witchcraft and sentenced to death. Pregnant at the time of her arrest, she gave birth in her Ipswich jail cell, but the infant died before Sarah was hanged on July 19, 1692—another tragic victim of the Salem hysteria.
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Sarah Wilde
Born
March 16, 1627, Chipping Norton, United Kingdom
John Wilde
2
65
July 19, 1692
1711
Sarah Wildes had a history of challenging Puritan norms in Massachusetts, making her vulnerable to witchcraft accusations. As a young woman, she was considered unusually glamorous and forward—she was whipped for fornication with Thomas Wordell in 1649 and later charged in 1663 for wearing a silk scarf, considered inappropriate luxury.
Her marriage to John Wildes, just seven months after his first wife’s death, created lasting resentment among his former in-laws, the Goulds, who were related to the Putnam family—the primary accusers during the witch trials. Tensions escalated when John testified against his first wife’s brother, Lieutenant John Gould, in a treason trial. Shortly afterward, John’s former sister-in-law, Mary Gould Reddington, began spreading rumors that Sarah was a witch, though she retracted these claims when John threatened a slander suit.
On April 21, 1692, magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin ordered Sarah’s arrest along with eight others, including her stepdaughter Sarah Wildes Bishop and son-in-law Edward Bishop, based on complaints by Thomas Putnam and John Buxton. She was accused of bewitching Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and others.
After Sarah’s arrest by Marshal George Herrick, Constable Ephraim Wildes was ordered to arrest Deliverance Hobbs, who subsequently implicated Sarah as a witch—a confession Ephraim believed was revenge for the arrest. During Sarah’s examination the following day, Sarah Bibber claimed to see Sarah’s specter “upon the beam,” triggering similar reactions from other accusers. Ann Putnam Jr. later testified that she witnessed Sarah torturing herself and others during the examination. Sarah maintained her innocence, stating she had never even seen her accusers before.
Deliverance Hobbs elaborated on her accusations, claiming Sarah’s apparition had “tore her almost to pieces” in bed and attempted to recruit her to attend a black mass, offering to stop tormenting her and reward her with clothing if she signed the devil’s book.
On May 13, 1692, Sarah was transferred to Boston Gaol, returning to Salem on June 18 with several other accused. According to Ephraim’s later restitution request, he or his father visited Sarah once or twice weekly at considerable expense.
Sarah Wildes was hanged on July 19, 1692, at Gallows Hill alongside Elizabeth Howe, Susannah Martin, Sarah Good, and Rebecca Nurse. When Reverend Nicholas Noyes urged them to confess before execution, Sarah Good famously responded, “You are a liar! I am no more a witch than you are a wizard, and if you take away my life God will give you blood to drink.”
In 2016, the Gallows Hill Project confirmed the execution site but found no human remains using ground-penetrating radar, supporting the belief that victims’ families secretly recovered and reburied their bodies elsewhere.
John Wildes later married Mary, widow of fellow witch trial victim George Jacobs Sr., on June 26, 1693, and died on May 14, 1705, in Topsfield.
Legal Documents
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Susannah Martin
Born
September 30, 1621, England, United Kingdom
George Martin
8 plus 1 step daughter
70
July 19, 1692
October 31, 2001
Susannah Martin married widower George Martin, a blacksmith, on August 11, 1646, in Salisbury. Together they had eight children and built a life that would be repeatedly disrupted by controversy and legal struggles.
As early as 1669, Susannah faced her first public accusation of witchcraft when her husband sued William Sargent Jr. for slander against her. Though a higher court eventually dismissed these witchcraft charges, the stigma remained.
By 1671, the Martins became embroiled in inheritance disputes following the death of Susannah’s stepmother, Ursula North, who had left most of her estate to her granddaughter, Mary Jones Winsley. Despite the court consistently ruling against Susannah and George, she persisted with five unsuccessful appeals.
George’s death in 1686 left Susannah impoverished and vulnerable. When the Salem witch hysteria erupted in 1692, residents of nearby Salem Village, including Joseph and Jarvis Ring, accused her of attempting to recruit them into witchcraft. John Allen of Salisbury added to these allegations, claiming she had bewitched his oxen, causing them to drown in a nearby river.
During her trial, Susannah demonstrated remarkable composure, freely quoting the Bible—an act traditionally believed impossible for a witch. Cotton Mather, however, undermined this defense by arguing that the Devil’s servants could feign perfect innocence and godliness.
Despite her articulate defense and religious knowledge, Susannah Martin was found guilty and hanged on July 19, 1692, in Salem—one of many victims of the mass hysteria that claimed twenty lives during the Salem witch trials.
