The Devil in Salem Village

The book notes in the first few pages that “There was no real evidence against these people...” (the ones accused of witchcraft), and “Some of the neighbors of the accused saw the trials as a good way to end neighborhood disagreements...” In other words, people who hated their neighbors for some reason found this a great way to get them in trouble.

The book then discusses the origin of witchcraft. It also examines how male-dominated religions won out over female-dominated religions. Then it discusses the witch hunts in Europe.

Then it goes into the Salem Village vs. Salem Town situation. Then it discusses the nature of the Puritan religion which was extremely controlling. The book holds that the behavior of the girls was due to mass hysteria.

The book also has what seem to be parts of actual trial transcripts, which is something I have not seen in any other book so far.

The book notes that the charges against Rebecca Nurse could be traced back disagreements with neighbors over a property line and other related things.

The book also notes that in many classrooms one child is considered different and is treated that way, much like what happened in the Salem accusations.

This is a very good book with a lot of material on the whys of the charges, and how that related to disagreements with neighbors rather than actual witchcraft.

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