The Witches of Salem

Join us as we embark on a spooky virtual time-travel adventure to the era of the Salem Witch Trials. We unravel the witchcraft accusations that set the village ablaze with hysteria.

We'll take you back to a time when doctors diagnosed bewitchment with little more than peculiar symptoms and homemade remedies. We question the curious medical practices of the era and paint a vivid picture of a community ensnared by superstition. From hearing disembodied spirits to bizarre remedies, we dissect the chaos of the Salem Witch Trials, wondering how such wild narratives took hold amidst rational people.

As the hysteria spiraled, accusations flew, and grim outcomes followed. We recount the dark days of unlawful detentions and tragic executions, highlighting stories like Sarah Good's who faced trauma by her accusers. Amidst the grim backdrop, we offer reflections on the aftermath and eventual public backlash that brought the trials to an end. Join us as we remind us of the complex social and religious factors that fueled this haunting chapter in history.

Chapters

• 0:00 Halloween Stories and Salem Witch Trials
• 4:03 Witchcraft Accusations in Salem Village
• 16:49 Mass Hysteria in Salem Village
• 22:27 End of the Salem Witch Trials
• 29:48 Final Thoughts

Transcript

Victor: 0:00

Tis the season of scare, so I want to know what stories did you guys love hearing around Halloween?

Rob: 0:06

Ooh, I liked old ghost stories, like I used to pick those books up and read them and be like why the fuck did I read this Like Goosebumps? No, goosebumps was baby shit, but I did read that.

Victor: 0:18

Oh sorry.

Rob: 0:19

Yeah, it was, it was, it was. No, they had like these, like, like these like old, like ghost stories books in my elementary school and I was like this is a terrible idea, but I'm just going to keep going. I forgot the name of it. What was that?

Chris: 0:32

show, was it Nickelodeon Are?

Rob: 0:34

You Afraid of the Dark.

Victor: 0:35

Yes, that Are you.

Chris: 0:35

Afraid of the Dark. Yes, I used to watch that a lot with my brother and sister.

Victor: 0:45

Did you ever watch tales from the crypt?

Rob: 0:46

yeah, that was on hbo, right, that was on hbo.

Victor: 0:47

I tried, I tried, but the little thing, the little skeleton guy and he was like there's a coffin behind him so I read that this year the historic site of salem, massachusetts, is expecting 1.2 million visitors, which got me thinking I'm not. But what happened during the Salem Witch Trials?

Cesar: 1:10

Welcome to the.

Victor: 1:10

I'm Not Dumb but podcast where we won't claim to have the answers to life's deepest questions, but we'll give you an exciting journey into the realms of knowledge you never knew you'd be.

Cesar: 1:15

Might be mainstream, but not common knowledge. From artificial intelligence to conspiracy theories, no topic is too taboo for us to explore. Let's get curious together. No topic is too taboo for us to explore.

Victor: 1:25

Let's get curious together. Welcome everyone to another episode of I'm Not Dumb, but I'm your host for today, victor, joined always by Cesar, what's up?

Rob: 1:39

Rob Hello, and Chris Yep, are you guys feeling the Halloween?

Victor: 1:41

spirit I am, or it's just indigestion, I'm just whatever you're not feeling the holiday, the halloween spirit, well, chris doesn't I don't think he really likes halloween. I think it scares him. It scares him, it puts a little fright in his socks. Is that a korean thing?

Chris: 1:55

is there, like korean superstitions, that avoiding no, my sister loves watching scary movies like haunted house. I think it's just me. I just don't me and the ghost and doesn't get along.

Rob: 2:07

So yeah, I noticed that. I noticed that you gotta get into the season, chris. Yeah, you gotta get into the season. Do you decorate your house? Do you put spiders and stuff around there?

Victor: 2:16

nope, too much work not even like a pumpkin there's no pumpkin out there nope, oh my god, like a jehovah's Witness over here.

