In the Devil's Snare

Mercy Lewis, the 19-year-old maid servant of the Putnams, was the leader of the accusers. Importantly, Lewis was from Maine. When she was three years old, her parents escaped a Wabanaki attack during King Philip’s War by fleeing to an island with George Burroughs and others. Her father’s family lost many members in these attacks, including Lewis’s paternal grandparents, uncles, and cousins. The family then temporarily moved to Essex County, probably Salem. When Lewis was 10, in 1683, the family returned to Maine. However, Lewis’s family was killed in King William’s War, and she once again returned to Salem Village. After her father died, she worked in the Burroughs household in Maine for a time and was familiar with Abigail Hobbs and her irreverent behavior. Norton speculates that Lewis undoubtedly resented Burroughs since he had escaped safely from the attacks while her family did not. Her history is defined by both King Philip’s War and King William’s War. She is central to Norton’s thesis that the Wabanaki wars and the witch crisis were connected.

Norton reasons that Lewis had a strong influence on Ann Putnam, Jr., whose spectral visions related to the wars on the frontier. Ann, Jr., claimed that Burroughs’s specter appeared to her and confessed to recruiting Abigail Hobbs and others to Satan’s forces, which were equated with the Wabanakis. Lewis additionally said that his specter had tortured her and that she was “eager to ‘witness against’ her former employer” (245), Burroughs. Lewis suggested Nurse’s name to a specter haunting Ann, Jr. In the meetinghouse, during examinations, she had fits, such as when Martha Corey was present. She single-handedly got Mary Easty re-arrested, claiming that she was tormenting her after being released. Given her prominent role among the accusers, Lewis was called upon as a witch finder several times. However, critics questioned her truthfulness, and at one time, she almost fell into the group of accused. Her leadership and active role in the examinations and trials is evidence of the disruption in gender dynamics during the witch crisis.

George Burroughs was ultimately accused of being the leader of the witches. Burroughs had served as a minister in Maine, and he was able to escape Wabanaki attacks three times. That luck aroused both suspicion and resentment among those, such as Mercy Lewis, who lost family in those attacks. In this way, Burroughs connected the witchcraft crisis to the Wabanaki wars. Burroughs had spent time in Salem before going to Maine, and he had stayed with the Putnam family. He was known to have been harsh with his wives, two of whom had died. On April 20, Ann Putnam, Jr., claimed she had a spectral encounter with Burroughs. Mercy Lewis, who had lived in close proximity to Burroughs in Maine, was a maid in the Putnam household.

Once Burroughs was named, people thought it was logical that a fallen minister would lead the witches. Many others saw him in spectral visions. Norton notes that he was “named over and over again as the leader of the devil’s sacrament and other witch meetings” (131). Perhaps because of his reputation, the accusers claimed that the ghosts of his two dead wives appeared to them charging Burroughs with their murders. His unusual strength was also noted as a sign of the devil.

The authorities considered that Burroughs’s conviction was necessary to legitimize all the witch trials, given his supposed leadership role among the witches. Since Burroughs was alleged to be in alliance with Satan and the Wabanakis, witchcraft could be blamed for the failure to defend the frontier, rather than poor political and military decisions. In this sense, Norton maintains that the judges, magistrates, and Governor’s Council, all political and military leaders, had a vested interest in believing in Burroughs’s guilt. His trial had multiple accusers, confessed witches testified against him, and he was convicted and hanged on August 19. Before his execution, Burroughs said he forgave his accusers and died with dignity.

Norton argues that Abigail Hobbs’s confession to witchcraft on April 19 “transformed the 1692 witchcraft crisis” into an unprecedented event (120). Hobbs admitted to being recruited by the devil four years earlier in the woods of Maine; she claimed the devil was in the shape of a “black man,” or Indigenous person. By making this confession, Hobbs directly connected the Wabanaki wars and the witchcraft crisis—Satan and the Wabanakis were allied. Following this confession, allegations of witchcraft dramatically increased. Her second confession accused Burroughs of witchcraft in Maine.

