Letters from Salem
November 1, 1691
Dearest Elizabeth,
We finally reached Massachusetts Bay after many long weeks at sea. William and I have found several acres of good farmland in a place called Salem Village, which is located north of Plymouth and Boston.
Though we love our new home dearly, we find the people of Salem Village to be a contentious lot. They fight not only amongst themselves but also with the people of neighboring Salem Town. Perhaps this situation is understandable since for years Salem Town has had legal, religious and taxing authority over those in Salem Village. Although our Puritan neighbors are allowed to attend Sunday services at the Church of Christ here in the village, they must travel to Salem Town to take communion. As a result, our villagers are split into two opposing factions: those who desire to break ties to Salem Town and those who wish to maintain them.
When last I traveled forth, I had occasion to meet the minister of the village church, a man by the name of Samuel Parris. He is the fourth man to serve as pastor since the church was established, the previous three having fallen victim to the factionalism within the congregation. Reverend Parris, though already thirty-five years of age, is but a novice to his calling. He spent most of his life trading in Barbados and the West Indies, and only after failing as a merchant, did he hear the call of God, although my instincts tell me he is more concerned with his own personal finances than with the souls of his flock. Parris seems to be a strong and proud man who no doubt feels he is entitled to the deference customarily given to a minister. However, many of the villagers are unwilling to give him either the respect or the financial support he craves or even to acknowledge him as their spiritual leader.
William and I, being strangers to this colony and likely to be looked upon with suspicion, take no part in the feuding, as 'tis our sincere wish to avoid making enemies here. Yet despite the belligerence of our Puritan neighbors, our small family has found happiness in the New World. After all, we have been blessed with good health, fertile fields and a warm and safe home.
Of course, even if this were not the case, we would have our love and our precious little son, James, to make us happy. And always, I carry my love for thee in my heart, my dearest Elizabeth. 'Tis my fondest hope that someday soon thou will be able to make the long voyage here to Massachusetts Bay to live with us and share in our good fortune. Until such time, I remain,
Thy loving sister,
Mary
* * *
April 14, 1692
Dearest Elizabeth,
I fear serious trouble has come to our new home. It all started on the twentieth day of January when young Elizabeth Parris, the nine-year-old daughter of the Reverend Samuel Parris, and her eleven-year-old cousin, Abigail Williams, started to exhibit strange behavior. Without warning, the girls fell into convulsive seizures and trance-like states often broken by spells of blasphemous screaming. This strange malady soon spread to other girls in Salem Village. Dr. William Griggs, whose own maid has since been afflicted, can find no physical cause for the girls' symptoms and thus pronounced that they have been bewitched.
Hoping to rid the people of Salem Village of Satan's evil influence, Reverend Parris organized prayer services and community fasting. His efforts failed, so he sought the advice of Reverend John Hale of nearby Beverly. The girls, when pressed to identify the person or persons who so grievously afflicted them, named Tituba, Parris's Barbados slave, as well as two other local women, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne.
Then, on the first day of March, Magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin arrived from Salem Town to examine the three accused women. Tituba readily confessed to being a witch and to having made a pact with the devil, although 'tis well known in the village that her confession was prompted by a beating from her owner, the Reverend Parris. Both Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne professed their innocence, but Tituba swore that all three of them had been part of a coven of witches in Salem Village led by a man dressed in black who forced them to sign the devil's book.
As a result of this damning and, to my mind, dubious testimony, all three women were sent to prison in Boston. Unfortunately, Goody Good is a destitute woman of ill repute who possesses a sharp tongue, and Goody Osborne, who once caused a great scandal by living with her servant before she married him, is old and bedridden and has not attended church services for more than a year. It seems that nary a villager doubts their guilt, nor are the people of Salem greatly concerned with the fate of these hapless women.
Alas! Like the deadly plague that ravished Europe, the cry of "witch" soon began to spread through Salem Village. Many villagers have since come forth claiming to have been harmed by witches or testifying to having seen strange apparitions. Another appalling aspect of this accretion of suspicion is that no longer is the accusation of witchcraft limited to those women of questionable moral character or dire economic circumstances. Allegations are now brought against those of the highest standing in both Salem Village and Salem Town and to the most pious, faithful members of the Puritan Church.