Rob: 2:25

Seriously, yeah, we like our Jehovah's though. Thanks for supporting our channel.

Victor: 2:29

Shout out Jehovah's Witnesses. So what do you guys know about the Salem witch trials? Like, have you visited the town? I have visited Salem, you visited Salem.

Rob: 2:41

It's a little spooky. I did a ghost tour, talked about, um, some of the stuff that was going on there. I will say I went and there was some bad juju and I did not have a good time really yeah, there was some bad juju in that place and I did not have a good time interesting so it's haunted as shit.

Victor: 3:00

Is what you're?

Rob: 3:00

bad energy, bad energy called town was or it was like certain location or as soon as we left, things got better, but while me and my wife were there, it was just bad energy all around.

Chris: 3:12

I don't know if I want to go.

Rob: 3:13

I think she picks up energy and throws it at me.

Victor: 3:18

She was actually just mad at you the entire time. Yeah, I did something.

Rob: 3:22

But when we left, everything was great Before we got there everything was great. I will not be going back With her.

Victor: 3:28

Mad at you. Today we're going cauldron deep into the Salem Witch Trials and to try to get some understanding of what happened there, let's jump into our podcast time machine. Let me just hit some few levers here and pull a few buttons.

Rob: 3:46

Who built this thing, bro?

Victor: 3:47

Jesus Christ here we go Back to 1692. Guys, are you there?

Rob: 3:57

I'm here, everyone here? Yep, my Apple Watch says 1692. Do they have Wi-Fi here?

Victor: 4:03

So here we are in Salem, massachusetts, nestled neatly by the water, just 16 miles north of Boston. This place was settled in 1626. A little rundown over here, no streetlights.

Chris: 4:16

Is it really 1600s? I always thought it was 1800s for some reason. No, it's the 1600s. Dang, it goes way back. Yeah, these are old school patriots.

Rob: 4:27

These are conservative values. What were we?

Victor: 4:28

missing in this country. That's the real America. Actually, when I was going through, most of these people were actually born in England and came over.

Rob: 4:35

Oh, so they had an English accent.

Victor: 4:37

eh, the pub was probably banging Ye old pub In January 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris became ill, which to me I feel like everyone was probably cold and sick all the time back then Like what's the medicine? Just hot water soup and a few leeches and prayer.

Rob: 4:59

And I feel like there was always bloodletting, like how do you feel? Oh, not good, let's cut you open. You know what, doc, I'm feeling a lot better.

Victor: 5:09

Have you prayed on it?

Rob: 5:11

Yeah, did you clean this thing.

Victor: 5:12

Yeah, I think I hurt my leg. Try praying three times a day.

Rob: 5:17

It's because you're a sinner, the power of Christ compares you.

Victor: 5:22

Betty Parris, the daughter, and Abigail Williams, the niece, suffered from a peculiar illness. They made strange noises, huddled under furniture and clutched their heads. Sounds like bad.

Chris: 5:34

Chinese food. You sure they're not having a panic attack?

Rob: 5:39

Did you get the shrimp wontons? Because that'll do it.

Victor: 5:43

Yes, yes, I remember, I had lasagna they complained that disembodied spirits were stabbing them, choking them and even jabbing them with pins. Cool, so after a month of fasting, prayer and home remedies, as a good father prescribes, he calls for the village doctor to help. Now, the village doctor is a man named William Griggs. And when you think of a 1692 doctor, what do you imagine?

Rob: 6:12

Black wardrobe probably a white face mask, maybe a Like holding a Bible.

Chris: 6:17

Yeah, I don't know.

Rob: 6:19

You asked me a question. Okay, do you want the answer or not? Yeah, holding like a briefcase with like Bible Metal cups, or not?

Chris: 6:26

Yeah, holding like a briefcase with, like Bible, metal cups in it. Yeah, cross, holy water, I don't know.

Victor: 6:30

Like a priest.

