9 Witches!
The First Witch Trial
Easthampton was established in 1648 and made by the colonists of New Haven, Connecticut. The first witch trial was not until 1657 while they were still a developing town, when a married sixteen year old girl giving birth to a child started the idea of witches being in Easthampton. Her father, Gardiner, was a wealthy man and was known well by the town. After giving birth on a Friday, Young Elizabeth acted very odd and yelled that there was a witch and a dark shadow by her bed. She would continue to say how she was bewitched and by Sunday, she was dead from a fever she claimed was due to spiritual causes.
The one she accused as a witch was Goody Garlick, a woman who came over from England as an indentured servant and was able to marry into a good family. The town began to tell stories of their own about Goody Garlick, further proving she was a witch, like “she passed by my field and all the crops died,” amongst many other allegations. The whole town believed that she was a witch, but there was one woman in particular who many heard stories from: Goody Davis. She came from a wealthy family but was quickly widowed and had hardships fall onto her and her children. Once Garlick was accused of being a witch, Davis would spread tales of Goody Garlick that caused the town to further believe it was true. There might have been some tension between these two women since one was doing so well while the other was struggling, hence the need to spread stories of witchcraft to hope for their downfall.
Goody Garlick ended up being deemed not guilty since the town’s elders could not bring the charges to a solid conclusion due to a lack of knowledge on the subject. Though they believed she was guilty of something, they sent the case up to Connecticut. Shortly after, her husband filed a libel suit against Davis and two weeks later, Davis died of unknown causes. This further made her accusations of being a witch worse where many more women would tell stories, thinking Garlick was the cause of this death. John Winthrop picked up the case in Connecticut and deemed her not guilty again due to lack of evidence, although they also believed she was not innocent. Though she was not guilty of being a witch, she was essentially an outcast from the town of Easthampton from then on.
This shows that the idea of witchcraft might not have even stemmed from the actual fear of witches, but rather tensions in society, and jealousies, that caused rivalries to bring each other down.
Herbalism Explains History
A Witch Among Us
Faulty Methods for Identifying Witches
by Riley Smith
Though we were not able to physically visit Easthampton this week, we were able to learn about its history regarding witchcraft and its origins.
Though we were not able to physically visit Easthampton this week, we were able to learn about its history regarding witchcraft and its origins.
Easthampton was established in 1648 and made by the colonists of New Haven, Connecticut. The first witch trial was not until 1657 while they were still a developing town, when a married sixteen year old girl giving birth to a child started the idea of witches being in Easthampton. Her father, Gardiner, was a wealthy man and was known well by the town. After giving birth on a Friday, Young Elizabeth acted very odd and yelled that there was a witch and a dark shadow by her bed. She would continue to say how she was bewitched and by Sunday, she was dead from a fever she claimed was due to spiritual causes.
The one she accused as a witch was Goody Garlick, a woman who came over from England as an indentured servant and was able to marry into a good family. The town began to tell stories of their own about Goody Garlick, further proving she was a witch, like “she passed by my field and all the crops died,” amongst many other allegations. The whole town believed that she was a witch, but there was one woman in particular who many heard stories from: Goody Davis. She came from a wealthy family but was quickly widowed and had hardships fall onto her and her children. Once Garlick was accused of being a witch, Davis would spread tales of Goody Garlick that caused the town to further believe it was true. There might have been some tension between these two women since one was doing so well while the other was struggling, hence the need to spread stories of witchcraft to hope for their downfall.
If this was actually about witchcraft, it is a bit of a stretch since it may have been because Young Elizabeth was upset with Goody Garlick. Before she gave birth, a nine month pregnant Young Elizabeth went to the Garlick residency where her husband was working and asked for him. When the Garlicks told her to go back home and rest, a grudge was supposedly created, hence Young Elizabeth accusing Goody Garlick of being a witch.
Goody Garlick ended up being deemed not guilty since the town’s elders could not bring the charges to a solid conclusion due to a lack of knowledge on the subject. Though they believed she was guilty of something, they sent the case up to Connecticut. Shortly after, her husband filed a libel suit against Davis and two weeks later, Davis died of unknown causes. This further made her accusations of being a witch worse where many more women would tell stories, thinking Garlick was the cause of this death. John Winthrop picked up the case in Connecticut and deemed her not guilty again due to lack of evidence, although they also believed she was not innocent. Though she was not guilty of being a witch, she was essentially an outcast from the town of Easthampton from then on.
