March 21, 2025 • 19 mins
A cornerstone message of our Witch Hunt podcast and End Witch Hunts nonprofit centers on community-based advocacy paired with holistic intervention programs. Experts are illustrating that sustainable change requires coordinated efforts that empower local communities while addressing the complex root causes that perpetuate these harmful practices across the Americas.
This final episode in our Podcasthon series examines unique manifestations of witch hunts throughout North, Central, and South America - from colonial Salem to contemporary accusations in rural communities. We explore how historical contexts and cultural dynamics have shaped these phenomena differently across the hemisphere, while identifying common patterns and effective intervention strategies.
We encourage our listeners to catch the full series to gain comprehensive understanding of this global issue. By connecting the dots between episodes, you'll discover how lessons learned in one region can inform approaches elsewhere, creating a powerful framework for lasting change."
Key Topics Covered
- Josh and Sarah's personal connections to the Salem Witch Trials and other New England witch trials
- The first documented witchcraft accusations in America (1626)
- Timeline of witch trials in Connecticut and Massachusetts before Salem
- The "perfect storm" of conditions that led to the Salem Witch Hunt
- Overview of the Salem Witch Trials (156 accused, 30 convicted, 19 hanged, 1 pressed to death)
- Post-Salem witch trials in Hartford, Vermont, and Virginia
- Recent witch hunt violence in Haiti (December 2024)
Donate to Witch Hunt Podcast Conference Fund
Podcasthon 2025 Witch Hunt Episode Playlist
Goody Glover of Boston Episode
The Salem Witch Trials Episodes
Massachusetts Witch Trials Episodes
Connecticut Witch Trials Episodes
Boris Gershman Witch Hunt Podcast Episode
Witchcraft Beliefs Around the World: An Exploratory Analysis
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi, I'm Josh Hutchinson. She's Sarah Jack and this is
Witch Hunt Podcast. And we are descendants of the
Salem witch trials and other NewEngland witch trials.
My great something aunt, Elizabeth Morse of Newbury, MA
was accused of witchcraft in 1679 and convicted, but
(00:21):
fortunately for her, she was given house arrest instead of an
execution. However, my great, great, great,
great, great, great, great, great great great grandmother
Mary Este was not so fortunate. She was accused and convicted in
the Salem Witch Trials and executed September 22nd, 1692.
(00:46):
One of the final eight victims of the Salem Witch Trials.
To face that fate. I also have ancestors who were
on the other side. Some of my ancestors made
accusations, some served on juries and served as witnesses.
So various capacities. And it's really very common if
(01:10):
you have an ancestor who was a victim of a witch trial to also
have ancestors who were on the other side of witch trials
because they're from the same region.
We're talking about a very smallpopulation in New England in the
17th century. So it's a lot of the same people
overlapping. And these were friends and
(01:30):
neighbors who were accusing eachother.
I had a 9th great grandmother named Mary Hale who was tried in
Boston in 1689. She was acquitted.
Then her daughter and granddaughter, Winifred Benham
and Winifred Benham Junior were tried in Hartford.
(01:53):
Fortunately, they were acquitted.
I'm also the great, great, great, great, great, great,
great, great granddaughter of Rebecca Nurse and her sister
Mary Estie. They were hanged in 1692 during
the Salem Bush Trials. Yes, Sarah and I are cousins
through Mary Estie, along with our colleague Mary Bingham, who
(02:17):
presents minute with Mary in ourregular episodes.
She's also a Mary, SD descendant.
And our ancestors, who were partof early modern witch trials
were just like us in many ways. They had the same hopes, fears
and community pressures that we experienced today.
(02:37):
The tragedy that is in witch trials is there are no winners.
Both accusers and accused sufferdevastating consequences.
Everyone lost in these situations.
Families were torn apart, communities fractured and
innocent lives ruined. And here's something you may not
(02:58):
realize. Because witch hunting was so
prevalent throughout history, many of you listening right now
are likely descendants from families touched by witch hunts.