Rob: 6:31

He's a doctor, Chris. This guy's a medical professional. He went to NYU, langone okay, knee deep in student loans, all right, this guy's a doctor. Dammit man, I'm a doctor, not a torpedo technician.

Victor: 6:44

Well, not much is known about this guy. Actually, he was born in England, came to Massachusetts as an adult. There are no records of medical training because there's just no records of medical training at this time and actually people think that he may have been self-taught. Cool, and what I found interesting was that when he went to see these girls he was already in his 70s. In fact, he actually died the following year late, a long career, so like it's like it's the, it's january.

Victor: 7:19

he's in. This old man just comes to this guy's house he probably lives like a while away, right, so he's like going through the cold, shows up and is like I'm here to see your daughters, yeah, what was the last seminar you went to, doc? Where did you get your training? I actually just figured this stuff out myself.

Rob: 7:38

Yeah, I picked this up. I didn't actually read any books either. We're in big trouble.

Victor: 7:42

Big trouble. But the good doc took a look at the girls and said they're suffering from bewitchment yeah obviously, so how do you cure bewitchment?

Rob: 7:53

well. So the symptoms of bewitchment are just like pain in your stomach well, no they.

Victor: 7:58

They saw disembodied spirits.

Chris: 8:00

Uh-huh, they held their heads, they like oh yeah, that's not a common thing, is that something that was going around?

Victor: 8:07

this listen. Are you questioning this, good?

Chris: 8:10

70 year old doctor's judgment about bewitchment.

Victor: 8:13

What do you know in 1692 about bewitchment?

Rob: 8:17

if the guy shows up to my house, he takes a look alive. He made it there first of all he shows up and he's like this is bewitchment. You gotta believe him. I mean, he's just. He nailed it. Confidence is really a lot of, a lot of being a doctor, I think it probably was like fuck, think of something, quick, quick, think of something.

Chris: 8:36

And then he was like bitch, you meant he's going to a reverend's house.

Victor: 8:43

You, you know, it's not like he's just, it was all prep. He had the whole script, what to say he heard from before. He's like you know what? It's January. Definitely this is bewitchment season 101. Cold flu bewitchment season.

Rob: 8:59

Just get it together, doc, just get it together.

Victor: 9:00

What are you going to say?

Rob: 9:08

What are you going to say? What are you going?

Cesar: 9:09

to say when you get there oh, I got to come up with something. It's like oh, bewitchment, Trust me, I'm an expert.

Victor: 9:11

Luckily, a friendly neighbor gave the Parises the cure for bewitchment.

Cesar: 9:16

Oh, what you need to do?

Victor: 9:17

is you need to bake a witch cake?

Cesar: 9:21

Yeah, Chocolate probably no-transcript.

Victor: 9:34

If the dog shakes, the person is cured. What I shit you not.

Rob: 9:43

It sounds like what they do to fraternity kids hey man, we're just going to need your urine. It's your birthday, don't even worry about it.

Cesar: 9:52

These Betty Crocker recipes are getting concrete.

Rob: 9:56

So you're telling me he doesn't need eggs?

Cesar: 10:01

No, this is an eggless cake. Just add, just add water it's a thick cake.

Victor: 10:04

It's a thick cake no, it's store-bought this is supposed to hurt the witch, but it is actually discouraged because you're using magic and magic is dangerous and you don't want people using magic to fight magic yeah, you don't want to do that right, because that's all the devil's work. You know you can't be handling magic.

Victor: 10:23

Use politics that's how you that's how you fight magic bureaucracy, baby red tape so, as this is going on, a 12 year old, ann putnam jr and a 17 year old, elizabeth hubbard, start suffering from the same illness, the same symptoms, everything. So now you have four girls out here that are suffering from this.

Rob: 10:43

Uh, they call it the affliction, oh, so this witch is like she's really getting, she's working over, she's casting, yeah, she's casting spells left and right now, this is the end of february and people are pressuring them.

