In the Devil's Snare by Mary Beth Norton

Seventeen months later, after legal action had been taken against 144 people, 20 of them put to death, the ignominious Salem witchcraft trials finally came to an end. |a In January 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts, two young girls began to suffer from inexplicable fits. |a Introduction - Under an evil hand - Gospel women - Pannick at the Eastward - Dreadfull apparition of a minister - Many offenders in custody - Endeavors of the judges - Burroughs their ringleader - All sorts of objections - New witch-land. |a Includes bibliographical references and index. |a In the devil's snare : |b the Salem witchcraft crisis of 1692 / |c by Mary Beth Norton. |a DLC |b eng |c DLC |d VOC |d WSL |d COM And she makes clear that ultimate responsibility for allowing the crisis to reach the heights it did must fall on the colony's governor, council, and judges. Norton moves beyond the immediate vicinity of Salem to demonstrate how the Indian wars on the Maine frontier in the last quarter of that century stunned the collective mindset of northeastern New England and convinced virtually everyone that they were in the devil's snare. She explores the role of gossip and delves into the question of why women and girls under the age of twenty-five, who were the most active accusers and who would normally be ignored by male magistrates, were suddenly given absolute credence.

She shows how the situation spiraled out of control following a cascade of accusations beginning in mid-April. Describing the situation from a seventeenth-century perspective, Norton examines the crucial turning points, the accusers, the confessors, the judges, and the accused, among whom were thirty-eight men.

Mary Beth Norton gives us a unique account of the events at Salem, helping us to understand them as they were understood by those who lived through the frenzy. In January 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts, two young girls began to suffer from inexplicable fits.

In the Devil's Snare by Mary Beth Norton