Whether your ancestors were accusers, accused or witnesses,
these witch hunt stories are probably part of your own family
history, even if those stories haven't been passed down.
(03:22):
These weren't just distant historical events, they're part
of our shared ancestry, and understanding them helps us
understand the world we share today.
By the way, I almost forgot. Thank you for joining us for our
final installment in our Ending Witch Hunt series for Podcast on
(03:43):
2025, where podcasters are uniting for good and impact.
Over 1500 podcasters have been releasing special episodes March
15th through today, and they've used their platforms to
simultaneously amplify causes and charities that are important
to them. Learn more at Podcast on dot org
(04:03):
and you will see our nonprofit and witch hunts featured with
the other charities. Your donations in power are
nonprofit to shed light on forgotten historical witch
trials through our extensive podcast series, preserving the
stories of marginalized women whose voices were silenced.
Please consider supporting our educational mission with a
(04:26):
contribution today. Every dollar helps us uncover
and share these crucial historical narratives.
Today, we'll finish telling our story of witch hunts by sharing
what we have discovered in the Americas.
And by the Americas, we don't just mean Salem in our story.
We're talking about an interconnected series of witch
(04:47):
trials in New England and related trials throughout the
Mid-Atlantic. But are you also aware that
there are 35 Southern states in the Americas, encompassing North
and South America, as well as several dependent territories?
Today we want to show the interconnectedness of the witch
trials in the American colonies.We'll also be covering a 2024
(05:13):
witch hunt in Haiti that culminated in the murders of
about 200 people, most of them elderly.
You heard that right. Those murders occurred in
December 2024, just a few monthsago.
This heartbreaking story is a reminder that witch hunts can be
perpetrated in all corners of the world today.
(05:33):
Remember, witch hunts never wentaway, they simply changed forms
so that they are now largely carried out by individuals or
mobs outside of any judicial system.
This violence has been part of life in the Americas and around
the world for centuries. Just last year, a New York man
went to a Connecticut beach and tried to drown his children
(05:56):
because he believed that their mother was a witch.
Homemade exorcisms sometimes go off the rails too, resulting in
injury or even death, often to young children or elderly.
I'm really excited to talk aboutSalem today, but first I want to
note that many witch trials tookplace in the American colonies
(06:16):
long before the Salem Witch trials of 1692 to 1693.
And those witch trials did not happen in isolation.
In particular, witch trials along the Atlantic Coast of
North America, as well as in Bermuda, followed familiar
patterns that have been established across the ocean in
England. The first witchcraft trials on
(06:37):
lands which are now incorporatedin the United States of America
occurred 66 years before the Salem Witch Trials in 1626.
You heard that right. Witchcraft accusations are
documented 66 years before Salem.
That year, separate proceedings took place in courts nearly 2000
(06:57):
miles apart from each other whenwitchcraft accusations were made
in both New Mexico in the American Southwest, and Virginia
on the Atlantic Coast. More than 20 years passed
between the first witch trial inVirginia and the 1st in New
England. The trial of Alice Young took
place in Hartford, CT in May 1647 and she was hanged May
(07:21):
26th, 1647, the first person hanged for witchcraft in British
North America. She was finally acknowledged and
absolved in 2023. Her trial was quickly followed
by a spate of trials in both Connecticut and Massachusetts,
with victims also residing in what is now New Hampshire.
(07:42):
By the way, if we leave you hungry for more details today,
our dedicated history episodes reveal seemingly bizarre
accusations that turned neighbors into suspects and
whispers into death sentences. Go download those now to
discover the full Shocking stories.
I have a by the way too. Witchcraft accusations were
(08:03):
happening everywhere else in theworld at the same time.
That is so true. Following the Connecticut case
of Alice Young in 16471648 saw the hanging of Mary Johnson in
Hartford and the hanging of Margaret Jones in Boston.
