Witch-Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials » (Reprint)

Marc Aronson is the author of the critically acclaimed Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado, winner of the ALA's first Robert L. Sibert Information Book Award for nonfiction and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. He has also written Art Attack: A Brief Cultural History of the Avant-Garde. A passionate spokesperson for young-adult literature, he has written many articles on the subject that have been published in two collections, the most recent of which is Beyond the Pale: New Essays for a New Era. He has won the LMP Award for editing and has a PhD in American history from NYU. He lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, with his wife and son.

Stephanie Anderson lives in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Her first picture book was Weaving the Rainbow, by George Ella Lyon, in which her art was praised by Kirkus Reviews as "exquisite."

Salem, Massachusetts, 1692. In a plain meetinghouse a woman stands before her judges. The accusers, girls and young women, are fervent and overexcited. The accused is a poor, unpopular woman who had her first child before she was married. As the trial proceeds the girls begin to wail, tear their clothing, and scream that the woman is hurting them. Some of them expose wounds to the horrified onlookers, holding out the pins that have stabbed them — pins that appeared as if by magic. Are they acting or are they really tormented by an unseen evil? Whatever the cause, the nightmare has begun: The witch trials will eventually claim twenty-five lives, shatter the community, and forever shape the American social conscience.

Publishers Weekly

In a starred review, PW wrote, "The author dramatically and convincingly sets the stage for the now infamous 1692 Salem witch trials, then ably deconstructs much of the misinformation that has been perpetuated through popular theories and personalities (e.g., Tituba, etc.)." Ages 12-up. (Aug.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

CONTENTS:

Note to the Reader

A Note About the Images in This Book

On Spelling, Word Usage, and Dates in This Book

INTRODUCTION: Of Dark Forests and Midnight Thoughts

"The Queen of Hell"

Two Familiar Fairy Tales

Skittering Shadows

Belief or Fraud?

PROLOGUE: Boston, 1688: The Possession of the Goodwin Children

Mather vs Glover

Of Meetinghouses and the Blood of Wolves: The Puritan Journey

Testing a Witch

Exploring the Invisible World

Lessons and Warnings

CHAPTER I: Two Salem Families, 1641-1692

The Putnams and the Porters

The Theft

A Minister's Warnings

CHAPTER II: Two Mysteries

The First Mystery

The Second Mystery

The Second Mystery Deepens

CHAPTER III: The Mysteries End and the Hearings Begin

The Usual Suspects

Tituba's Confession

CHAPTER IV: The Accuser: Ann Putnam Jr.

Biting, Pinching, and Choking

Of Tests and Wishes

CHAPTER V: The One and the Many

Martha Corey

"Confess and Give Glory to God"

CHAPTER VI: From Hearings to Trials

"Alas, Alas, Alas, Witchcraft"

To Hear and Decide

One Dead: Bridget Bishop

CHAPTER VII: The Man in Black

Vengeful Ghosts

Two Men in Black

CHAPTER VIII: "Choosing Death with a Quiet Conscience"

"If I Would Confess, I Should Have My Life"

A Confused Jury

"Till the Blood Was Ready to Come Out of Their Noses"

CHAPTER IX: "That No More Innocent Blood Be Shed"

Mary Easty

"It Was All False"

"I Do Most Heartily, Fervently, and Humbly Beseech Pardon"

CHAPTER X: "A Great Delusion of Satan"

Ann Putnam Jr. Speaks

Wheels Within Wheels

EPILOGUE: Explaining Salem

Fraud, Witches, Hysterics, Hallucinators

APPENDIX: The Crucible, Witch-Hunt, and Religion: Crossing Points of Many Histories

Timeline of Milestones in Puritan History

Important Dates in Puritan History Before 1692

Chronology of Events in the Salem Witch Crisis

Notes and Comments

Bibliography

Index