The first accusations against Hobbs came from the Putnam household, where Mercy Lewis was a maidservant. Lewis knew Hobbs from their time together in Falmouth, Maine. Hobbs had a reputation for irreverent behavior and lived in Falmouth for about six years. Lewis most likely discussed her irreverent behavior with the Putnams. Additionally, Lewis maintained that Burroughs’s specter confessed to recruiting Hobbs into Satan’s forces along with several others. Because Hobbs confessed, she was convicted, but her life was spared. She later married and had two sons.

Rebecca Nurse was a well-respected and pious woman; Norton says she was one of the unusual suspects. Nurse was accused by Abigail Williams. Later, Ann Putnam, Sr., said that Nurse’s apparition threatened to murder her and that it had acknowledged killing several people. Others, too, claimed that Nurse was tormenting them and was appearing at witches’ meetings, so her body was inspected for a witch’s mark, and one was found. Unlike many other defendants, Nurse and her family attacked the evidence and provided a defense. They questioned the veracity and reliability of some witnesses, such as Mercy Lewis. Additionally, they had a medical explanation for the alleged witch’s mark. The jury acquitted Nurse, but the presiding judge insisted on reconsideration in light of a remark made by Nurse. When asked about the remark, Nurse, who was hard of hearing, did not respond. She was then convicted and hanged on July 19. Norton cites her case as proof of the judges’ belief in the allegations of witchcraft. In ordinary times, the judges would have come to the defense of a woman with Nurse’s standing in the community. After the crisis, the Nurse family and other relatives of those executed forced Samuel Parris “to leave Salem Village” (309). Ann Putnam, Jr., expressed regret for her accusation against Nurse but did not accept responsibility for it.

Ann, Jr., and Betty Hubbard of Salem Village initially accused Tituba of bewitching them, and they followed this with accusations against Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good as well. Ann, Jr., accused several others of witchcraft during the crisis; these included Martha Corey; Dorcas Good, who was the young child of Sarah Good; Elizabeth Proctor; Rebecca Nurse; George Burroughs; and John Willard. Ann, Jr., claimed she had a spectral encounter with Burroughs the day after Abigail Hobbs’s testimony, linking the witch crisis to the events in Maine. Ann, Jr., also claimed that she had encounters with ghosts who accused suspected witches of crimes, such as murder. For example, she said John Willard’s wife appeared to her and accused her husband of murder. Ann, Jr., was also the first to claim that specters threatened to tear her into pieces—this was a phrase that would be repeated often during the crisis, and it tied the witches to the Wabanakis in the minds of the English settlers. Though Ann, Jr., was not yet 14, she was nevertheless active in the examinations, reacting with fits to the accused. When she was older, Ann, Jr., regretted her involvement in the affair. She later believed that the accused witches were innocent, though she did not admit to lying. Instead, she claimed that “it was a great delusion of Satan that deceived [her]” (311). She especially regretted the accusations against Rebecca Nurse.

Abigail Williams and her cousin Betty Parris, who lived in the household of Reverend Parris, were the first who were supposedly afflicted by witchcraft in January 1691/2. They said they had fits, felt as though they were being bitten and pinched, and could not turn their necks for weeks. Reverend Parris summoned a physician, who diagnosed witchcraft. Abigail and Betty Parris then accused Tituba, an Indigenous enslaved woman living in the household, of bewitching them. Though Abigail was active in the crisis in its early days, she later withdrew from it. She initially accused unusual suspects, such as Rebecca Nurse, John Willard, and George Burroughs. Nurse, in defending herself, raised questions about Abigail’s veracity and stressed Abigail’s interaction with the devil. Abigail was the first to claim she had a vision of a “black man” whispering in the ear of Martha Corey, an accused witch. This vision would become common among the accusers, and it helped Norton make The Connection Between the Wabanaki Attacks and the Witch Crisis.

