Today, being accused of witchcraft is as crazy as saying the Kardashians provide any real benefits to society, but in the Puritan society of New England in the 1600s, witchcraft was a perfectly logical explanation for strange or otherwise inexplicable events. Most likely if you ask someone about witch hunts in New England they will bring up naked girls dancing in the woods or accused witches being executed for their crimes by hanging at the gallows or being pressed by stones. This is only one view of the witch hunts in New England. Although it makes sense that the most extraordinary events would be the ones heavily documented and popularized, there are many other examples of witch hunts and trials that did not reach such fanatical levels.
In his book Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt Dr. Richard Godbeer explores a relatively unknown witch hunt in Stamford, Connecticut in 1692. This witch hunt and the trials that followed escaped the scrutiny of historians for many years because the events of the Salem Witch …show more content…
Bates did not seem completely confident in declaring Katherine bewitched. It was not that Mrs. Bates did not believe someone could be bewitched, “In common with other New England settlers, the people of Stamford believed that supernatural forces intruded constantly into their lives.” , it was more that she felt Katherine Branch could have been exaggerating her fits.
In the transcript, Mrs. Bates recounts when she tried to bleed Katherine in order to balance her humors. After she was bled, Katherine cried out. Crying out after being bled was an indication of being bewitched and this greatly worried Katherine’s mistress Abigail Wescot. One of the reasons Mrs. Bates doesn’t believe Katherine was actually bewitched is because after she cried out, Katherine, “turned her head from the folk as if she would hide it in the pillow and
In his book Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt Dr. Richard Godbeer explores a relatively unknown witch hunt in Stamford, Connecticut in 1692. This witch hunt and the trials that followed escaped the scrutiny of historians for many years because the events of the Salem Witch …show more content…
Bates did not seem completely confident in declaring Katherine bewitched. It was not that Mrs. Bates did not believe someone could be bewitched, “In common with other New England settlers, the people of Stamford believed that supernatural forces intruded constantly into their lives.” , it was more that she felt Katherine Branch could have been exaggerating her fits.
In the transcript, Mrs. Bates recounts when she tried to bleed Katherine in order to balance her humors. After she was bled, Katherine cried out. Crying out after being bled was an indication of being bewitched and this greatly worried Katherine’s mistress Abigail Wescot. One of the reasons Mrs. Bates doesn’t believe Katherine was actually bewitched is because after she cried out, Katherine, “turned her head from the folk as if she would hide it in the pillow and