This shows that the idea of witchcraft might not have even stemmed from the actual fear of witches, but rather tensions in society, and jealousies, that caused rivalries to bring each other down.
by Ian Robinson
An understanding of herbalism has opened a new perspective on the origins of the Salem witch trial. Created by the damp conditions, a form of fungus known as rye ergot infected the crops of Salem. Capable of causing harm through contact and ingestion. The fungus affected those tending to its field, but disproportionally women. As the household caregiver woman were required to cook. Having to work the dough containing the fungus, it was able to absorb through the skin. A possible explanation as to why women were more accused and or involved in witchcraft. While fires may sterilize a portion of the fungus content, traces could still be ingested. Those afflicted by the fungus could experience various effects from hallucinations to death. Under hallucinogenic effects, those who believed in witchcraft could have seen specters and other signs of witchcraft. On common sight was the site of a flying witch.
The image above shows the presence of an ergot. The fungus is the black pods that protrude from the stalk. These pods at first growth can be difficult to see, making integration into flour very likely considering the amount of harvest. The image is taken from the American Phytopathological Society, Schumann, G.L Ergot of Rye.
Were these witch sightings a result of hallucination or is there another causation? The oil secreted by the wood of a “witches broom” was a powerful aphrodisiac. With this said, some women have been seen straddling their brooms late at night. Considering that these private acts are generally frowned upon, it is reasonable to consider that woman acted with suspicion and guilt, attempting to cover up exposure. On some accounts, women have also left brooms in the bed of their husbands to sneak out at night. These placements of a broom were misinterpreted possibly as nefarious activities of witchcraft. While these claims do seem bizarre they must be considered with open viewpoints. Considering the hysteria at the time the slightest indications of a witch lead to drastic consequences.
An understanding of herbalism has opened a new perspective on the origins of the Salem witch trial. Created by the damp conditions, a form of fungus known as rye ergot infected the crops of Salem. Capable of causing harm through contact and ingestion. The fungus affected those tending to its field, but disproportionally women. As the household caregiver woman were required to cook. Having to work the dough containing the fungus, it was able to absorb through the skin. A possible explanation as to why women were more accused and or involved in witchcraft. While fires may sterilize a portion of the fungus content, traces could still be ingested. Those afflicted by the fungus could experience various effects from hallucinations to death. Under hallucinogenic effects, those who believed in witchcraft could have seen specters and other signs of witchcraft. On common sight was the site of a flying witch.
The image above shows the presence of an ergot. The fungus is the black pods that protrude from the stalk. These pods at first growth can be difficult to see, making integration into flour very likely considering the amount of harvest. The image is taken from the American Phytopathological Society, Schumann, G.L Ergot of Rye.
Were these witch sightings a result of hallucination or is there another causation? The oil secreted by the wood of a “witches broom” was a powerful aphrodisiac. With this said, some women have been seen straddling their brooms late at night. Considering that these private acts are generally frowned upon, it is reasonable to consider that woman acted with suspicion and guilt, attempting to cover up exposure. On some accounts, women have also left brooms in the bed of their husbands to sneak out at night. These placements of a broom were misinterpreted possibly as nefarious activities of witchcraft. While these claims do seem bizarre they must be considered with open viewpoints. Considering the hysteria at the time the slightest indications of a witch lead to drastic consequences.
by Connor McCooey
Because of the widespread belief in witches and widespread encouragement from the Malleus Maleficarum to find them, witch hunting was in the forefront of people’s minds from the mid 15th century to the mid 18th century. As the fear of witches worsened, accusations rose, which led to more fear and more accusations, until mass hysteria erupted. To show us how powerful the mass hysteria was during witch hunts, Tara gave us an activity where we got to do our own witch hunt.
At the beginning of class, she gave each of us a slip of paper out of an envelope. When she gave them to us, she looked at them and said she was purposely choosing a role for each of us based on things we’ve said and done during past classes throughout the semester. When we got one, we had to look at it, but keep it a secret. The picture above is my paper, which said I was NOT a witch.
The point of this activity was to show how easily mass hysteria can overwhelm a group of people. Tara was careful to never explicitly say that any of us were witches, only that she picked out our roles and gave us small hints that certain people could be witches. However, this was enough for us to conclude that some of us must be witches and to start accusing each other on the little evidence we had, just like the real witch hunts. Seeing how quickly we turned on each other in this harmless class activity helps put into perspective why witch hunts were so prevalent. Witches were seen as the embodiment of evil, and it was ingrained into people’s minds that this evil could be within their community. Under these circumstances, it’s easy to see how mass hysteria took hold and resulted in the hundreds of thousands of witchcraft cases.