The next 4 executions came in 1651 when Alice Lake was hanged
(08:26):
in Boston, Good Wife Bassett washanged in Stratford, CT and Joan
and John Carrington were hanged in Hartford.
By the way, Good Wife is not a first name.
Good Wife is a title literally just means you're supposed to be
a Good Wife. Was the counterpart of the male
(08:48):
Goodman good man? We don't know Good Wife
Bassett's first name. It was omitted from the records.
Yeah, unfortunately, another detail omitted from the record
was the execution date for Elizabeth Kendall, who was
hanged in Boston sometime between 1647 and 1651.
(09:12):
Then in 1653, Good Wife Knapp was hanged in Connecticut.
The following year, Lydia Gilbert was hanged in Hartford.
In 1655, the first witch trial acquittals happened in
Connecticut and New Haven colonies when Elizabeth Godman
and Good Wife and Nicholas Bailey were pronounced innocent
(09:33):
by their trial juries. This marked the beginning of a
calm period in those colonies when nobody was executed for
witchcraft until the Hartford witch panic broke out in 1662.
Unfortunately, the calm was a bit delayed in Massachusetts as
Ann Hibbens was hanging for witchcraft in Boston in 1656.
(09:56):
However, after that execution, Massachusetts did not hang
anyone for witchcraft for 32 years.
Sound has not happened and will not happen for almost 40 more
years. But isn't this already too much
injustice? Yes, it was.
(10:16):
Witchcraft accusations did not completely go away during the
calm periods, but juries and magistrates were less inclined
to convict due to the difficultyin bringing in solid evidence of
diabolical acts. In Connecticut, the calm was
disrupted when Governor John Winthrop Junior traveled to
London to obtain a royal charterfor the colony.
(10:37):
While Winthrop was away, the Hartford witch panic broke out,
resulting in accusations against14 people and the executions of
four, Mary Sanford, Rebecca and Nathaniel Greensmith, and Mary
Barnes in 1662 and 1663. During the period we have
covered so far, 1663, eleven people were hanged for
(11:01):
witchcraft in Connecticut and four were hanged for witchcraft
in Massachusetts. A generation passed before the
next witchcraft execution took place in Boston when Irish
immigrant Goodie Glover was hanged in 1688.
We're supposedly bewitching the beloved Goodwood children.
We have a great episode for you to listen to about Boston's
(11:23):
beloved Goodie Glover. Check it out by following the
link in the snow in the show notes you.
Like Snow notes. I do too.
There are no snow notes, it's show notes.
After Goodie Glover, only a couple more formal witchcraft
accusations were made in New England before 1692, none of
(11:45):
those resulting in convictions. And 1692, the Salem Witch hunt
began. Here's the full story of the
American colony witch trials history.
Get ready. Goodie.
Glover was the 16th person executed for witchcraft in New
England during the 17th century and the last to be hanged for
the crime before an epidemic of witchcraft accusations in Gulf
(12:08):
Salem and surrounding communities in 1692.
To understand the infamous Salemwitch hunt, we need to honestly
recognize the circumstances in which it happened.
Miranda Forsyth's wildfire analogy from the Papua New
Guinea episodes tell us 2 elements are required for a
(12:29):
witch hunt to develop. First, there needs to be a
conducive landscape which provides the fuel for the fire.
Secondly, some trigger event needs to spark the first flame.
Perceive them. The conducive landscape
consisted of a strong belief in witchcraft and the devil, a
previous history of witchcraft accusations, social and economic
(12:53):
anxieties, political instability, religious tensions
and disputes, frontier anxietiesand fear of the other, harsh
environmental conditions, the influence of European witchcraft
beliefs and panics, and a 0 sum mindset.
Let me restate that perfect storm.
Strong belief in witchcraft and the devil.
(13:15):
Previous history of witchcraft accusations, social and economic
anxieties, political instability, religious tensions
and disputes, frontier anxietiesand fear of the other harsh
environmental conditions. Influence of European witchcraft
beliefs and the 0 sum mindset. These conditions made New
(13:37):
England write for a mass witch hunt, providing plenty of fuel
by exacerbating stress, animosity and fear.
