Salem Witch Trials & Colonial Folklore: A Basic Overview

The Salem Witch Trials, an epidemic famous across all of America which took place less than 400 years ago, was a mass hysteria that overwhelmed the New England American colonies. This has been a tale that I have wanted to better understand for some time. I wanted to learn what exactly qualified you to be one of these Salem witches, what that meant for you in life and in death. What a better way to kick off fall than with witches! These women (mostly) were the talk of the town during their days. From my research, it seems as though witchcraft from the Old World and the New World differed vastly. I could go on for pages discussing all the different sects of witchcraft and the differences in beliefs from colony to colony or country to country; however, we are focused on New England today and its colonial folklore.

 Different colonies treated their witches differently and believed in different rituals and rules for witches. Some colonies believed witches were more of a nuisance than a foe, causing mischief and annoyance to the townspeople rather than outright evil and malicious acts of violence and cruelty. However, many colonies believed that witches were slaves to the Devil and did his bidding in exchange for magical powers. One example is Groton, Connecticut's Elizabeth Knapp. According to Booth’s The Witches of Early America, Knapp was promised “money, silkes, fine clothes, ease from labor and travel throughout the world.” The Devil loved to promise a better life for these women, enticing them to do evil in exchange for seemingly unattainable opportunities. My personal favorite is Martha Carrier of Massachusetts, who requested to become Queen of Hell in exchange for her servitude, and was eventually hanged in 1692. To become a witch, one had to sign the Devil's book, or the Black Book, with either black ink or their blood to sign. It was believed that if you chose this path, you could either become a full-time witch or a part-time witch. This was a fact I was unaware of, as I assumed that the colonists would believe “once a witch, always a witch”; however, that was not the case. You could make contracts with the Devil that spanned a couple of months until you met your goal, or you could be in his servitude indefinitely. 

It was common for villagers to get tangled up in a contract with the Devil to vex a neighbor they had problems with, and other petty attempts at social dominance over other colonialists. These villagers believed that their witch neighbors would curse their crops, livestock, and pets. If a cow that had been healthy all its life got sick on a random day, the likely reason was witchcraft. If a young girl sprouted boils seemingly out of nowhere, then it was probably witchcraft. Since it was believed that servitude to the Devil was completely voluntary, and with the belief that the devil had little power to coerce devotees, the blame fell solely on the devotee for their crimes.

 The punishment for the crime of participating in witchcraft was a trial, and usually ended in the death of the accused if found guilty. Hangings and drownings were common, along with other bizarre methods of torture and death like being crushed underneath stones called “pressing”, which happened to Giles Correy at the age of 81 in 1692. Compared to popular belief, no witches in New England were burned at the stake for witchcraft, which was found to be more common back in the Old World. Torture was commonly used during these trials as a means of encouraging a confession. Most of the accused who confessed to witchcraft said they did so out of fear for their life and under the idea that if they confessed, then the torture would cease. I also have a suspicion that it is entirely possible that some of these women who were accused over and over again possibly started to believe the accusations themselves, much like the film Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970), a Czech film depicting a girl accused of witchcraft who then begins to believe that she really is an enchantress.

People were sometimes accused of witchcraft due to their inherent physical appearance. Scars, birthmarks, and any physical deformities were often associated with the mark of Satan. It seems that I may have been accused of witchcraft since I have a rather large birthmark hidden under my arm. According to 1627's A Guide to Grand-Jury Men, written by English jurist Richard Bernard, “A witch's mark… It is the Devil’s custom to mark his. And note, that this mark is insensible, and being prick’d, it will not bleed.” Now my birthmark has never bled, but it has also never been pricked, so that’ll be an experiment for another time. However, this was a theory that was not widely accepted enough throughout the colonies to be considered crucial for being a witch. 

It was widely believed in the colonies, opposite to the Old World views, that witches were lone wolves who worked alone. In New England, they did not typically engage in cult activity. However, it wasn’t until 1612, when a woman accused of witchcraft confessed she had a midnight meeting with the Devil and another sorceress, that the idea that other devotees may gather together and perform rituals with the Devil was introduced. We all know the stereotype for witches where they have a broom in hand and fly through the night sky; well, that was a commonly debated idea where witches could propel themselves and fly in the night. They were known to use poles, broomsticks, fireplace spits and other means of transportation through the sky. This idea was mostly proposed by those confessing to the crime of witchcraft, claiming they were given the ability to fly. Whether this was used solely to glamourize their witchiness, we do not know. 

I find colonial America fascinating. The Puritans came from the Old World and created an entire culture of their own, which our country’s roots are founded on. It is interesting to see how the ideas of witchcraft change and grow when introduced by a different belief system, where fears are ever evolving. I always loved learning about Thanksgiving and the Oregon Trail, so this was a fun project. I hope you all enjoyed it!