A young maiden named Ann Putnam, urged by her embittered mother, cried out against Martha Corey, a Godly churchwoman and the wife of a local landowner, Giles Corey. Ann Putnam's mother soon joined the ranks of the afflicted girls and accused seventy-one-year-old Rebecca Nurse, a woman well known for her piety and charitable deeds. One of Goody Nurse's sisters, Sarah Cloyce, was also denounced after she angrily stormed out of the church in disgust when Reverend Parris delivered a sermon implying the guilt of her sister, Rebecca, and that of the other suspected witches.
Next to be accused was Elizabeth Proctor who, like her husband, John, was known to be opposed to both Reverend Parris and the witchcraft obsession that seems to be taking hold of Salem. Her husband, a tavern keeper, tried to speak on his wife's behalf at her examination and was then himself accused and imprisoned.
What perplexes me most about this lamentable business is that since King William and Queen Mary ascended to the throne in 1688, the Massachusetts Bay Colony has been without a charter and thus has no legal authority to try capital cases. Despite this fact, charges continue to be brought against suspected witches. The magistrates can perform only the initial examination; then they can do aught but send the poor wretches off to gaol to await trial. When such a trial will be held one can only guess.
Reverend Parris, from whose own doorstep this awful witch-hunt didst go forth, claims, "The devil hath been raised among us, and his rage is vehement and terrible, and when he shall be silenced, the Lord only knows."
My good William holds to the belief that all this madness will eventually pass as it has every other time the ugly head of suspicion and intolerance dared raise itself above the crowd and point its finger at the innocent. After all, there were fewer than one hundred persons charged with witchcraft here in New England. 'Tis a far cry from the tens of thousands who were put to the stake in Europe and the thousand who were mercilessly tracked down and hanged by Witch Finder Matthew Hopkins in England.
I regrettably do not share my husband's optimism. As early as ten years ago, one of the villagers complained that in Salem Village "brother is against brother and neighbors against neighbors, all quarreling and smiting one another." I do fear that such fertile soil will yield a bountiful crop of witches for the gallows.
But thou hast no need to fear for our little family, for we remain safe within the circle of our faith, untouched by the madness around us. We have even made a few friends in the neighboring towns and villages, people like ourselves who do not share the Puritans' narrow-minded views, do not believe this foolish talk of devils, specters and old hags attending black masses in the dead of night. Though we have little time to spend with our new friends now that the spring planting is upon us, 'tis good to know we are not alone.
Thy loving sister,
Mary
* * *
June 2, 1692
Dearest Elizabeth,
The evil seed planted here in Salem Village has sprouted, and the fruit ripens quickly. Now dozens of men and women, whose only offense has been their inability to live peaceably with their fellow man or to be the unwitting objects of their neighbors' envy, languish in Salem Gaol. Such, however, is not the case for the unfortunate Sarah Osborne who, already sickly at the time of her arrest, has since died in prison in Boston.
The Reverend John Hale from the neighboring town of Beverly and the esteemed Cotton Mather from Boston didst preach that the reason for the devil's great success in attacking Massachusetts is that the Puritans have not kept their covenant with God. Their evil and sinful ways, they didst fulminate, have made Satan's victory an easy one.
Do not these ministers and judges find it odd that the afflicted persons, who are predominantly young girls between the ages of nine and eighteen, are attacked by such a diverse and unlikely group of witches? Little four-year-old Dorcas Good, daughter of accused witch Sarah Good, is held in chains in Salem Gaol as is the elderly George Jacobs, a cripple whose granddaughter was forced to falsely testify against him in order to save her own life. Also arrested was Bridget Bishop, owner of two taverns, who has scandalized Salem for years by wearing flashy clothes, publicly fighting with her various husbands and entertaining male guests in her home until late in the night, drinking and playing games of shuffleboard. One of the saddest cases is that of Abigail Hobbs, a mentally unstable woman who readily confessed to having had dealings with the devil. Rather than dismiss her insane ramblings as nonsense, the magistrates accepted every word as proof of spectral attacks on the girls in the village.
Many of the accused witches' relatives have also fallen under suspicion. Edward and Sarah Bishop, the son and daughter-in-law of Bridget Bishop; Mary Easty, sister of both Rebecca Nurse and Sarah Cloyce; and Giles Corey, the pugnacious eighty-one-year-old husband of Martha Corey, have all been denounced and arrested.
