Witchcraft Trials: Fear, Betrayal and Death in Salem »

In 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts, a few teenage girls began suffering from a mysterious affliction. When the condition worsened, people in the village believed the devil must be at work. The afflicted girls accused three women of witchcraft and hysteria swept through the village. Before the Salem witchcraft trials ended, nineteen innocent men and women had been executed. Author Deborah Kent examines this tragic period in American history.

Children's Literature

The Salem witchcraft trials have long haunted the imagination of the American public. For nearly seven months, the strange afflictions and behavior of a few teenage girls convinced the village that the devil was at work. Those they accused of witchcraft were left with no evidence to defend themselves, and many died, innocent of the charges. Kent presents the story in a narrative tone which grabs the reader's attention from the first paragraph. While arranged chronologically, the information in each chapter is knit together by more than just time. The sociological and religious background that provided fertile ground for these fears is clearly explained, although a little more description of how the Puritans were different from other branches of Christianity would have been helpful. Kent also describes various modern theories of the causes of the girls' afflictions, though her own opinion seems to lean toward explanations from human psychology. Illustrations include historic documents and drawings as well as full color modern photographs. The conversational text and lively pictures make the information high interest, while the sidebars throughout the text and the end matter including time line, glossary, index, suggestions for further reading and Internet resources, make this book a useful tool for research. It is a part of the "America's Living History" series. Reviewer: Jennifer Lehmann

1 Fortunes in a Glass 7

2 A Dreadful World Unseen 16

3 Fertile Ground 35

4 Torments and Trials 51

5 Shepherds Into Wolves 67

6 Innocent Blood 80

7 A Legacy of Questions 96

Timeline 111

Chapter Notes 114

Glossary 121

Further Reading 123

Internet Addresses 125

Index 126