Betty Hubbard and Ann Putnam, Jr., claimed to be afflicted by witchcraft together. Since Hubbard was over 14, she might very well have tipped the scale toward the filing of legal complaints. She was a member of the household of the physician who had diagnosed Betty Parris and Abigail Williams with bewitchment and would therefore, per Norton, be familiar with the symptoms. Norton classifies Hubbard as one of the accusers who “persisted in offering accusations and testimony for many months” (305). Hubbard accused several people of witchcraft, including Martha Corey, Burroughs, and Nurse. She was known to have extreme fits during the examinations and in the courtroom in reaction to the presence of the accused. Norton describes her reactions when noting the chaotic nature of the examinations, with the magistrates losing control of the process. Hubbard was also called in as a witch finder when anyone was afflicted with symptoms but could not name the individual tormenting them. This is how she accused the proctors of witchcraft. Hubbard remained in Essex County following the crisis, ultimately marrying and living in Gloucester.

Ann Putnam, Sr., was one of the few accusers who was older, as she was in her thirties. Her description of her daughter’s afflictions was important since it helped to bolster the accusers’ credibility. Ann, Sr., claimed to be bewitched, too, allegedly by Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey. She had a fit in the meetinghouse upon seeing the accused. After going months without any afflictions, she claimed that Nurse’s specter threatened to murder her on June 1. The following day, she claimed that several ghosts had appeared to her in winding sheets, accusing John Willard, Martha Corey, and William Hobbs of murdering them. She said they threatened to tear her into pieces if she did not report this vision to the magistrates, thus invoking language reminiscent of the Wabanaki attacks.

Mary Walcott was one of the main accusers who persisted in “offering accusations and testimony for many months” (305). Since John Proctor had expressed skepticism about Mary Warren’s afflictions within Walcott’s hearing, Walcott accused him of bewitching her and had fits in his presence. Additionally, she claimed that the specters of Elizabeth Proctor, Sarah Cloyce, Rebecca Nurse, Abigail Hobbs, and John Willard had attacked or tortured her. She confirmed Abigail Williams’s claim that a “black man” was whispering in the ear of Martha Corey. Additionally, she stated that Nurse’s apparition admitted to assisting in the deaths of several people. Norton highlights Walcott’s ties to the Maine frontier—her oldest brother served in the militia on the Maine frontier, and her great-uncle lived in Maine for years. Concluding that Walcott must have heard stories about the Wabanaki attacks, Norton uses this accuser’s background to emphasize The Connection Between the Wabanaki Attacks and the Witch Crisis.

Mary Warren was initially one of the afflicted, but she was later accused of witchcraft and confessed. Warren was a maidservant in the home of John Proctor. Since she expressed skepticism toward her afflictions, there was no legal complaint filed. Norton uses this case to highlight the “crucial role of adult men in legitimizing the complaints of the afflicted persons” (72), a reality that highlights the nature of Gender and Power Dynamics During the Witch Crisis. Since Proctor was not sympathetic to the afflicted and admitted his skepticism, he came under suspicion and was accused of witchcraft.

When Betty Hubbard and Abigail Hobbs alleged that Warren was a witch, Warren first claimed innocence and then fell into fits and was incapable of speaking. She later confessed to being a witch and claimed that her master, John Proctor, had made her sign the devil’s book. She accused Alice Parker and Ann Pudeator of witchcraft, alleging that their specters confessed to murders. She also accused Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Proctor, and Bridget Bishop, claiming their specters tormented her. She also testified to the grand jury that indicted Burroughs, claiming she had a spectral encounter in which he was clearly the leader of the witches and had almost choked her to death.

