The Thing About Witch Hunts

Metacom’s Resistance, Puritan Mythology, and King Philip’s War with Sarah Stewart (Partnership of Historic Bostons)

We speak with Sarah Stewart, president of the Partnership of Historic Bostons, a public history organization focused on 17th-century New England, to confront Puritan mythology and widen the lens beyond Salem to Indigenous history, enslaved Africans, and displaced peoples. We dig into why King Philip’s...

We turn the mic on each other for a fast, personal Q&A spanning Salem and global witch hunts, from the infamous Salem witch cake to pop-culture “broom” upgrades and the accused people we can’t stop thinking about, including Samuel Wardwell, Katherine Harrison, Mary Esty, and Rebecca Nurse. We dig into why confessions didn’t always save lives, how spectral evidence shaped cases, and how banishment could b...

Divination folklore, folk magic history, and the practice of reading omens, cards, and natural signs are at the heart of this conversation with Icy Sedgwick, author of Fate or Fortune: The Art and Folklore of Divination, folklorist, and host of the Fabulous Folklore Podcast. From ancient liver divination in Mesopotamia to love divination games played by young women in early modern England, this episode traces the deep folk roots of...

Alice Young was the first person executed for witchcraft in the American colonies, in Windsor, Connecticut, in 1647, before the Salem witch trials. Award-winning author Beth Caruso and playwright Lauren Cavanaugh join Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack to explore her story and the new play Windsor's Daughter that is bringing her life back into the light.

This conversation moves between historical research and present-day resonance, aski...

Elizabeth Bathory is one of pop culture's favorite monsters. Accused of torturing and killing hundreds of young women, she's inspired everything from Snow White's evil stepmother to Lady Gaga. But the actual historical record shows almost none of it happened.

Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack sit down with Shelley Puhak, author of The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster, to trace the documented history behind ...

What does 1692 have to do with 1775? More than you might think.

The families of 1692 did not vanish from history. One to two generations after the Salem witch trials, descendants of both the accused and the accusers were drilling on village training fields, defying British soldiers, and dying on the same battlefields. Israel Putnam, one of the Revolution's boldest generals, was born in Salem Village, raised in a family at the center...

Fairy history, folklore, and belief across two thousand years of European culture: that is what we are diving into today with historian of religion and belief Dr. Francis Young, author of the new book Fairies: A History

Dr. Young holds a doctorate in History from Cambridge University, is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a folklorist, a Balticist, a lay canon of St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and a series editor for Cambridge Uni...

What did the scholars who studied witchcraft most seriously actually believe? And why did their conclusions so often cut against prosecution?

Professor Darren Oldridge of the University of Worcester joins Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack to examine the intellectual world that produced English demonology and shaped witch trials on both sides of the Atlantic.

In this episode:

• Why the devil mattered far more than witches to learned Eng...

The Conjuring franchise named a real Salem witch trial victim as the origin of a Satanic lineage. Mary Towne Easty was executed in 1692. She did not curse anyone. She did not sacrifice a baby. And she has millions of living descendants, including your hosts.

Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack are direct descendants of Mary Towne Easty. In this episode they break down exactly what The Conjuring, Annabelle, and the Conjuring Universe get ...

What can a five-foot-long magic scroll tell us about early modern fears, beliefs, and the people who sought protection through cunning folk? Sara Lent Frier, Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, joins Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack to explore her exhibition "Cunning Folk: Witchcraft, Magic, and Occult Knowledge."

Sara walks us through this collection show, which draws from both t...

Oxford historian Professor John Blair explores vampire beliefs, predatory corpses, and the deep connections between witchcraft and folklore in medieval and early modern Europe — and colonial New England.

What do vampires, witch trials, and shroud-chewing corpses have in common? More than you might think.

In this episode of The Thing About Witch Hunts, hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack sit down with Professor John Blair, Emer...

Check out Salem Witch Trials Daily, our new podcast that follows the 1692 Salem Witch Trials in real time, day by day, court date by court date, through the documented record. In Salem, Massachusetts, 19 people were executed, one man was pressed to death for refusing trial, and more than a hundred others were accused and imprisoned, leaving a lasting mark on American history. Building on the extraordinary listener response to this ...

In 1629, 27 men, women, and a 15-year-old child were executed in Peebles, Scotland — and their ashes cast into the River Tweed. For centuries, their names were largely forgotten. Now, a community theater production called Rope and Flame is bringing their stories back to life, just steps from the river where they were lost.

Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack sit down with the creative team behind this remarkable project: director a...

What's in This Episode

Podcasthon is a global event where thousands of podcasters use their platforms to raise money for a cause they believe in. This year, The Thing About Witch Hunts is participating to support End Witch Hunts, the only US nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about witchcraft accusation violence past and present. If this episode moves you, donate at endwitchhunts.org/donate. Every contribution goes directly to...

In honor of International Women's Day 2026, End Witch Hunts hosted a powerful panel discussion bringing together advocates, legal experts, journalists, and survivors to raise awareness about witchcraft accusations targeting women in Nigeria and across Africa. This conversation is part of the global "Give to Gain" initiative — the theme of International Women's Day 2026 — calling on individuals, organizations, and govern...

What does American literature reveal about how a society imagines justice, belonging, and the power of women? Samaine Lockwood, Associate Professor of English at George Mason University and the 2026 Fenwick Fellow, has spent years tracing that question through one of the most enduring stories in American culture: the Salem witch trials. Her fellowship project, Tituba Indian: The History of an American Cultural Figure  follows ...

Most people meet Tituba through Arthur Miller. Nicole Brooks met her differently. The Canadian artist, producer, composer, and performer spent over a decade creating Obeah Opera, a fully sung a cappella theatrical work that centers Tituba and the other women of Salem as healers, wise women, and people who loved and were loved. In this conversation Nicole opens up about the research, the music, the controversy, and the story she bel...

About This Episode

What if Boston's colonial past held witch trial stories just as gripping as Salem's but almost entirely overlooked? This week, Sarah and Josh sit down with D. Brenton Simons, President Emeritus and former CEO of American Ancestors (New England Historic Genealogical Society), to uncover the witches, criminals, and scandal-makers that Boston's official history left out.

D. Brenton Simons spent 18 years leading Americ...

What happens when spiritual beliefs are used to justify harm against children in the United States? In this episode, Josh Hutchinson, Sarah Jack, and guest host Mary Bingham explore Spiritual and Ritual Abuse, known as SARA, and why it remains a largely unrecognized crisis in American communities. The team examines how belief-driven violence crosses every demographic and faith background, discusses the landmark case of 3-year-old A...