Because of the widespread belief in witches and widespread encouragement from the Malleus Maleficarum to find them, witch hunting was in the forefront of people’s minds from the mid 15th century to the mid 18th century. As the fear of witches worsened, accusations rose, which led to more fear and more accusations, until mass hysteria erupted. To show us how powerful the mass hysteria was during witch hunts, Tara gave us an activity where we got to do our own witch hunt.
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| I am NOT a witch paper |
At the beginning of class, she gave each of us a slip of paper out of an envelope. When she gave them to us, she looked at them and said she was purposely choosing a role for each of us based on things we’ve said and done during past classes throughout the semester. When we got one, we had to look at it, but keep it a secret. The picture above is my paper, which said I was NOT a witch.
She didn’t explain what the papers were for yet, and instead started class about the history of witches. During the lecture, she made comments every now and then alluding to certain people in the class being a witch, which raised suspicions with the rest of us. When the lecture was over, she handed out sheets of red stickers to each of us and said to put a sticker on the shoulder of anyone we thought was a witch. Everyone got up and started putting stickers on each other and when we thought we got all the witches, we sat back down.
After everyone was done, we all counted our stickers, and I had ten, which I laid out in my notebook in the picture above. Ten was tied for the highest, and I’m not really sure what I did to be so suspicious. After everyone shared how many stickers they got, Tara asked the witches to reveal themselves by standing up. Big twist: no one stood up. She gave everyone papers that said we weren’t witches and the only paper that said “I am a witch” was left in the envelope.
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| 10 stickers in my notebook |
After everyone was done, we all counted our stickers, and I had ten, which I laid out in my notebook in the picture above. Ten was tied for the highest, and I’m not really sure what I did to be so suspicious. After everyone shared how many stickers they got, Tara asked the witches to reveal themselves by standing up. Big twist: no one stood up. She gave everyone papers that said we weren’t witches and the only paper that said “I am a witch” was left in the envelope.
The point of this activity was to show how easily mass hysteria can overwhelm a group of people. Tara was careful to never explicitly say that any of us were witches, only that she picked out our roles and gave us small hints that certain people could be witches. However, this was enough for us to conclude that some of us must be witches and to start accusing each other on the little evidence we had, just like the real witch hunts. Seeing how quickly we turned on each other in this harmless class activity helps put into perspective why witch hunts were so prevalent. Witches were seen as the embodiment of evil, and it was ingrained into people’s minds that this evil could be within their community. Under these circumstances, it’s easy to see how mass hysteria took hold and resulted in the hundreds of thousands of witchcraft cases.
A Brief Overview of the History of the Witches of the World
by James Callaghan
Throughout the history of the world there have always been tales and legends that people
have always believed. There is no continent you can go to where the people do not have theories
and cultural beliefs in some kind of unnatural power, whether it is something like a singular
greater power like many Europeans, or if it is the belief in a general supernatural power like the
many different tribes across the rest of the world. The European history of the supernatural in
specific has been one of the most interesting and violent histories that I have had the opportunity
to learn about.
In Europe there has always been the presence of the knowledge of the unnatural forces that
surround us in everyday life. For a long time it was similar to the beliefs of many of the rest of
the world. The belief that nature and the world around us was filled with spirits and unknown
powers that were to be respected and feared. These are what are known as pagans, or were later
called witches by the Catholic church. An example of this is the day of Halloween and All Saints
Day that was actually taken from the Irish pagan religion of Druidism. These were days that
were under the Druidic ancestral celebration of the spirit realm and our realm being almost one.
Spirits were then able to walk among us and do as they wished to those not prepared. This is why
there is the tradition of mask wearing in our modern Halloween, it survived from this ritual day
that these people celebrated. But this is just one example of an extremely large number of pagan
religions that were believed in before the rise of Catholicism and the other Christian religions
that are now prevalent in Europe. The history of how they interacted is also a topic of great
interest as well.
Catholicism and pagan religions also were not always seen as opposites on the good and evil
scale either. For a long time, until the 15th century, the Catholic church had not even given the
pagans who they also called witches even so much as a second thought. The general thought of
the day before the 1400s was that since witches were not under the dominion of God, they had
no power since all the power and spiritual influence came from God. In the 1400s, there was a
shift and Pope Innocent VIII started to call the witches as dangerous and needing to be
eradicated. It is thought in history that since there were many social, economic, and climate shifts
going on; it was pretty easy to blame it on the witches and make them into the servants of Satan.