Tituba was the first person accused of witchcraft in the Salem crisis. An Indigenous enslaved person in the Parris household, Tituba was accused by Betty Parris and her cousin Abigail Williams. Tituba’s life was spared because she confessed, and she went on to offer testimony against several others. She was held in jail for the longest period of all the accused. Norton notes that after the crisis passed, those who could not afford jail fees remained in custody. Tituba was finally released on May 9, 1693, and she was sold to a person who paid her fees. Norton argues that it was not coincidental that Tituba, an Indigenous person, was the first to be accused of witchcraft. It is more evidence of The Connection Between the Wabanaki Attacks and the Witch Crisis.

Sarah Osborne was among the first three accused of witchcraft in the crisis. She had been involved in a legal battle with the family of her accuser. Norton explains that the examination of Osborne and Sarah Good revealed “dynamics that would continue inside various makeshift courtrooms for the duration of the crisis” (27). Specifically, the magistrates assumed guilt, the accused had a hard time responding to the charges, the afflicted demonstrated their torments in public, and the audience actively involved itself in the proceedings. Other people later accused Osborne of witchcraft as well. She was one of three people who died while in custody.

Sarah Good was one of the first three people accused in the crisis. She had previously been suspected of witchcraft and thus personifies one of the usual suspects, as explained by Norton. In this crisis, people accused those who fit the profile of a witch, as understood at the time. Tituba testified against Good, claiming that she hurt Ann, Jr. Good insisted on her innocence. She was convicted and hanged on July 19.

Martha Carrier was dubbed the “Queen of Hell” by Cotton Mather (182). Soon after Carrier’s family moved from Billerica to Andover, a smallpox epidemic broke out, and she was blamed for it. Several accusers claimed that the ghosts of 13 people whom she had killed in Andover came to them. During the legal proceedings against her, the accusers, including Mercy Lewis and Mary Warren, took over from the magistrates, having fits and alleging visions of the devil conferring with Carrier. Norton observes the disruption in gender and power dynamics in this scenario. Carrier not only denied the allegations against her but also told the judges that they should be ashamed of listening to people “out of their wits” (183). Carrier was convicted and hanged on August 19.

John Proctor expressed skepticism about Mary Warren’s afflictions, so he became a suspect. Warren was his maidservant. Norton notes that Warren’s early complaints of affliction never became formal legal complaints because Proctor, the male head of household, did not act upon them. Norton uses this example to emphasize the key role that male heads of household had in this crisis. Proctor was accused of witchcraft during the examination of his wife, Elizabeth, who was one of the suspects who was charged. Elizabeth’s grandmother, too, had been assumed to be a witch. During his examination, several of the afflicted had fits and attributed their torments to Proctor.

While Proctor was incarcerated, he led the efforts to write a petition, alleging that the Carrier brothers were coerced into confessions via torture. Additionally, the petitioners asked for a change of venue and different judges. Norton explains that the men who served on the court rejected this petition. She thus highlights the governor’s and council’s involvement in the crisis. Proctor was hanged on August 19.

The allegations against Bridget Bishop brought about a new phase in the witchcraft crisis. Bishop had been tried and acquitted of witchcraft 12 years previously, so she fit the profile of the suspects. However, Bishop was from Salem Town, had never been inside the Salem Village meetinghouse, and did not know any of the afflicted. The allegations against her came from outside Salem Village. Norton explains that the gossip following Abigail Hobbs’s confession, which tied the witch crisis to the wars in Maine, had a “dramatic impact” on Bishop and others suspected of malefic acts (113). Once Bishop was accused, the Village accusers then corroborated the allegations via their visions and physical reactions in her presence. Thus, they retained their central role in the unfolding drama.

Bishop was the first person convicted of witchcraft and she was hanged on June 10. Her execution had a sobering effect on the crisis, as there was a hiatus in afflictions for the following two weeks. Some began to raise concerns about the use of spectral evidence and the trials. However, those voices were silenced at this time when one of the critics was fined.

