Salem Witch Trials Daily

51 Witchcraft Suspects in Jail: May 23, 1692

May 23, 1692: Surprise Examinations, New Warrants, and 51 SuspectsWe race through a packed Monday as accusations explode across Salem: Elizabeth Booth alleges nighttime torment from Mary DeRich and the Procters while officials move fast with fresh complaints, sweeping warrants, and three arrests delivered to Salem for questioning. Our biggest jolt comes from Captain Nathaniel Cary’s firsthand account of how magistrates and accusers turned a supposed meeting into a trap—forcing Elizabeth Cary into a painful, staged “test” before seizing her and sending her to jail in shackles. Meanwhile, testimony stacks up against Mary Esty, John Willard, Mary Whittredge, Dorcas Hoar, Roger Toothaker, and others, even reaching back to the long-dead Sarah Osburn. By day’s end, prisoners are shuffled to Boston and Salem, and Hathorne’s tally shows the crisis has swelled to 51 suspects.00:00 Welcome and Date00:15 New Accusations Filed01:05 Warrants and Arrests01:33 Examinations Begin02:01 Missing Records Explained02:31 Elizabeth Cary Trap03:52 Cary Arrest Aftermath04:10 Testimony Roundup05:26 Prisoner Transfers Count05:42 Fifty One Suspects

" There is a power of devils in our air that are seeking to hurt us" May 22, 1692

Increase Mather Returns as the Witchcraft Crisis BuildsWe’re in Boston on Sunday, May 22, 1692, as Reverend Increase Mather preaches at the North Church just eight days after returning from London with a new charter, choosing Psalm 121:8 to mark his “going out” and “coming in.” Drawing on Cotton Mather’s notes, we follow Increase as he warns the congregation that “a power of devils” is in the air seeking harm, yet insists God will protect His people—an unmistakable signal of how deeply the witchcraft crisis has gripped the colony. With fear rising and the hunt accelerating, tomorrow brings a fresh wave of suspects, accusations, and wild allegations, ending with nine more people behind bars.00:00 Welcome and Hosts00:11 Increase Mather Returns00:41 Sermon Warning of Devils01:06 Tomorrow’s Witch Hunt Escalation

A Witch’s Specter Allegedly Threatens to Amputate a Young Woman’s Legs

Mary Esty Shackled as New Accusations and Philip English’s Threats EscalateWe pick up on Saturday, May 21, 1692, with Mary Esty imprisoned and shackled as Mercy Lewis reportedly begins to recover from violent fits and Magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin start examining Esty. While the court pauses and prepares to resume, new complaints from John and Thomas Putnam target Susannah Roots, Sarah Bassett, and Sarah Procter for allegedly afflicting multiple afflicted girls. The tension spikes with Susanna Sheldon’s deposition describing spectral assaults and a chilling confrontation involving Philip English, a knife, and demands to keep silent about the ghost of Joseph Rabson’s accusation of murder at sea—followed by threats reaching as far as Boston and even the governor. We also spotlight fresh testimony from Elizabeth Hubbard tying familiar names back to the prior day’s fear and fits.00:00 Welcome and Setup00:22 Mary Esty Examined00:54 New Accusations Filed01:18 Susanna Sheldon Attacked01:31 Philip English Threats01:43 Joseph Rabson Story02:07 Tell Hathorne Tomorrow02:24 More Threats and Depositions02:51 Podcast Plug and Wrap

The Dramatic Second Arrest of Witchcraft Suspect Mary Esty: May 20, 1692

Midnight Deadline: Mercy Lewis, Mary Esty, and the May 20 Panic Mercy Lewis lies bedridden and voiceless in the Putnam home, terrified by alleged specters—identified as Mary Esty, John Willard, and Mary Whittredge—who threaten her to “sign the devil’s book” or die before midnight, even displaying a winding sheet and coffin. As Ann Putnam Jr., Abigail Williams, and others claim to witness the assault, Mercy pleads for her soul and says Esty will kill her for not clearing her. With fear heightened in a household recently marked by a baby’s death blamed on witchcraft, Constable John Putnam Jr., Marshal George Herrick, and Benjamin Hutchinson race through the night to secure a warrant from magistrate John Hathorne, seize Esty from Isaac Esty Jr.’s home, and haul her to Salem—yet Mercy’s fits continue. The day’s accusations expand to multiple other alleged attackers, foreshadowing the deadly arc that ends with Esty’s hanging on September 22, 1692. 00:00 Midnight Threat 00:36 Meet the Hosts 00:48 Who Are the Specters 01:09 Mary Esty Freed 01:48 Mercy Near Death 02:51 Visionaries Identify Mary 04:14 Winding Sheet Warning 05:06 Night Ride for Warrant 06:05 Mary Esty Re Arrested 06:30 Affliction Continues 07:02 Aftermath and Meaning 07:52 Other Accusations Roundup 08:31 Closing and Next Episode Mary Esty: Victim of the Salem Witch Hunt with Mary Bingham: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mary-esty-victim-of-the-salem-witch-hunt/id1643770324?i=1000637013845 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mary-esty-victim-of-the-salem-witch-hunt/id1643770324?i=1000637013845]Salem Witch Trials History YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCliis4vjMIUgg3wcA0pXeYQ/ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCliis4vjMIUgg3wcA0pXeYQ/] ⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub: https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/⁠ [https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/%E2%81%A0] ⁠The Thing About the Salem Witch Trials: https://aboutsalem.com⁠ [about:blank] ⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.com⁠ [about:blank] ⁠ [https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780375706905%E2%81%A0]Bernard Rosenthal, ed., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781107689619⁠ [https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781107689619%E2%81%A0] Emerson W. Baker and John G. Reid, The New England Knight: Sir William Phips, 1651-1695: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780802081711 [https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780802081711] ⁠Emerson W. Baker, A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience:  [https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780190627805%E2%81%A0] https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780190627805⁠ [https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780190627805%E2%81%A0] ⁠Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781589791329⁠ [https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781589791329%E2%81%A0] High Quality Scans of Original Court Documents - Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection: https://pem.quartexcollections.com/collections/salem-witch-trials-collection [https://pem.quartexcollections.com/collections/salem-witch-trials-collection]

Mary Esty's Specter Allegedly Torments Mercy Lewis: May 19, 1692

Prison Lane and a Lingering Accusation: Mercy Lewis Targets Mary EstyWe trace a tense morning on May 19, 1692, as guards breakfast at Ingersoll’s Tavern, collect prisoners from the Salem Village watch house, and escort John Willard, Elizabeth Hart, Roger Toothaker, and Thomas Farrar Sr. by cart and horseback to Boston Prison on Prison Lane (today’s Court Street). We set the grim destination in stark relief with John Dunton’s 1686 description of the Boston jail—a filthy, hellish place where minds and jailers gnaw at the living—where Sarah Osborne died and where Toothaker’s fate soon looms. Meanwhile, Mercy Lewis, now at Constable John Putnam Jr.’s home amid the Putnams’ afflictions, insists she’s tormented by the specter of Mary Esty, newly released after a month in jail, the only accused witch freed before the Court of Oyer and Terminer begins.00:00 Welcome and Date00:13 Prisoners to Boston Jail00:40 Inside the Boston Prison01:19 Mercy Lewis Relocates01:36 Mary Esty Haunts Again01:55 Release and Trials Ahead02:19 Tomorrow’s Dramatic Tease