Victor: 10:55

These two girls they're like can you see these apparitions? Who are these apparitions? Can you point them out? Girls start naming the apparitions that they see. Mind you, you have the 12-year-old and the 17-year-old right and the original two girls. One is 9 and the other one's 11.

Rob: 11:11

Yeah, I don't know if I want to listen to them.

Victor: 11:13

Well, they start giving names. They name Tatuba, who is the Paris's West Indian slave, oh God, sarah Good and a woman named Sarah Osborne. All three of them, after they were named, were immediately arrested.

Cesar: 11:27

What that's this? You got it.

Rob: 11:28

Yeah, you got to get right to the problem. You got to get right in there All right.

Victor: 11:37

So let me give you an idea of how the interrogation of Sarah Osborne by the magistrate went, and this is from March 1st 1692. Does one of you want to help me out? I have the interrogation of Sarah Osborne. Does someone want to play like the man or the woman? I'm the man.

Rob: 11:50

You're clearly the woman. I just want to make sure. Yes, that's fine, that's fine, but you have to use like an English accent.

Victor: 11:53

I'll be the woman. That's fine, that's fine, but you have to use like an English accent. I'll be the woman. I'll play the magistrate and Rob is going to play Sarah Osborne.

Rob: 12:03

I'm Sarah Osborne. Okay, what's her backstory?

Victor: 12:06

So Sarah is a woman from 1600s. Okay, honestly, all about her, I know about her.

Cesar: 12:13

And she's going to die All right. Whoa whoa Spoilers Channel.

Rob: 12:16

That gonna die all right, whoa, whoa spoilers channel, that channel. I'm gonna die, I can't, but I'm still white. Okay, got it you're under interrogation.

Victor: 12:26

You just got accused about being a witch and you're in jail. Okay and scene. What evil spirits have you familiarity with? None. Have you made no contract with the devil? No, I have never seen the devil in my life. Why do you hurt these children?

Rob: 12:42

I do not hurt them.

Victor: 12:43

Who do you employ then to hurt them? I employ nobody. What familiarity have you with Sarah Good, none, I have not seen her in two years.

Rob: 12:53

Where did you see her then One day going to town? What communications had you with her? I had none, I only. How do you do? Or? So I did not know her by name. She's clearly fucking guilty.

Cesar: 13:07

And also Rob, you definitely watch Bridgerton.

Rob: 13:10

Yeah, that one's season three, bravo, bravo, okay, yeah.

Cesar: 13:15

And you know what Wrong point Touche. Very well done, well done so then the interrogation continues.

Victor: 13:21

He had the children stand and point to her, claiming that she was the woman hurting them. Both good and osborne maintain their innocence, but to tuba confessed again. I'll play the magistrate. Rob here will be the west Indian slave. I'm watching my stories man. What evil spirits have you familiarity with? None. Why do you hurt these children? I do not hurt them. Who is it?

Rob: 13:50

then that does the devil for aught. I know, Did you ever see the devil? The devil came to me and it bid me serve him. Who have you seen Four women and sometimes hurt the devil? The devil came to me and it bid me serve him. Who have you seen Four women and sometimes hurt the children?

Victor: 14:03

Who were they?

Rob: 14:04

Osborne and Sarah Good. I do not know who the other were. Sarah Good and Osborne would have hurt the children, but I would not. She further said there was a tall man of Boston that she did see. I don't even know what I said.

Victor: 14:17

I had to actually translate this from like old English, which was like so frustrating because they had taken papers that were basically written by hand.

Rob: 14:26

Right.

Victor: 14:27

And then they typed it all out. It still didn't make a lot of sense, and then it's using older versions of words that we don't use anymore, so I had to like semi-translate it the best I could. But, as you can see here, tatuba was like listen, it was these two girls. They found the devil in Boston. He's like help me out and help me torture these girls. And so I'll be honest, I believe her confession was coerced because she flipped and named the women conveniently, but not the other two shadowy figures. So she just named the women that they mentioned, not the other two shadowy figures. So she just named the women that they mentioned. Yeah, she just wanted to get out of it.