So Pope Innocent VIII wrote a Papal bull declaring witches to be dangerous and demanding that
even the common man watch out for and kill any witch they catch. They were given a book
known as the Malleus Maleficarum. This book was a step-by-step instruction on how to not only
find out who was a witch, but what to do with them, and even their family if and when they were
discovered. And so for the next 400 years, the persecution of witches raged and even made it to
the American colonies. Even though this act of the church claimed the lives of over 500,000
people and ruined the lives of a conservative estimate of 1,000,000 people by historians, many of
these pagan religions have survived to this day and are actually finding their way back into the
mainstream in many places once again.
Faulty Methods for Identifying Witches
by Brooke Osekoski
During our class, we learned about the various methods used during witch hunts to either prove or disprove if someone was a witch. A common theme throughout these methods is that they were based mostly in the fear of witches along with the mob mentality that witches were real and present in communities. Because of this they tended to lack the more scientific or logical approach we’re accustomed to today. Most of the methods used could apply to any given number of people, regardless of if they were a witch or not. One method was identifying a witch’s mark, which could be a birthmark, mole, or extra finger. While an extra finger is not very common, birthmarks and moles are. This makes a lot of people vulnerable to being accused. It also doesn’t consider that all of these things could be present since birth, and not a new mark due to becoming a witch. The test would be to subtly poke the “witch’s mark” with a pin to see if that area could feel pain. A small pin prick may not be noticeable to a decent amount of people so this wasn’t a super definitive test.
During our class, we learned about the various methods used during witch hunts to either prove or disprove if someone was a witch. A common theme throughout these methods is that they were based mostly in the fear of witches along with the mob mentality that witches were real and present in communities. Because of this they tended to lack the more scientific or logical approach we’re accustomed to today. Most of the methods used could apply to any given number of people, regardless of if they were a witch or not. One method was identifying a witch’s mark, which could be a birthmark, mole, or extra finger. While an extra finger is not very common, birthmarks and moles are. This makes a lot of people vulnerable to being accused. It also doesn’t consider that all of these things could be present since birth, and not a new mark due to becoming a witch. The test would be to subtly poke the “witch’s mark” with a pin to see if that area could feel pain. A small pin prick may not be noticeable to a decent amount of people so this wasn’t a super definitive test.
Another way to identify a witch was that witches couldn’t cry. This would be tested by something subtle, like cutting onions. Like the previous test, it can apply to a lot of people and has lots of variability. Onions can vary in how strong they are. How sensitive someone is to onions can also vary from person to person. The biggest issue with this test that was brought up during our class was why use this but then ignore if they cried later on at any point during the trial.
A third method was the test by water. The possible outcomes were that a witch would float while an innocent person would sink. This test was the one that our class agreed had the least logic behind it. It acted as a death sentence no matter the outcome. A person would either die by drowning or be found guilty and executed. Floating could also simply be explained by the natural instinct to survive and trying not to drown. Sinking could be due to the weight of wet clothes pulling someone down along with not being able to fully move their arms and legs. Lastly, interrogation practies included many forms of torture which could easily lead to false confessions.
Picture 1. An example of a test by water. By dunking the woman on a chair, there’s no real indication if she floats or sinks. Also using the lever system shown the test could easily be manipulated to give the desired result. It also increased the chances of drowning due to other people being in control of how long she’s underwater for.
Photo Citation:
Macaskill, M. (2015). Witch trials test by water. Warm Weather Spelled an Ill Wind for Scottish Witches. The Sunday Times. Retrieved October 29, 2022, from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/warm-weather-spelled-an-ill-wind-for-scottish-witches-692npb7v95d.
Picture 1. An example of a test by water. By dunking the woman on a chair, there’s no real indication if she floats or sinks. Also using the lever system shown the test could easily be manipulated to give the desired result. It also increased the chances of drowning due to other people being in control of how long she’s underwater for.
Photo Citation:
Macaskill, M. (2015). Witch trials test by water. Warm Weather Spelled an Ill Wind for Scottish Witches. The Sunday Times. Retrieved October 29, 2022, from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/warm-weather-spelled-an-ill-wind-for-scottish-witches-692npb7v95d.
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