Move along folks, the Salem Witch Trials were the product of hysteria, and that's all you need to know. . . or NOTWe kick off with a midnight ride that would make Paul Revere jealous—except instead of warning about the British, townspeople were frantically summoning help for a girl supposedly being tortured by a witch's specter. But before you roll your eyes and mutter "mass hysteria," consider this: What if the Salem Witch Trials weren't the product of unhinged women with wandering uteruses (yes, that's a real historical medical theory), but rather ordinary people responding to extraordinary fear in disturbingly familiar ways?Join us as we trace witch panics from Springfield to Hartford, uncovering a pattern that's less "crazy town" and more "calculated legal proceedings." We'll explore why dismissing these events as hysteria might be the most dangerous mistake we can make—especially when the same human behaviors that fueled 17th-century witch hunts are alive and well in. Spoiler alert: We're not as evolved as we think we are.Fair warning: Contains references to wandering uteruses, midnight rides, and uncomfortable parallels to contemporary society.Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription ProjectMassachusetts Court of Oyer and Terminer Documents, The Salem Witch Trials Collection, Peabody Essex MuseumRecords of the Salem Witch-HuntThe Thing About Salem WebsiteThe Thing About Salem YouTubeThe Thing About Salem PatreonThe Thing About Witch Hunts YouTubeThe Thing About Witch Hunts Website
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14:55
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14:55
Omelette You Finish, But Did an Afflicted Girl in Salem Divine Her Future with an Egg?
We look at the reported use of oomancy—egg divination—allegedly preceding the Salem Witch Trials. The discussion centers around a haunting account from Reverend John Hale about an afflicted girl who used an egg and glass to divine her future, only to see a coffin appear in the reflection. This ominous vision allegedly led to her eventual death, serving as what Hale callously called "a just warning" about dabbling with divination.The hosts explore the ancient origins of divination practices, tracing them back thousands of years to early civilizations. The episode examines various divination methods documented in Salem records, including the sieve and scissors technique, key and Bible, and other techniques for fortune telling. Several fascinating Salem cases come to light, including Samuel Wardwell's admitted fortune telling abilities and Dorcas Hoar's reputation as a local fortune teller who specialized in predicting the deaths of men. The hosts share intriguing testimonies from neighbors who witnessed these practices firsthand, revealing how common divination was in 17th-century New England communities.Throughout the episode, the hosts address common myths about Salem, including the popular but inaccurate image of girls gathering in circles for magic sessions. They also explore the mystery of which afflicted girl Hale was referring to in his account, as her identity remains unknown to this day.Join Josh and Sarah as they uncover the surprisingly relatable human desire to glimpse the future, one cracked egg at a time. Connect with them on Patreon at patreon.com/aboutsalem to continue the conversation about Salem's divination practices and their modern echoes.Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription ProjectMassachusetts Court of Oyer and Terminer Documents, The Salem Witch Trials Collection, Peabody Essex MuseumRecords of the Salem Witch-HuntThe Thing About Salem WebsiteThe Thing About Salem YouTubeThe Thing About Salem PatreonThe Thing About Witch Hunts YouTubeThe Thing About Witch Hunts Website
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13:39
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13:39
Did Bad Bread Bewitch Salem?