Chris: 15:02

She was a slave right Shadow figures don't have names.

Cesar: 15:05

That's why they're shadow.

Chris: 15:06

I wonder if she's like fuck this, I'm fucked, regardless.

Victor: 15:09

Her interrogation got even weirder. She started talking about that mysterious man from Boston. She went on to talk about how she saw several talking animals, including a black dog, a red and black cat, a yellow bird, who all spoke to her, telling her to serve them and hurt or kill the children.

Cesar: 15:27

The original Dr Doolittle.

Victor: 15:32

It all just seems too convenient, like if someone wrote dealing with the devil handbook, like this would all be in it. And, as we know, the devil deals in souls, not just threats. Right, like there's usually an exchange, like you get a soul and then I make you rich or you can run for politics, like something. She's not getting anything out of this. And don't forget, she is a slave of the family, where the daughter of her owner is accusing you of witchcraft. So like, come on.

Cesar: 15:59

You ever?

Victor: 15:59

dance with the devil in the pale moonlight. So around early March, three of the girls start getting slightly better, except for 12-year-old Ann Putnam, who then decides to name Martha Corey Dorothy Good. Dorothy Good is Sarah Good's four-year-old daughter and Elizabeth Proctor, and, with the help of, possibly, her mother and their servant, she names Rebecca Nurse, who's like this 71-year-old woman. All the women named were arrested and, oddly enough, both Ann Putnam's mother and their servant also start complaining about the affliction that they were getting sick.

Rob: 16:36

Yeah, I mean, if I'm getting arrested, I'm like listen, I'm sick too, guys, and fucking, she's a liar and her dog keeps shitting on my lawn. I mean like the dog's gotta go.

Victor: 16:49

Now it's going to get interesting because as more people are being are becoming sick, they just start naming people around the others that were accused. For example, elizabeth Proctor was named by the 12-year-old girl, then her husband, john Proctor, was named, then Sarah Cloyce. The sister of the 71-year-old lady was named Giles Corey, the husband of Martha, abigail Hobbs, bridget Bishop all these people were just accused and then immediately arrested. Do they think that all these people are a witch? Yeah, and not even from Salem. By May, reverend George Burroughs, who was the minister at Salem 30 years before, was issued a warrant to face witchcraft charges.

Chris: 17:29

And he was living in.

Victor: 17:30

Maine.

Rob: 17:32

Oh my God, so they're just arresting everybody.

Victor: 17:36

What I think is happening here and this is just my opinion that these young kids were sick, they were seeing shit, and now their parents, local townspeople, are just coming by like screaming who do you see? Who are they? And it's like 1692, right? So they're probably like slapping them around, a bit like trying to get answers Like give me a name, Sarah.

Chris: 17:55

Who do you see?

Victor: 17:56

Who do you see? Who do you see? It's definitely our neighbor, right, joyce? I'll take care of this.

Cesar: 18:04

Calm down, get a hold of yourself.

Victor: 18:07

You knew most people, right? Right, john didn't trim his hedges the way I wanted to. I think I saw him stabbing my daughter as a ghost. Yeah, goodbye, john, Goodbye. Let's just take a step back for a minute and talk about the town for a bit. So years earlier, in 1684, the Massachusetts Bay Colony's charter had been revoked, and this is important because without a charter, it kind of placed the whole area in a legal limbo. All these people that they arrested. They can't hold trials for them. What do they do? They just put them in the jail. So they would just do these pre-trial interviews and then they would throw them in jail, which sucks, because jail sucks, and those conditions were probably terrible. Like there was mold everywhere, there was lice all over the floor, it was so bad. The first casualty Sarah Osborne, if you remember, did the interrogation. Yeah, she dies in prison in Boston on May 10th.

Rob: 19:02

RIP. So it's pretty. It's like a New York City public school.