The story of the Salem witch hunt is generally told beginning
with the illnesses of Betty Parris and her cousin Abigail
Williams, who are young girls inthe minister's household in
Salem Village. In January 1692.
(14:00):
They both lived in the Salem Village Parsonage with Minister
Samuel Paris, who was the fatherof Betty and was known as an
uncle of Abigail Williams. In late February, fun fact, it
was a leap year. Suspicions about the nature of
the illness, led by fear, turnedinto accusations of witchcraft.
(14:23):
Englishwoman Mary Sibley, a nearneighbor of the Paris family,
instructed Tituba and John Indian, enslaved servants of
Samuel Paris, to bake a so-called witch cake, which was
prepared using flour and the urine of one or both of the
girls. The witch cake was bed to dogs.
This process supposedly facilitated the identification
(14:46):
of the witch who was harming thegirls.
Shortly after this experiment, Betting Abigail named Tituba,
the enslaved woman in the household, as their tormentor.
And one thing led to another, and the witch hunt grew and
grew. And before it was all over, at
(15:07):
least 156 people had formerly been accused of witchcraft. 30
of these were convicted, 19 of them hanged, and one man was
pressed to death for refusing tostand trial.
The trials have had a lasting impact, and not just the New
England region, but on the entire nation.
(15:30):
Now that we've set the Salem stage, enjoy our unmatched Salem
podcast collection, discover interviews with authors of your
favorite Salem witchcraft books,discover our ultimate Salem
witch Trials introduction and our essential Salem One O 1
Series. I know you will enjoy listening
to our Salem themed collection as much as we have enjoyed
(15:53):
building this resource. Let's turn the page one more
time and talk about witch trialsin the American colonies
immediately after Salem. As I mentioned, my ancestor
Winifred Benham and her daughterWinifred Junior were tried for
witchcraft in the Hartford courtin 1697.
That was after the Salem Witch Trials.
(16:17):
Fortunately, their lives were spared as they were acquitted.
Their lives were spared, but like all those accused of
witchcraft, their lives were forever.
Changed. This might surprise you.
Vermont and Virginia each hostedAmerican witch trials that time
nearly forgot. Both Margaret Krieger in Vermont
(16:38):
and Grace Sherwood in Virginia were subjected to the water
test, bound and cast into local waters to determine their guilt.
Although records are extremely limited, we know both women
lived through their ordeals. These aren't just 18th century
witch tales, Widow Prieger and the witch Pongo.
They were real women who faced real persecution.
(17:02):
I'm pleased to tell you their communities have since
memorialized these women, acknowledging the injustices
they faced so long ago. Even with all of this fabulous
material in our many episodes covering New England, Witch Hunt
Podcast has just begun to tell the story.
You can look forward to many newepisodes that will take us
deeper into the story of Salem, MA and Connecticut.
(17:27):
And episodes that will take us to Bermuda and across the
Americas and to the states of New York and Pennsylvania.
Today we have given you an overview of Witch Honey in the
Americas. For more detailed information,
please check out our expert interviews and our one O 1
episodes. You'll find links to our
playlist in the show notes. And look for more upcoming
(17:49):
episodes about the Americas in upcoming months.
We would be remiss if we didn't acknowledge the possibly 200 or
more victims of the recent witchhunt in Haiti that we mentioned
earlier. Sadly, this incident spread like
wildfire throughout this community.
As I've pointed out throughout our series, sickness and death
(18:11):
commonly sparked witchcraft accusations, and this was a
tragic example of that pattern. The child of a local gang leader
became ill and the father consulted a traditional healer
for answers. Like many cases illustrate, this
healer vaguely blamed the child condition on his own
competition. Potentially any of the other
(18:34):
traditional healers in the community were the culprit.
When the child's condition worsened and he unfortunately
died, the father, consumed by grief and rage, sent his
followers on a murderous rampage.