You've heard the theory: ergot-poisoned rye bread caused hallucinations that sparked the Salem witch trials. It sounds so logical, so scientific, so... wrong.When the afflicted girl Elizabeth Hubbard accused alleged witch Sarah Good of witchcraft through spectral torture - pinching, pricking, and demanding she sign the devil's book - was she describing a fungal poisoning? Or something far more complex?Join Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack as they finally address one of the most popular silver bullet "explanations" for the Salem Witch Trials. They'll show you why this tidy medical explanation crumbles: convulsive ergotism is actually a syndrome with a constellation of symptoms and variables. This episode will sharpen your critical thinking. The ergot theory's problems show us how easily we can be drawn to explanations that sound scientific but don't actually fit the evidence and why we need to dig deeper than the theories that simply make us feel better about difficult history.Linnda R. Caporael, “Ergotism: The Satan Loosed in Salem?”Nicholas P. Spanos and Jack Gottlieb Rebuttal, “Ergotism and the Salem Village Witch Trials”Mary K. Matossian, "Views: Ergot and the Salem Witchcraft Affair "Nicholas P. Spanos, “Ergotism and the Salem Witch Panic”Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription ProjectMassachusetts Court of Oyer and Terminer Documents, The Salem Witch Trials Collection, Peabody Essex MuseumRecords of the Salem Witch-Hunt:The Thing About Salem WebsiteThe Thing About Salem YouTubeThe Thing About Salem PatreonThe Thing About Witch Hunts YouTubeThe Thing About Witch Hunts Website
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14:42
Caution: May Contain Specters
In Salem, people were hanged based on crimes no one else could see.In Salem, accusers claimed to see the ghostly “shapes” of their neighbors tormenting them from miles away. These spectral attacks left real bruises, real terror, and real questions: Could the Devil impersonate innocent people? Why did Connecticut reject this evidence decades earlier while Salem embraced it with deadly consequences?From midnight visitations to courtroom chaos, discover how testimony about invisible crimes became the most dangerous evidence in American legal history.The shadows cast by Salem’s trials reach far beyond 1692—and the question of what we’re willing to believe based on what we cannot see remains as relevant as ever.Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription ProjectMassachusetts Court of Oyer and Terminer Documents, The Salem Witch Trials Collection, Peabody Essex Museum“The Return of Several Ministers”Letter from Cotton Mather to John FosterRecords of the Salem Witch-HuntThe Thing About Salem WebsiteThe Thing About Salem YouTubeThe Thing About Salem PatreonThe Thing About Witch Hunts YouTubeThe Thing About Witch Hunts Website
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14:11
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14:11
Dining with the Devil in the Pastor's Pasture: Salem's Witches' Sabbath
What happens when a few cryptic accusations transform into elaborate tales of midnight gatherings with the Devil himself? In Salem, the introduction of witches' sabbath stories didn't just add fuel to the fire—it created an inferno that would consume an entire community. These stories reveal how panic spreads and conspiracies grow, transforming neighbors into enemies and turning familiar landscapes into theaters of supernatural warfare.Episode Highlights:European Origins of Sabbath Stories • In the western Alps in the 1430s, stories spread after religious conferences • Originally called the "Synagogue of Satan," not sabbath or sabbat • 1669 Swedish trials in Elfdale Province featured children confessing to journeys to Blockula • Accused described calling "Antecessor come and carry us to Blockula" three times at crossroads • The Devil appeared in a gray coat, red and blue stockings, and distinctive high-crowned hat with red beardSalem's Transformation • European sabbath tales were fresh in colonial minds when Salem's hunt began •Stories evolved from simple accusations into vast conspiracy narrativesImpact on the Witch Hunt • Each confession built upon previous stories, creating coherent mythology • Details seemed to confirm worst fears about supernatural conspiracy • Stories recorded as evidence and treated as truth by authorities • Transformed the scope from individual accusations to community-wide threatRelated Content: Join us on Patreon for bonus episodes and behind-the-scenes contentBuy the book: Origins of the Witches Sabbath by Michael D. BaileySalem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription ProjectThe Thing About Salem WebsiteThe Thing About Salem YouTubeThe Thing About Salem PatreonThe Thing About Witch Hunts YouTubeThe Thing About Witch Hunts Website
The Thing About Salem is the ultimate podcast of the Salem Witch Trials. Each week, we bring you an engaging 15-minute discussion of a different "thing" or person associated with the witchcraft accusation crisis in and around Salem in 1692 and 1693. Tune in as we discuss "things" like poppets, bewitchment, and witches' sabbaths, and people like Tituba, John Proctor, and Rebecca Nurse.
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