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Connecticut Witch Trials: The First Panic in the New World
Connecticut's witch hunt was the first and most ferocious in New England, occurring almost fifty years before the infamous Salem witch trials.

Between 1647 and 1697, at least thirty-four men and women from across the state were formally charged with witchcraft. Eleven were hanged. In New Haven, William Meeker was accused of cutting off and burning his pig's ears and tail as he cast a bewitching spell. After the hanging of Fairfield's Goody Knapp, magistrates cut down and searched her body for the marks of the devil. Through newspaper clippings, court records, letters and diaries, author Cynthia Wolfe Boynton uncovers the dark history of the Connecticut witch trials.

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Connecticut Witch Trials: The First Panic in the New World
Connecticut's witch hunt was the first and most ferocious in New England, occurring almost fifty years before the infamous Salem witch trials.

Between 1647 and 1697, at least thirty-four men and women from across the state were formally charged with witchcraft. Eleven were hanged. In New Haven, William Meeker was accused of cutting off and burning his pig's ears and tail as he cast a bewitching spell. After the hanging of Fairfield's Goody Knapp, magistrates cut down and searched her body for the marks of the devil. Through newspaper clippings, court records, letters and diaries, author Cynthia Wolfe Boynton uncovers the dark history of the Connecticut witch trials.

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Connecticut Witch Trials: The First Panic in the New World

Connecticut Witch Trials: The First Panic in the New World

by Cynthia Wolfe Boynton
Connecticut Witch Trials: The First Panic in the New World
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Connecticut Witch Trials: The First Panic in the New World

Connecticut Witch Trials: The First Panic in the New World

by Cynthia Wolfe Boynton

Overview

Connecticut's witch hunt was the first and most ferocious in New England, occurring almost fifty years before the infamous Salem witch trials.

Between 1647 and 1697, at least thirty-four men and women from across the state were formally charged with witchcraft. Eleven were hanged. In New Haven, William Meeker was accused of cutting off and burning his pig's ears and tail as he cast a bewitching spell. After the hanging of Fairfield's Goody Knapp, magistrates cut down and searched her body for the marks of the devil. Through newspaper clippings, court records, letters and diaries, author Cynthia Wolfe Boynton uncovers the dark history of the Connecticut witch trials.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781626193871
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date: 09/23/2014
Pages: 128
Sales rank: 1,028,650
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

An award-wining journalist, playwright and poet, Cindy Boynton is a freelance writer whose background includes more than fifteen years as a regular correspondent for the New York Times and nine years as editor and publishing director of Better Health magazine. Cindy is also an English and communications instructor at the Yale School of Medicine and Housatonic Community College, as well as host of the weekly Literary New England Radio Show podcast.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 9

Introduction: Emerging Out of Salem's Shadow 11

1 Cauldron of Fear: Connecticut Executes First Accused Witch in America 17

2 Conjuring Hysteria: Beliefs About Witchcraft hi the 1600s 27

3 Dark Spell: The Impact of Mary Johnson's Confession 34

4 Dangerous Brew: The Hartford and Fairfield Witch Panics 41

5 The Devil's Familiars: Some of the More Infamous Connecticut Witchcraft Cases 59

6 New Incantation: A Quiet Cry to Stop the Witch Hunts 71

7 Wicked Democracy: Government and Gallows in Connecticut 81

8 The Wallingford Witch: Connecticut's Final Witchcraft Trial 90

9 Bewitched: Myths and Mistruths About Connecticut's Witch Trials 97

Afterword: Descendants Petition for Posthumous Pardons 105

Timeline: Connecticut Witch Hysteria 111

Chart: Connecticut Residents Accused of Witchcraft, 1647 1724 115

Bibliography 119

Index 123

About the Author 125

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