During the bleak winter of 1692 in the rigid Puritan community of Salem Village, Massachusetts, a group of young girls began experiencing violent fits, allegedly tormented by Satan and the witches who worshipped him. From the girls' initial denouncing of an Indian slave, the accusations soon multiplied. In less than two years, nineteen men and women were hanged, one was pressed to death, and over a hundred others were imprisoned and impoverished....

Tormented girls writhing in agony, stern judges meting out harsh verdicts, nineteen bodies swinging on Gallows Hill. The stark immediacy of what happened in 1692 has obscured the complex web of human passion which climaxed in the Salem witch trials. From rich and varied sources-many neglected and unknown-Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum give us a picture of the people and events more intricate and more fascinating than any other in the massive literature....

Discusses the historical setting of the witchcraft trials in colonial Salem, Massachusetts, with background information on the Puritans.

An account of the events leading up to and duringthe legendary witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts, and a look at Salem's place in history after 1693 and at the historical sites that tourists can visit today.

Profiles people who have been the driving force behind the most critical events of the Salem witch trials, including Heinrich Kramer, James Sprenger, Elizabeth Parris, Anne Putnam and Sarah Good.

"What was it like to live in the colony of Massachusetts during the last decade of the 17th century, the decade famed for the Salem Witch Trials? Daily Life during the Salem Witch Trials answers that question, offering a vivid portrait essential to anyone seeking to understand the traumatic events of the time in their proper historical context. The book begins with a historical overview tracing the development of the Puritan experiment in the Massachusetts...