More surprisingly, Philip English, one of Salem's wealthiest merchants, was also accused along with his wife, Mary. Goodman English was fortunate enough to bribe a gaoler so that he and his wife could escape from their cells and flee Salem. Not so lucky was the Reverend George Burroughs, a former minister of the church in Salem Village. When Reverend Burroughs was accused by Ann Putnam, the members of the court concluded that he must be the man in black that Tituba claimed was the leader of the witches' coven in Salem. Constables were henceforth dispatched to Reverend Burroughs' home in Wells, Maine, where the minister was arrested and brought back to face the magistrates in Salem.
It now appears that even the girls, themselves, are not immune to charges of witchcraft. Mary Warren, maid to John and Elizabeth Proctor, was herself accused by her friends and arrested when she failed to testify against Goody Proctor. However, when faced with the dismal prospect of a stay in Salem Gaol, young Mary chose to turn on her former employer and rejoin the ranks of her afflicted friends. 'Tis hard to blame her for her lack of loyalty, for Salem Gaol is a cold, foul-smelling, rat-infested dungeon, where water from the nearby North River often seeps through its stone walls and floods the small, dark, overcrowded cells.
Perchance the gaol will soon be less crowded. On the fourteenth of May, Increase Mather returned from England, bringing with him the colony's new charter. Accompanying him was the new royal governor of Massachusetts, Sir William Phips. Two weeks after his arrival, Governor Phips established a court of seven judges to hear the cases against the alleged witches. These judges were instructed to base their verdicts not only on the defendants' confessions and the testimony of the afflicted girls but also on supernatural evidence such as witch marks on the body. Spectral evidence, too, is to be allowed despite its controversial nature. Given the unreliability of such evidence, 'tis no wonder that today, in its first session, the court found Bridget Bishop guilty and condemned her to death by hanging.
I must confess, my dearest Elizabeth, that 'tis hard to remain silent, to hold one's tongue and not cry out against all this lunacy. However, to do so would surely incur the vengeful wrath of the girls who, although they are but young children, know only too well the power they hold over the lives of men and women in Salem and in the surrounding towns to which this madness has now spread. 'Tis little doubt as to what would befall the person foolish enough to invite their anger.
My dear William and I try our best to keep our spirits up. Even though we are safe and 'tis unlikely that anyone will cry out against us, my heart cannot help but feel compassion for the innocent who suffer so unjustly.
With all my love,
Mary
* * *
October 8, 1692
Dearest Elizabeth,
I feel as though I am trapped in a nightmare from which I cannot wake. On the tenth of June, Bridget Bishop was hanged at Gallows Hill. When the honorable Judge Nathaniel Saltonstall, dissatisfied at how the trial was conducted, resigned from the court, I prayed that the remaining magistrates would, at last, come to their senses and this witch-hunt would end. Alas! Such is not the case. On the contrary, in the wake of the hanging, there are more accusations than ever.
The pious Rebecca Nurse was at first found innocent, but the girls carried on so, that the poor woman was tried again. And, despite a petition signed by her neighbors attesting to her godliness, Goody Nurse was then convicted and hanged on the nineteenth of July along with Sarah Good and three other women, all maintaining their innocence to the very end.
Exactly one month later, on the nineteenth of August, old George Jacobs, John Proctor, the Reverend George Burroughs and two others were similarly executed. Burroughs, in an attempt to prove his innocence, flawlessly recited the Lord's Prayer from the gallows. The spectators, convinced that he was a godly man, demanded that Burroughs be released. However, the Reverend Cotton Mather stepped forward and reminded the crowd that the devil was known to change himself into an angel if it profited him to do so.
It has been discovered that Elizabeth Proctor is with child and so, at least for now, she shall be spared from sharing her husband's fate. I cannot imagine how that poor woman manages to keep her wits. She has been confined to that Hell of a gaol for nearly five months already, has lost her husband and now must suffer the pains of childbirth in that dreadful prison, knowing full well that the child's birth will mean her own death. I pray this deadly storm passes before her time to deliver has come.
There has been much speculation as to the torture to which the accused are subjected in order to persuade them to confess and thereby save both their earthly lives and their immortal souls. Such is the preposterous and paradoxical law of these Puritans: confess to being a witch and thy life shall be spared, yet profess thy innocence and thou shall be hanged as a witch!
