Colonial Witchcraft: The Road to the Salem Witch Trials

It wasn't that long ago that most Americans believed in demons and witches, and demonic manifestations. If something was going wrong in your society - drought, plague, disease, crop failure, war - how much easier it was to blame it on the devil, rather than taking any responsibility as an individual or a society. And if one was going to track down witches, one didn't really want them to be able to mount a defense. Thus, "spectral evidence" became useful, since there was no defense against it, and it was solely at the initiative of the accuser.

There were witch trials in Connecticut, Virginia, and Massachusetts - and in Spanish New Mexico, for good measure. Most of the trials ended up in some executions.

This book takes a brief look at "Witchcraft in Colonial America", the persecution of which didn't end until the 18th century. The primary focus is on the Salem Witch Trials of 1692/93, which was the greatest - and essentially last - example of witch trials.

The book contains 37 illustrations.