The Thing About the Salem Witch Trials

Many people claimed to see ghosts during the Salem Witch Trials. We tell some of the ghost stories reported in testimony. Ghosts were usually said to appear in their winding sheets, or burial shrouds. Sometimes 1 ghost appeared, other times hosts of ghosts visited. From cries of vengeance to angry, red ghosts, we cover the bases. Ghost stories were most often spun by the afflicted persons, who claimed ghosts told them that people accused of witchcraft had murdered them. We cover sightings of George Burroughs’ wives, the 13 people allegedly killed by Martha Carrier, a visit by a shining man, and much more.Chapters00:00 Haunted History Intro00:42 Ghosts And Specters Explained02:48 Burroughs Wives Accusations06:03 Thirteen Ghosts In Court07:49 Angel Of Light Encounter09:39 Putnam Grief And Nurse11:30 Mary Esty Returns14:24 More Shrouded Ghosts18:15 Boys Men And Cruel Claims21:39 Hauntings Harm And Wrap Up LinksSalem Witch-Hunt Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/salemwitchhuntSalem Witch Trials History YouTube: https://youtube.com/@aboutwitchhuntsThe Thing About the Salem Witch Trials: https://aboutsalem.comSalem Witch Trials Daily: https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/The Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.comHigh Quality Scans of Salem Witch Trials Records (Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection): https://pem.quartexcollections.com/collections/salem-witch-trials-collectionBernard Rosenthal, ed., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781107689619Emerson W. Baker, A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780190627805Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781589791329Mary Beth Norton, In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780375706905

Dorcas Galley Hoar of Beverly, Massachusetts was one of the more dynamic characters caught in the 1692 witch hunt. An admitted fortune teller, Dorcas was no stranger to suspicion of witchcraft. For decades, rumors swirled around the woman and her children, who operated a theft ring in conjunction with the minister’s maid.Accusations against Dorcas involved specters, familiars, the devil’s book, and murder. After a September 6 trial and a guilty verdict, Dorcas was sentenced to death on September 10. A late confession prompted ministers to submit an 11th hour petition to delay her execution, and she ultimately lived for nearly twenty years after the trials, passing at the age of about 76.00:00 Dorcas Hoar Introduced00:34 Accused and Arrested01:36 Salem Village Examination04:13 Courtroom Spectacle and Dehumanization08:59 Jailed and Sent to Boston10:22 Early Depositions and Husband’s Death11:58 Grand Jury Indictment14:17 September Trial Evidence21:55 Guilty Verdict and Death Sentence22:22 Confession, Reprieve, and Survival23:08 Aftermath and Legacy24:19 Closing and Where to Follow Links:Salem Witch-Hunt Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/salemwitchhuntSalem Witch Trials History YouTube: https://youtube.com/@aboutwitchhuntsThe Thing About the Salem Witch Trials: https://aboutsalem.comSalem Witch Trials Daily: https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/The Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.comHigh Quality Scans of Salem Witch Trials Records (Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection): https://pem.quartexcollections.com/collections/salem-witch-trials-collectionBernard Rosenthal, ed., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781107689619Emerson W. Baker, A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780190627805Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781589791329Mary Beth Norton, In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780375706905Deodat Lawson, A Brief and True Narrative: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A49794.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltextSamuel Willard,Some Miscellany Observations: https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/texts/willard/index.htmlThomas Brattle, Letter of Thomas Brattle: https://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=modern_english/uvaGenText/tei/BurNarr.xml;chunk.id=d18;toc.depth=1;toc.id=d18;brand=defaultIncrease Mather, Cases of Conscience: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A70086.0001.001/1:9.1?rgn=div2&view=fulltextCotton Mather, Wonders of the Invisible World: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/28513/pg28513.txtThomas Maule, Truth Held Forth and Maintained: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/evans/N00599.0001.001?view=tocJohn Hale, A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/evans/N00872.0001.001/?view=tocRobert Calef, More Wonders of the Invisible World: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A32160.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext

The Witch (2015) and Salem Witch Trials Testimony: Caleb’s Scene Through 1692 Court RecordsWe compare Robert Eggers’ 2015 film The Witch to 17th-century New England witchcraft folklore and the 1692 Salem Witch Trials court transcripts, showing how Caleb’s climactic deathbed scene reflects the content of witness testimony. From hag-riding to animal familiars and a folk test for witchcraft, this scene is packed with elements straight from witch trials.We link Caleb's final words and actions with accounts from figures such as Tituba, Abigail Hobbs, Mary Warren, and Susannah Sheldon.Chapters00:00 Film Meets Salem00:58 Caleb Returns Afflicted02:36 Satanic Familiars03:44 Pointing at Specters05:08 Courtroom Fits Evidence07:09 Poison Apple Blood09:02 Violence and Black Phillip12:37 Catatonia Folk Remedies14:53 Rapture and Election18:38 Lord's Prayer Test20:59 Death by Bewitchment21:49 Wrap Up and Where NextLinksSalem Witch-Hunt Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/salemwitchhuntSalem Witch Trials History YouTube: https://youtube.com/@aboutwitchhuntsThe Thing About the Salem Witch Trials: https://aboutsalem.comSalem Witch Trials Daily: https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/The Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.com

Project 1692: Beverly’s Hidden Salem Witch Trials Story with Descendant Tour Guide Roger HersonCrowds flood Salem, Massachusetts each October, but across the river, Beverly holds key Salem Witch Trials history—home to Reverend John Hale’s later writing and to figures and events often mislabeled as “Salem” stories. We talk with lifelong North Shore guide and 12th-generation Massachusetts native Roger Herson, a descendant of the trials (including Thomas Oliver, husband of Bridget Bishop), who leads visitors through court records to replace folklore with documented truth. Roger shares how DNA research revealed multiple ancestral ties to the accused, why original documents matter, and what common misconceptions persist—about Bridget Bishop, Sarah Bishop, alleged stepchild accusers, and John Hale’s influence. He highlights Beverly’s overlooked roles, from William Griggs’s residence to Dorcas Hoar’s complex story, and previews Historic Beverly’s Thursday-night Project 1692 walking tours as a quieter, research-grounded alternative to Salem’s October crush.00:00 Beverly Beyond Salem02:06 Meet Roger Herson02:42 DNA Discovery Story05:26 Bridget Bishop Myths09:23 Beverly Role in 169212:28 John Hale Reckoning18:20 Dorcas Hoar Legend19:35 Project 1692 Tour24:42 How to Visit25:22 Closing Thanks LinksHistoric Beverly: https://historicbeverly.netAncestry Tour Agents: https:// ancestrytouragents.com Salem Witch Trials History YouTube: https://youtube.com/@aboutwitchhuntsThe Thing About the Salem Witch Trials: https://aboutsalem.comSalem Witch Trials Daily: https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/The Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.com

Andover’s Witch Hunt: Coerced Confessions, Family Betrayals, and the Touch Test45 of the total 150–200 accused witches in the Salem Trials came from a single town that bordered Salem—Andover, where nearly 10% of the town population was accused of witchcraft and a lethal rumor spread: confess and live. Grounded in the real1692 examination transcripts and contemporary accounts from writers like Robert Calef, we trace how Martha Carrier’s May 1692 arrest ignited a wider dragnet, then how Elizabeth Ballard’s sudden illness brought Ann Putnam Jr. and Mary Walcott to Andover and triggered the infamous meetinghouse touch test rooted in beliefs about effluvia. As coerced confessions multiplied, family networks collapsed under pressure—from Ann Foster and the Mary Laceys to the torture-driven confessions of Carrier’s sons—and accusations surged through Reverend Francis Dane’s kin, fueling sensational claims of diabolical plots.00:00 Welcome and Andover Focus02:01 Martha Carrier Accused02:37 Defiant Courtroom Exchange04:41 Ballard Illness and Touch Test06:33 Confess and Live Rumor07:22 Lacey Family Interrogations09:37 Carrier Children Tortured10:50 Dane Family Targeted12:35 Sabbaths and Hell Crowns13:43 Mather Versus Carrier14:15 Elizabeth Johnson Testimony15:13 Execution and Closing .The Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.comSalem Witch Trials History YouTube: https://youtube.com/@aboutwitchhuntsThe Thing About the Salem Witch Trials: https://aboutsalem.comSalem Witch Trials Daily: https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/People Accused of Witchcraft in 1692: http://www.17thc.us/primarysources/accused.phpBernard Rosenthal, ed., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781107689619Emerson W. Baker, A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780190627805Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781589791329Mary Beth Norton, In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780375706905Richard Hite, In the Shadow of Salem: The Andover Witch Hunt of 1692: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781594164378