They targeted healers in the vicinity and killed anyone
attempting to protect them. Mostly elderly members of the
(18:55):
community died. This devastating event shows how
patterns of blame and scapegoating continue into our
modern world in the form of accusations of harmful
witchcraft, with severe tragic consequences for families and
communities. Thank you for participating with
us in Podcasts on 2025. We hope you have enjoyed this
(19:18):
unique week of Witch Hunt content.
If you're new to our podcast, please consider subscribing to
our newsletter and the podcast wherever you are watching or
listening. Then please share what you've
enjoyed with your community by social media mentioned or just
talking about it. Your donation helps our projects
in big ways. Thank you.
(19:39):
Thank you for making podcasts on2025 a fun project for us, and
please join us each Wednesday for new episodes about witch
hunts. Listen, have a great today and a
beautiful tomorrow.
Hi, I'm Josh Hutchinson. She's Sarah Jack and this is
Witch Hunt Podcast. And we are descendants of the
Salem witch trials and other NewEngland witch trials.
My great something aunt, Elizabeth Morse of Newbury, MA
was accused of witchcraft in 1679 and convicted, but
(00:21):
fortunately for her, she was given house arrest instead of an
execution. However, my great, great, great,
great, great, great, great, great great great grandmother
Mary Este was not so fortunate. She was accused and convicted in
the Salem Witch Trials and executed September 22nd, 1692.
(00:46):
One of the final eight victims of the Salem Witch Trials.
To face that fate. I also have ancestors who were
on the other side. Some of my ancestors made
accusations, some served on juries and served as witnesses.
So various capacities. And it's really very common if
(01:10):
you have an ancestor who was a victim of a witch trial to also
have ancestors who were on the other side of witch trials
because they're from the same region.
We're talking about a very smallpopulation in New England in the
17th century. So it's a lot of the same people
overlapping. And these were friends and
(01:30):
neighbors who were accusing eachother.
I had a 9th great grandmother named Mary Hale who was tried in
Boston in 1689. She was acquitted.
Then her daughter and granddaughter, Winifred Benham
and Winifred Benham Junior were tried in Hartford.
(01:53):
Fortunately, they were acquitted.
I'm also the great, great, great, great, great, great,
great, great granddaughter of Rebecca Nurse and her sister
Mary Estie. They were hanged in 1692 during
the Salem Bush Trials. Yes, Sarah and I are cousins
through Mary Estie, along with our colleague Mary Bingham, who
(02:17):
presents minute with Mary in ourregular episodes.
She's also a Mary, SD descendant.
And our ancestors, who were partof early modern witch trials
were just like us in many ways. They had the same hopes, fears
and community pressures that we experienced today.
(02:37):
The tragedy that is in witch trials is there are no winners.
Both accusers and accused sufferdevastating consequences.
Everyone lost in these situations.
Families were torn apart, communities fractured and
innocent lives ruined. And here's something you may not
(02:58):
realize. Because witch hunting was so
prevalent throughout history, many of you listening right now
are likely descendants from families touched by witch hunts.
Whether your ancestors were accusers, accused or witnesses,
these witch hunt stories are probably part of your own family
history, even if those stories haven't been passed down.
(03:22):
These weren't just distant historical events, they're part
of our shared ancestry, and understanding them helps us
understand the world we share today.
By the way, I almost forgot. Thank you for joining us for our
final installment in our Ending Witch Hunt series for Podcast on
(03:43):
2025, where podcasters are uniting for good and impact.
Over 1500 podcasters have been releasing special episodes March
15th through today, and they've used their platforms to
simultaneously amplify causes and charities that are important
to them. Learn more at Podcast on dot org
(04:03):
and you will see our nonprofit and witch hunts featured with
the other charities. Your donations in power are
nonprofit to shed light on forgotten historical witch
trials through our extensive podcast series, preserving the
stories of marginalized women whose voices were silenced.