Victor: 19:06

It's like where Diddy's being held. Yeah, but I'm not not saying Diddy. Four days later, a new charter arrives and a new governor was appointed and by the end of May, a special court was created to try the witchcraft cases and this court was known as the Court of Oyer and Terminer, meaning to hear and determine. They aren't such classy. Classy words then. Really, I think it's just Latin, latin who speaks Latin? So the court was presided over by William Sautin, the colony's lieutenant governor, and six other men who are just businessmen and politicians. When this court was set up, boston Minister Cotton Mather went to them and was like listen, when you try witches, you have to be careful not to just use spectral evidence, meaning don't just say well, this person was seen in a dream and so boom, guilty. He's like say well, this person was seen in a dream and so boom, guilty. He's like don't do that. I'm guessing he is like a witch trial expert.

Rob: 20:02

He's a witch trial. He deals in witch law. He does witch law yeah.

Victor: 20:06

Yeah.

Rob: 20:07

Self-taught.

Chris: 20:09

Also self-taught Online Online. Take it easy, I'm in pre-law man.

Cesar: 20:15

Thought you pre-med. What's the?

Victor: 20:16

difference. The court gets all this information, so what do you think they do with that? Absolutely yeah it's not gonna work for us. Yeah, they completely ignored it, which even caused one of the judges to resign after the first trial, through this woman, bridget bishop, who was found guilty and hanged on june 10th. And like, after that one trial, this, this one judge was like this this is crazy.

Rob: 20:38

I'm getting the fuck out of here. This is wild. I'm going to work for Mayor Adams.

Victor: 20:45

All my haters become my waiters when I sit down at the table of success. So they were just letting people go in there going, yeah, I saw an apparition that kind of looked like her and I think she was the witch, and so they were like, yeah, I totally accept that the trials continued and by late July they will hang Rebecca Nurse, that 71-year-old woman, susanna Martin, elizabeth Howe, sarah Good and Sarah Wilds. And Sarah Good actually went out like a badass, as she's up at the gallows, this reverend just being obnoxious and is, like you know, confess and save your soul, just being like really preachy, and then she replies you're a liar, I am no more a witch than you are a wizard, and if you take my life, god will give you blood to drink. Boom roasted.

Rob: 21:33

yeah, got him, didn't? She put a curse on him by doing that, they believe. I thought there was something about like when she he hung her and then she cursed him and then, like every person who's ever been in that position has died.

Victor: 21:53

She had like a heartbreaking story because when she was arrested she was actually pregnant and she gave birth in prison and the infant died before she was hanged and her six year old daughter was accused of being a witch. Um was sent to prison for seven months she didn't die, but she was like fucked up, uh, psychologically for the of her life. So it's just like some sad shit. Imagine like you're six years old and you're like you're a witch, you're going to jail. Like what Yo people are wild. Back then.

Rob: 22:25

So she cursed. Reverend Noyes died of a brain hemorrhage after in 1718. And it said that when he was dying he was coughing up his own blood, so he was drinking his blood.

Victor: 22:41

Oh so she did curse me. I mean though 1718, though, and that curse took a while.

Rob: 22:47

I mean, it's slow acting. You know, it's not one of those ones that just comes and hits you.

Victor: 22:52

I guess it took its sweet time. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm just comes and hits you. I guess it took its sweet time. In august five more people were hanged and september nine were executed, including a 71 year old. Giles cory, who was refusing to recognize the authority of the court, was pressed to death and if you're curious of what that means, you get slowly crushed by heavy rocks. Oh oh, what a way to go. You're 71 year, you get slowly crushed by heavy rocks.

Rob: 23:16

Oh, what a way to go.

Victor: 23:17

You're a 71-year-old man too, getting crushed by rocks.

Rob: 23:21

I would have moved, I would have just been like you know what, the neighborhood's gone downhill.

Cesar: 23:27

Let's get the fuck out of here. I'm paying these taxes, did I get?

Rob: 23:31

paid in these roads. Yeah, I'm out of here.

