Anno Domini 1692
I, Martha Harlow, wife of Thomas Harlow of Salem Village, do solemnly testify that on the fourteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord 1692, I did witness the accused, one Sarah Bishop, speaking in hushed tones to a black cat upon the commons. The creature did appear to answer her, turning its head as though receiving instruction. That very evening, my youngest child was seized with terrible fits and did cry out that the spectre of Sarah Bishop was tormenting her most grievously.
Martha Harlow, her mark XThe accused was examined before the magistrates and did exhibit most unnatural composure. When the afflicted children were brought before her, they did fall into violent convulsions. The accused showed no remorse nor surprise at this spectacle, but did smile most wickedly, as one who takes pleasure in the suffering of the innocent. I have observed such demeanor only in those given wholly to the service of darkness.
Rev. Nicholas NoyesOn divers occasions this past winter, the butter of Goodwife Putnam would not churn, though the cream was fresh and the weather cold. Each time, it was discovered that the accused had passed by the Putnam homestead that very morning. When the butter was examined, it was found to contain strange pins and a quantity of hair, the which could not be accounted for by any natural means. The dairy has been afflicted since Candlemas.
Ann Putnam Sr.Upon searching the dwelling of the accused as ordered by the court, I did discover hidden beneath the hearthstone a small poppet fashioned of cloth and pins, together with a quantity of strange herbs unknown to the apothecary, and a book containing characters which no Christian scholar could decipher. The accused, when confronted with these objects, did turn exceeding pale and would speak not a word in her defense.
George Herrick, ConstableThat the accused did enter into a covenant with the Devil, thereby renouncing her baptismal vows and pledging her soul to the service of darkness, as testified by spectral evidence presented before the court.
That the accused did, through diabolical arts, afflict the bodies of sundry persons in Salem Village, causing them to suffer fits, contortions, and torments beyond the power of natural disease to inflict.
That the accused did maintain familiar spirits in the forms of a black cat and a yellow bird, which creatures did attend upon her and execute her malicious designs against her neighbours.
That the accused did practice image magic, having been found in possession of poppets stuck through with pins, by means of which she did torment her victims at a distance.
That the accused did, upon the Sabbath day, absent herself from meeting and was seen instead in the woods beyond the village, in the company of others known to consort with the Enemy of Mankind.
That the accused did, by her sorceries, cause the death of the infant child of Thomas and Elizabeth Putnam, the which child was in perfect health until the accused did lay her cursed hand upon it, whereafter it sickened and perished within a fortnight.
The court, having heard the testimonies of the afflicted, examined the evidence presented, and deliberated upon the charges brought forth against the accused...
...finds that the weight of spectral evidence, the confessions of the accused's confederates, and the visible torments inflicted upon the innocent children of this village leave no room for doubt...
...that the accused has willingly and knowingly entered into a compact with the Devil and has thereby brought unspeakable suffering upon the people of God in this community...
...the court does therefore pronounce its judgment upon the accused...
In the autumn of 1692, the Court of Oyer and Terminer was dissolved. Governor Phips, confronted with the spectre of his own wife named among the accused, finally intervened. By the following spring, the remaining prisoners were released. Fourteen women and five men had been hanged. One man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death under heavy stones for refusing to enter a plea. He asked only for "more weight." In 1711, the colony passed legislation restoring the good names of the accused and providing financial restitution to their heirs. No amount of silver could restore what was lost. The land remembers. The documents remain. The accusation never fully dies -- it merely waits for the next season of fear to give it a new mouth.
The innocent have no need of trial.