Please consider supporting our educational mission with a
(04:26):
contribution today. Every dollar helps us uncover
and share these crucial historical narratives.
Today, we'll finish telling our story of witch hunts by sharing
what we have discovered in the Americas.
And by the Americas, we don't just mean Salem in our story.
We're talking about an interconnected series of witch
(04:47):
trials in New England and related trials throughout the
Mid-Atlantic. But are you also aware that
there are 35 Southern states in the Americas, encompassing North
and South America, as well as several dependent territories?
Today we want to show the interconnectedness of the witch
trials in the American colonies.We'll also be covering a 2024
(05:13):
witch hunt in Haiti that culminated in the murders of
about 200 people, most of them elderly.
You heard that right. Those murders occurred in
December 2024, just a few monthsago.
This heartbreaking story is a reminder that witch hunts can be
perpetrated in all corners of the world today.
(05:33):
Remember, witch hunts never wentaway, they simply changed forms
so that they are now largely carried out by individuals or
mobs outside of any judicial system.
This violence has been part of life in the Americas and around
the world for centuries. Just last year, a New York man
went to a Connecticut beach and tried to drown his children
(05:56):
because he believed that their mother was a witch.
Homemade exorcisms sometimes go off the rails too, resulting in
injury or even death, often to young children or elderly.
I'm really excited to talk aboutSalem today, but first I want to
note that many witch trials tookplace in the American colonies
(06:16):
long before the Salem Witch trials of 1692 to 1693.
And those witch trials did not happen in isolation.
In particular, witch trials along the Atlantic Coast of
North America, as well as in Bermuda, followed familiar
patterns that have been established across the ocean in
England. The first witchcraft trials on
(06:37):
lands which are now incorporatedin the United States of America
occurred 66 years before the Salem Witch Trials in 1626.
You heard that right. Witchcraft accusations are
documented 66 years before Salem.
That year, separate proceedings took place in courts nearly 2000
(06:57):
miles apart from each other whenwitchcraft accusations were made
in both New Mexico in the American Southwest, and Virginia
on the Atlantic Coast. More than 20 years passed
between the first witch trial inVirginia and the 1st in New
England. The trial of Alice Young took
place in Hartford, CT in May 1647 and she was hanged May
(07:21):
26th, 1647, the first person hanged for witchcraft in British
North America. She was finally acknowledged and
absolved in 2023. Her trial was quickly followed
by a spate of trials in both Connecticut and Massachusetts,
with victims also residing in what is now New Hampshire.
(07:42):
By the way, if we leave you hungry for more details today,
our dedicated history episodes reveal seemingly bizarre
accusations that turned neighbors into suspects and
whispers into death sentences. Go download those now to
discover the full Shocking stories.
I have a by the way too. Witchcraft accusations were
(08:03):
happening everywhere else in theworld at the same time.
That is so true. Following the Connecticut case
of Alice Young in 16471648 saw the hanging of Mary Johnson in
Hartford and the hanging of Margaret Jones in Boston.
The next 4 executions came in 1651 when Alice Lake was hanged
(08:26):
in Boston, Good Wife Bassett washanged in Stratford, CT and Joan
and John Carrington were hanged in Hartford.
By the way, Good Wife is not a first name.
Good Wife is a title literally just means you're supposed to be
a Good Wife. Was the counterpart of the male
(08:48):
Goodman good man? We don't know Good Wife
Bassett's first name. It was omitted from the records.
Yeah, unfortunately, another detail omitted from the record
was the execution date for Elizabeth Kendall, who was
hanged in Boston sometime between 1647 and 1651.
(09:12):
Then in 1653, Good Wife Knapp was hanged in Connecticut.
The following year, Lydia Gilbert was hanged in Hartford.
In 1655, the first witch trial acquittals happened in
Connecticut and New Haven colonies when Elizabeth Godman
and Good Wife and Nicholas Bailey were pronounced innocent
(09:33):
by their trial juries. This marked the beginning of a
calm period in those colonies when nobody was executed for
witchcraft until the Hartford witch panic broke out in 1662.