Poor Giles Corey, whose wife, Martha, had already been found guilty and sentenced to hang, refused to plea either way to the charges brought against him. He was made to lie on his back on the ground, and a board was placed on his chest. One by one, large stones were then piled on top of the board. Sheriff George Corwin demanded the old man answer guilty or innocent to the charge of witchcraft, but Giles stubbornly remained silent, speaking only once: to ask for more weight. Some people claim that by refusing to offer a plea, Giles could thus prevent the courts from confiscating his property. Others hold to the belief that silence 'twas but Giles' way of showing his contempt for the court and the trials. Whatever his motive, Giles held his tongue and was crushed beneath the weight of the stones. Two days later Martha Corey was one of eight people to make the trip from Salem Gaol to Gallows Hill, thus bringing the number of hangings to nineteen.
I know, dear sister, what I must tell thee now will give thee cause to worry. I would prefer to speak of this matter once it is behind us, but I fear that should things not go as planned, thou might never knowest the truth of the matter. William and I have decided we can no longer turn a blind eye to the horrors around us and think only of our own safety. If we stand by and take no action, we shall be as guilty as those who cry against their neighbors, sit in judgment in the courts or place the rope around innocent necks. So tomorrow night, when the moon is full, William and I plan to meet with the others in our circle of friends and attempt to put an end to these frightful trials. Perchance we will be found out and carted off to stand before the magistrates ourselves, but 'tis a chance we are willing to take.
If thou should hear no further from me, I trust thou will take my son, James, into thy home and love him as thou hast loved me and as I have always loved thee.
Thy devoted sister,
Mary
* * *
November 1, 1692
My Dearest Sister Elizabeth,
I know thou hast long since received word that we are well. I am sorry I have not been able to write thee sooner, but William and I have spent every waking hour gathering the crops. At last, the harvest is in, and 'tis a bounteous one!
Thou will no doubt find this the most joy-filled letter I have written thee in the twelve months since William and I first arrived in Salem Village, my dearest sister. As I told thee in my last letter, we planned to meet with our friends on the night of the full moon. When we were all together in our secret place in the woods, we first called upon the powers of the elements to consecrate and purify our sacred circle. We then asked the help of the Goddess in ending the trials that have these many months plagued the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Blessed be! Our prayers were soon answered.
The Reverend John Hale and many of his fellow ministers became concerned with the growing number of those afflicted—more than fifty—as well as the alarming number of convicted witches. Serious doubt was cast on the veracity of the trials, particularly since so many of the condemned had been convicted solely on the basis of spectral evidence. A letter was sent to Governor Phips, expressing these doubts. The governor ordered that intangible evidence would no longer be allowed. The girls, drunk with power, then dared to accuse the governor's wife, Lady Phips. No doubt they thought to intimidate him as they had the wretched people of Salem Village and the surrounding towns. Sir William, not a man to concede to the threats of a group of hysterical young girls, promptly dissolved the court and finally put an end to this hunting of witches.
Today, the people of Salem Village and Salem Town look back at the events of the past seven months with mixed feelings. Many suffer from grief and sadness. For some, the grief is coupled with guilt. Others, their belief in the existence of witches still unshaken, feel a sense of pride and accomplishment and perhaps the hidden fear that the witches' dying curses will come back to haunt them. Yet the feeling most prevalent among the people of Salem, with the possible exception of those young girls whose strange outbursts started the whole monstrous affair, is one of relief that this terrible chapter in our colony's history is at last over.
Now, with the dark days of suspicion, fear, calumny and executions at last behind us, we can all look forward to a new and better life. William and I take special joy in doing so since I am once again with child. Our baby is due at the end of April—a good portent since it is to be born during our Beltane celebration of birth, fertility and the blossoming of life.
I think I had best put down my quill now. My tired body is reminding me 'tis time to sleep. William and I were up very late last night celebrating Samhain and making offerings for the souls of Rebecca Nurse, John Proctor, Bridget Bishop, George Jacobs, Martha Corey and all the others who met their tragic and unjust end at Gallows Hill.
There have been many surprising twists in the recent course of events in Salem, but the greatest irony of all must be that while these Puritans were busy accusing each other of casting spells and attending Sabbaths, a coven of genuine witches sprang up undetected among them. In waging their holy war against witchcraft, those poor fools executed only innocent people. And now the magistrates congratulate each other on having rid Salem of its witches, unaware that 'twas we who truly practice the craft that saved them from the evil forces of their own ignorance.
Thy loving sister,
Mary
This is the kind of letter I get from my Salem.