Philip English was a native French speaker who traded along Maine’s coast and was “one of the wealthiest merchants in New England” (143). At the time, the English settlers feared the French, who were allied with the Wabanakis. No French person was allowed to reside in frontier towns or engage in trade without permission. This is why English attracted notice; he also had a history of breaking with local business norms, which caused him to make some enemies. When he was accused by one of the afflicted, another person who had been having a dispute with him made claims of bewitchment as well. Norton argues that English would never have been a “plausible candidate for the designation ‘witch’” if not for the Wabanaki wars (146). Since English was wealthy, he was allowed to post bail. He decided to flee and escaped to New York.

Reverend Samuel Parris was hired as the pastor of Salem Village in June 1689. He had a poor relationship with his congregation. Salem Village did not have a church, or covenanted body of saints, as understood by Puritans. Parris stressed the differences between church members and others, angering those in Salem Village. In one sermon, he referred to his critics in the Village as wicked men. It was in the Parrises’ home that the witchcraft crisis began. His daughter and niece were the first two people afflicted, and they named Tituba, whom he enslaved, as the one who tormented them.

Parris became an advocate of the trials, delivering an “uncompromising” sermon on March 27, 1692, that claimed devils were around. Parris also said that since God had authority over Satan, he would not allow the devil to display false apparitions to the afflicted. This claim bolstered the credibility of the accusers, who, according to Parris, deserved sympathy. In early September, he gave a sermon that invoked martial terms. In doing so, he equated the internal and external threats from the witches and the Wabanakis. Parris provided sworn testimony about the afflictions experienced by the accusers and played an active role in the crisis. Rebecca Nurse’s family and other victims of the witch trials drove him out of town in 1697.

John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin served as the magistrates in the crisis and conducted the examinations of those accused. They presumed that all the accused were guilty and sought to win confessions from them. However, they failed in that task, as most did not confess. Importantly, Hathorne and Corwin disregarded conventional wisdom and interviewed the accused in public, in front of their accusers. This caused them to lose control of the examinations as the accused took over with claims of fits and spectral visions. This disruption in gender dynamics put the spotlight on the young accusers who reinforced one another’s accusations. Even when evidence conflicted, the magistrates expressed no skepticism toward the afflicted. Both men had been soldiers in Maine, charged with guarding the frontier.

Cotton Mather was a well-known clergyman and a strong advocate of the trials. When people began criticizing the trials, he published a book called The Wonders of the Invisible World, defending them. On the eve of Burroughs’s trial, he delivered a sermon that linked devils to the Wabanakis and described the torments of the afflicted. While he conceded some doubts about spectral evidence, he was confident of the veracity of the witches’ confessions. Cotton Mather later became “the most celebrated clergyman in Massachusetts Bay” (312).

Early in the crisis, Reverend Samuel Willard preached that devils existed. Yet, in June, he began to express skepticism about the prosecutions. He noted that Satan could attack victims without the aid of witches and that images of innocents could be used by him. He stated the possibility that the accusers were possessed. Because of his criticisms, he was accused of witchcraft in the courtroom. However, his status prevented that charge from being taken seriously—there was a line that the judges would not cross. While Willard offered more critiques of the crisis in the fall, he stopped short of holding the magistrates, jury, and judges accountable.

Sir William Phips served as governor during the crisis; he was informed and involved in the legal procedures. For instance, he named the judges and established the court to try the witches. When public opinion went against the trials, Phips tried to cover up his involvement. Norton shows that he lied about his whereabouts during the proceedings in communications to London. Phips was recalled to England in 1694.

William Stoughton was the head judge of the Court of Oyer and Terminer and presided over the trials. He was known to be “rigid and imperious” and “unwilling to entertain” opposition (197-98). He completely believed in the guilt of the accused and intervened when the jury acquitted Rebecca Nurse. All those tried in his court were found guilty. Stoughton was angry when Phips granted reprieves for the three who were convicted in February 1692/3.