Legal Documents
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Wilmot Redd
Born
(date unknown) Marblehead, Massachusetts
Samuel Redd
unknown
unknown
September 22, 1692
October 31, 2001
Wilmot Redd was arrested on May 28, 1692, by constable James Smith on a warrant signed by Magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne. The document charged her with having “committed sundry acts of witchcraft on bodys of Mary Walcott & Mercy Lewis and others in Salem Village to their great hurt.”
Her preliminary examination took place on May 31, 1692, at Nathan Ingersoll’s house in Salem Village. This meeting marked Redd’s first encounter with her alleged victims, who immediately fell into fits upon seeing her. When officials asked what she thought afflicted the children, Redd responded simply, “I cannot tell.” Pressed to offer an opinion, she observed, “My opinion is they are in a sad condition.”
Following this examination, Redd was formally indicted for practicing “detestable arts called Witchcraft and Sorceries wickedly, mallitiously and felloniously used, practiced & exercised at the Towne of Salem,” sealing her fate as another victim of the Salem witch trials hysteria.
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Today
More Knowledge
While Twisted Carnival has compiled and organized extensive content on the Salem Witch Trials, additional valuable resources remain available for those seeking deeper knowledge on the subject. Below you’ll find sources that offer further insights into this historical event.
Malleus Maleficarum Connection
To understand the connection of the Malleus Maleficarum to the Salem Witch Trials, you have to understand what it is first.
The Malleus Maleficarum (Latin for “The Hammer of Witches”) is an infamous book on witchcraft published in 1487. Written by Heinrich Kramer, a German Catholic clergyman and inquisitor, with contributions from Jacob Sprenger, it served as a handbook for witch-hunters during the European witch trials.
Key aspects of the Malleus Maleficarum include:
- It systematically outlined how to identify, interrogate, and prosecute supposed witches
- It explicitly connected witchcraft with women, promoting deeply misogynistic views about women’s susceptibility to demonic influence
- It described elaborate “tests” for witchcraft and advocated for torture to extract confessions
- It provided theological justifications for witch-hunting
- It received papal approval through a bull issued by Pope Innocent VIII
The text became extremely influential throughout Europe and later in colonial America, serving as a foundation for witch trials over several centuries. It’s considered one of the most destructive books in human history, as it helped legitimize and intensify witch persecutions that resulted in the torture and execution of tens of thousands of people, predominantly women.
Today, the Malleus Maleficarum is studied by historians as a window into medieval beliefs about witchcraft, gender, and religious authority, as well as a cautionary example of how texts can be used to justify persecution and violence.
INTERESTING FACT: The Malleus Maleficarum was translated from Latin to English in 1928 by Montague Summers, a Catholic clergyman. 1200 copies were printed and numbered during it’s first print run. Twisted Carnival owns copy number 46 and displays it at some of it’s events.
The Connection
Cotton Mather (1663-1728) was a prominent Puritan minister, author, and scholar in colonial Massachusetts. He was the son of Increase Mather, another Puritan minister in Salem, and emerged as one of the most influential figures in New England Puritanism.
Regarding the Salem Witch Trials, Cotton Mather’s position was somewhat ambiguous. He wrote “Wonders of the Invisible World” (1693), which defended the trials while they were still ongoing. However, he also cautioned against relying solely on spectral evidence, though not as forcefully as his father did. This book contained direct mentions to Jacob Sprenger, one of the authors of the Malleus Maleficarum, and one of Malleus Malefricarum’s chapters.
Below is the proof of where Cotton Mather mentions the author Jacob Sprenger and the Malleus Maleficarum itself in the “Wonders of the Invisible World” book.
The historical record shows that:
- Cotton Mather corresponded with Reverend Samuel Parris during the witch trials
- Mather sent advice to the judges involved in the trials, which would have influenced Parris
- Parris likely consulted Mather’s writings on witchcraft, including “Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions” (1689), which described a previous witchcraft case
Before the trials began, Mather had already established himself as something of an authority on witchcraft in New England. His earlier writings about the Goodwin children’s supposed possession in Boston provided a framework that Parris and others in Salem may have used to interpret the events unfolding in their community.
Their communication and influence on each other contributed to how the trials proceeded. Parris’s sermons during this period also show the influence of Cotton Mather’s theological perspective on the spiritual warfare they believed was taking place in Salem.
Scholars have debated the Malleus Maleficarum’s connection to the Salem Witch Trials for years. While its influence was limited, evidence suggests it directly contributed to Cotton Mather’s thinking and likely shaped the perspectives of other spiritual advisors during this period. Though subtle, this European witchcraft manual’s impact on colonial American witch-hunting cannot be dismissed.
More Resources
Below are several resources that may contain information that is not mentioned.
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