Unfortunately, the calm was a bit delayed in Massachusetts as
Ann Hibbens was hanging for witchcraft in Boston in 1656.
(09:56):
However, after that execution, Massachusetts did not hang
anyone for witchcraft for 32 years.
Sound has not happened and will not happen for almost 40 more
years. But isn't this already too much
injustice? Yes, it was.
(10:16):
Witchcraft accusations did not completely go away during the
calm periods, but juries and magistrates were less inclined
to convict due to the difficultyin bringing in solid evidence of
diabolical acts. In Connecticut, the calm was
disrupted when Governor John Winthrop Junior traveled to
London to obtain a royal charterfor the colony.
(10:37):
While Winthrop was away, the Hartford witch panic broke out,
resulting in accusations against14 people and the executions of
four, Mary Sanford, Rebecca and Nathaniel Greensmith, and Mary
Barnes in 1662 and 1663. During the period we have
covered so far, 1663, eleven people were hanged for
(11:01):
witchcraft in Connecticut and four were hanged for witchcraft
in Massachusetts. A generation passed before the
next witchcraft execution took place in Boston when Irish
immigrant Goodie Glover was hanged in 1688.
We're supposedly bewitching the beloved Goodwood children.
We have a great episode for you to listen to about Boston's
(11:23):
beloved Goodie Glover. Check it out by following the
link in the snow in the show notes you.
Like Snow notes. I do too.
There are no snow notes, it's show notes.
After Goodie Glover, only a couple more formal witchcraft
accusations were made in New England before 1692, none of
(11:45):
those resulting in convictions. And 1692, the Salem Witch hunt
began. Here's the full story of the
American colony witch trials history.
Get ready. Goodie.
Glover was the 16th person executed for witchcraft in New
England during the 17th century and the last to be hanged for
the crime before an epidemic of witchcraft accusations in Gulf
(12:08):
Salem and surrounding communities in 1692.
To understand the infamous Salemwitch hunt, we need to honestly
recognize the circumstances in which it happened.
Miranda Forsyth's wildfire analogy from the Papua New
Guinea episodes tell us 2 elements are required for a
(12:29):
witch hunt to develop. First, there needs to be a
conducive landscape which provides the fuel for the fire.
Secondly, some trigger event needs to spark the first flame.
Perceive them. The conducive landscape
consisted of a strong belief in witchcraft and the devil, a
previous history of witchcraft accusations, social and economic
(12:53):
anxieties, political instability, religious tensions
and disputes, frontier anxietiesand fear of the other, harsh
environmental conditions, the influence of European witchcraft
beliefs and panics, and a 0 sum mindset.
Let me restate that perfect storm.
Strong belief in witchcraft and the devil.
(13:15):
Previous history of witchcraft accusations, social and economic
anxieties, political instability, religious tensions
and disputes, frontier anxietiesand fear of the other harsh
environmental conditions. Influence of European witchcraft
beliefs and the 0 sum mindset. These conditions made New
(13:37):
England write for a mass witch hunt, providing plenty of fuel
by exacerbating stress, animosity and fear.
The story of the Salem witch hunt is generally told beginning
with the illnesses of Betty Parris and her cousin Abigail
Williams, who are young girls inthe minister's household in
Salem Village. In January 1692.
(14:00):
They both lived in the Salem Village Parsonage with Minister
Samuel Paris, who was the fatherof Betty and was known as an
uncle of Abigail Williams. In late February, fun fact, it
was a leap year. Suspicions about the nature of
the illness, led by fear, turnedinto accusations of witchcraft.
(14:23):
Englishwoman Mary Sibley, a nearneighbor of the Paris family,
instructed Tituba and John Indian, enslaved servants of
Samuel Paris, to bake a so-called witch cake, which was
prepared using flour and the urine of one or both of the
girls. The witch cake was bed to dogs.