Chris: 23:33

This neighborhood sure has gone downhill.

Victor: 23:36

By October 1692, public opinion of the court was, let's just say, really bad. People wrote letters complaining about it, even ministries all over the area, or like this this seems messed up. You guys are using too much bs evidence. You guys need to stop this shit. So governoripps the governor at the time dissolves the court, but there is still a bunch of people in jail for witchcraft. He has the Massachusetts Supreme Court meet for a special session to try the remaining cases, this time without accepting spectral evidence, and only finds three of 56 people guilty. I mean, those are better numbers, but even still the governor steps in again and says listen, everyone is free to go. Just pay your jail fee of two shillings six pence a week, which is about $16, and we're good.

Rob: 24:28

Jesus.

Victor: 24:29

Is it?

Rob: 24:29

hard to get $16 at that time, though, if you're poor, seems like a lot of these people were poor.

Victor: 24:35

I mean, what's a Big Mac?

Rob: 24:41

About 15 bucks, if you're getting the value meal.

Victor: 24:42

Could you afford a big mac? That's crazy, I don't know. No, the price of a big mac, or paying to get out of jail jail was fine big man 15 bucks for a way you know, just put me back in jail.

Cesar: 24:55

People can't afford to pay their rent or mortgage. But you can afford a delicious Big Mac.

Victor: 25:01

And that marked the end of the Salem witch trials. In total, 25 people were killed, 19 hanged, 5 died in jail, 1 tortured to death, more than 150 people were jailed for using witchcraft and over 200 people were accused.

Rob: 25:19

jesus witches have candles, witches have brooms. Their houses are probably, like you know, pimped out a little witchy. Yeah, you go. You ever go to somebody's house. You're like this person's definitely right. Yeah, this is like. Uh, who would do a drapes like that?

Victor: 25:35

I did read. There was one case that someone found like a knife that was like missing a point, and they were trying to use that as evidence. But I mean again, you don't really have a police force here, like what's an investigation? It's 1692.

Rob: 25:49

There's nothing.

Victor: 25:50

You don't have, you're not dusting for prints.

Cesar: 25:51

No, no, no fingerprints.

Victor: 25:53

I don't think so In 1702, the General Court of Massachusetts declared the trials unlawful and the colony passed a bill overturning witchcraft convictions, mentioning 22 individuals by name. Later, in 1957, a resolution exonerated additional victims. What Took a while Long longer than the curse and in 2021, this is 329 years after the events of salem, elizabeth johnson jr was the last person to be exonerated by massachusetts. Wow, so three years ago they got the last person that was exonerated because called a witch did they say why it took so long?

Victor: 26:35

or did they just completely forgot about her, or there was letters from, like a middle school teacher and her class that they kept on, were like submitting letters like you should exonerate this woman for whatever, whatever reason now, how did she take the news?

Cesar: 26:48

was she happy, was she?

Rob: 26:51

she's gonna sue the shit out of that. You know what?

Victor: 26:55

I submitted for a request for comment. She never got back to me.

Cesar: 26:58

Yo, she's ghosting us, she's ghosting us?

Rob: 27:02

Yeah, why would you want to come out and say something?

Victor: 27:04

Make a statement. At least it's been 329 years.

Cesar: 27:08

People are waiting. We have the right to know.

Victor: 27:10

And as for what the affliction that plagued them, they still actually don't know. There was a theory going around claiming that it could have been ergotism, which is a fungus. Ergot is a fungus that can grow on rye and if consumed you have symptoms of violent convulsions and you see ghostly figures. That theory is highly contested because of how the affliction spread around the area, but many say it was many factors coming together. So like just fear because they're in this new continent religion, family feuds, like people even said, many people were faking symptoms just to accuse people.

Chris: 27:50

Yeah, I could say that you owe money or something Like I owe money to and I'm like, oh, fucking hell, it was Rob. Rob is getting it.

