Salem Witch Trials | Ann Kibbey (essay date 1982)
Ann Kibbey (essay date 1982)
SOURCE: "Mutations of the Supernatural: Witchcraft, Remarkable Providences, and the Power of Puritan Men," American Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 2, Summer, 1982, pp. 125–48.
[In the following excerpt, Kibbey explores how the concept of maleficia, or harm-doing by occult means, influenced the social roles of adult males and played a central role in the Salem prosecutions.]
On April 19, 1692, Mary Warren appeared before the court convened to try suspected witches at Salem. Having testified initially as a victim of witchcraft, the twenty-year-old woman now stood accused of it herself. After altering her plea several times over a period of several weeks, she finally confessed she had signed the "Devil's Book." Strangely, this yielding to Satan did not damage Warren's credibility as a star witness for the court. Self-confessed witch though she was, the court continued to take depositions from her and she...
[The entire page is 10002 words long]
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