This process supposedly facilitated the identification
(14:46):
of the witch who was harming thegirls.
Shortly after this experiment, Betting Abigail named Tituba,
the enslaved woman in the household, as their tormentor.
And one thing led to another, and the witch hunt grew and
grew. And before it was all over, at
(15:07):
least 156 people had formerly been accused of witchcraft. 30
of these were convicted, 19 of them hanged, and one man was
pressed to death for refusing tostand trial.
The trials have had a lasting impact, and not just the New
England region, but on the entire nation.
(15:30):
Now that we've set the Salem stage, enjoy our unmatched Salem
podcast collection, discover interviews with authors of your
favorite Salem witchcraft books,discover our ultimate Salem
witch Trials introduction and our essential Salem One O 1
Series. I know you will enjoy listening
to our Salem themed collection as much as we have enjoyed
(15:53):
building this resource. Let's turn the page one more
time and talk about witch trialsin the American colonies
immediately after Salem. As I mentioned, my ancestor
Winifred Benham and her daughterWinifred Junior were tried for
witchcraft in the Hartford courtin 1697.
That was after the Salem Witch Trials.
(16:17):
Fortunately, their lives were spared as they were acquitted.
Their lives were spared, but like all those accused of
witchcraft, their lives were forever.
Changed. This might surprise you.
Vermont and Virginia each hostedAmerican witch trials that time
nearly forgot. Both Margaret Krieger in Vermont
(16:38):
and Grace Sherwood in Virginia were subjected to the water
test, bound and cast into local waters to determine their guilt.
Although records are extremely limited, we know both women
lived through their ordeals. These aren't just 18th century
witch tales, Widow Prieger and the witch Pongo.
They were real women who faced real persecution.
(17:02):
I'm pleased to tell you their communities have since
memorialized these women, acknowledging the injustices
they faced so long ago. Even with all of this fabulous
material in our many episodes covering New England, Witch Hunt
Podcast has just begun to tell the story.
You can look forward to many newepisodes that will take us
deeper into the story of Salem, MA and Connecticut.
(17:27):
And episodes that will take us to Bermuda and across the
Americas and to the states of New York and Pennsylvania.
Today we have given you an overview of Witch Honey in the
Americas. For more detailed information,
please check out our expert interviews and our one O 1
episodes. You'll find links to our
playlist in the show notes. And look for more upcoming
(17:49):
episodes about the Americas in upcoming months.
We would be remiss if we didn't acknowledge the possibly 200 or
more victims of the recent witchhunt in Haiti that we mentioned
earlier. Sadly, this incident spread like
wildfire throughout this community.
As I've pointed out throughout our series, sickness and death
(18:11):
commonly sparked witchcraft accusations, and this was a
tragic example of that pattern. The child of a local gang leader
became ill and the father consulted a traditional healer
for answers. Like many cases illustrate, this
healer vaguely blamed the child condition on his own
competition. Potentially any of the other
(18:34):
traditional healers in the community were the culprit.
When the child's condition worsened and he unfortunately
died, the father, consumed by grief and rage, sent his
followers on a murderous rampage.
They targeted healers in the vicinity and killed anyone
attempting to protect them. Mostly elderly members of the
(18:55):
community died. This devastating event shows how
patterns of blame and scapegoating continue into our
modern world in the form of accusations of harmful
witchcraft, with severe tragic consequences for families and
communities. Thank you for participating with
us in Podcasts on 2025. We hope you have enjoyed this
(19:18):
unique week of Witch Hunt content.
If you're new to our podcast, please consider subscribing to
our newsletter and the podcast wherever you are watching or
listening. Then please share what you've
enjoyed with your community by social media mentioned or just
talking about it. Your donation helps our projects
in big ways. Thank you.
(19:39):
Thank you for making podcasts on2025 a fun project for us, and
please join us each Wednesday for new episodes about witch
hunts. Listen, have a great today and a
beautiful tomorrow.
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