Cesar: 27:59

God, this guy got me, definitely Rob I don't have $17.

Rob: 28:03

I'm going to pay him back.

Chris: 28:04

Yeah right.

Rob: 28:07

This guy is yeah, don't worry, I'm bringing this doctor over. He's going to say you're just a couple of weeks.

Victor: 28:13

Just go with it. All right, I got this old man doctor that's coming in, that's about to die. In a few months you can tell me I'm a doctor. Let's just follow up on what happened to some of these people. Ann Putnam Jr, at the age of 27, apologized for her role in the witchcraft trials. She attributed her actions to a delusion of the devil. Ann Putnam Jr is the only afflicted witness to publicly acknowledge her wrongdoing in the years after the witchcraft trials. Oh, she probably felt bad about that.

Victor: 28:41

One person, people suck bro Tituba spent 13 months in jail. After the trials, samuel Paris, her owner, refused to pay her jail fees until she was sold off to someone else in 1693.

Rob: 28:56

It's just going to be awkward. You know she's working around the house and he's like, oh, because being a slave isn't awkward already? I mean that is awkward, but like we had that thing with the, I got to get rid of her.

Victor: 29:08

And now Salem Massachusetts becomes the famous tourist destination for the Salem Witch Trials, which is flocked to by many every Halloween season.

Rob: 29:21

And when I was there last time they had tons of people there and then they would have these pretty cool ghost tours. People said that they would end it at a restaurant that had actually really good food. I forgot the name of it, but it was haunted. The restaurant was haunted, so people were saying that, like, sometimes you'll just see things move, you'll see doors open, people who work there, they see weird stuff happening all the time. The vibe was bad. That's all I'm saying about that place, because it was haunted. That's all I got for you guys.

Chris: 29:49

So final thoughts. Chris, it was actually a pretty cool story. I do remember reading about it when I was a kid or learning about it right In history class. I only remember bits of it, but it was cool Good story. In Korea it's more of a ghost than anything. They call it Chanyeolgishin. It's a girl ghost. She died before she got married and then because of that, she has a lot of she's pissed that she didn't get married. So she haunts single guys or people that made fun of her for not getting married, or pressure, yeah, something like that.

Cesar: 30:22

Oh, wow, yeah, has she tried, ninja.

Chris: 30:27

Wears all white and really long hair and covers the face. Oh like the ring. Yeah, pretty much. Yeah, it's like that.

Rob: 30:34

Well, hell hath no fury than a woman scorned, and she is terrorizing an entire nation caesar.

Cesar: 30:42

What I've always found interesting about this or any of these like crazy stories throughout history is like what are the people around doing because I know there has to be some sane people you're throwing women in jail for for just random nonsense. What are they thinking? Some of them are like yeah, yeah, they're witches. But the other ones, the ones that are actually saying, the ones that are actually like are they too scared to talk, to act out because they're probably next? So interesting stuff rob.

Rob: 31:09

Yeah, I mean, I've been to salem. Good story. Uh, some of those ghost stories are pretty crazy. Would never go back. They do have a good craft beer though. If you're into that type of deal, it's hauntingly good. Yeah, if I was one of those sane people, all I would say is I hope that little girl doesn't say my name. And if she does, I am just clutching my stomach and I'm going down, I'm just gonna go. I got the affliction guys, can't I got?

Rob: 31:32

the affliction guys. It can't be me right, like I saw him too. You're just trying to survive. It was a wild time, but I don't eat bread, so I wouldn't get any of that rye stuff. You probably got to look at the people that were lean Atkins. The people that were on Atkins. The people that were on Atkins Totally fine, they're like this place is going crazy.

Victor: 31:55

We want to thank you for listening, but we need your help. If you enjoyed this episode, I want you to find that share button and send this podcast to a friend, a loved one or maybe just someone you want to break the ice with. And while you're by that share button, hit follow to stay updated on new episodes. Until next time, stay curious.

Cesar: 32:12

Later.