We take you to May 4, 1692, when Boston holds elections even as the new royal charter for the Province of Massachusetts Bay is about to transform the government. Simon Bradstreet is chosen to remain acting governor until William Phips arrives from London, and Thomas Danforth continues as acting deputy governor until he is replaced by William Stoughton. Our story then turns to 81-year-old Bray Wilkins, who later testifies that John Willard afflicted him during a lunch gathering at Richard Way’s home for travelers heading to the election, leaving Bray in severe misery for days and unable to eat or urinate. We also track the day Field Marshall John Partridge delivers George Burroughs to Salem.

00:00 Welcome and Hosts

00:10 Massachusetts Election Day

00:37 Bradstreet and Danforth Roles

01:15 Bray Wilkins Affliction

01:39 Deposition Details

02:39 Agony and Recovery

02:52 Burroughs Delivered to Salem

02:59 Like Subscribe and Thanks

May 3, 1692: Burroughs’ Specter, a Tavern Transfer, and the Salem Trials’ Only ReleaseSpecters reportedly strike from jail cells and as far away as Maine: we follow May 3, 1692 as Elizabeth Hubbard swears George Burroughs’ apparition visits with the devil’s book and boasts he’s a “conjurer,” even while the real man is under guard en route to Salem. Guards move Susannah Martin, Dorcas Hoar, Lydia Dustin, and Sarah Morrell from Ingersoll’s Tavern breakfast to Boston prison, pushing the total to 28 suspects. Hathorne and Corwin confront Deliverance Hobbs over new spectral harm; she denies it but stands by her confession and describes a feast with Bridget Bishop and three Sarahs. The day also spotlights the trials’ lone catch-and-release—Nehemiah Abbott Jr.—and a chilling family moment as young Daniel Wilkins turns on John Willard before falling ill and dying days later, while Mary Walcott later recalls Rebecca Nurse’s specter claiming multiple killings.00:00 Daily Intro and Date00:28 Burroughs Specter Visit01:10 Prisoners Sent to Boston01:43 Hobbs Questioned Again02:04 Wen Man Mystery02:33 Jail Feast Confession02:48 Willard and Wilkins Omen03:32 Nurse Specter and Wrap Up

May 2, 1692: Burroughs Captured, Hoar & Martin Clash with the CourtWe take you straight into Monday, May 2, 1692—one of the busiest days of the Salem witch-hunt—when arrests, examinations, depositions, and jail transfers collide. Reverend George Burroughs is seized in Wells, Maine as the net tightens, while Dorcas Hoar and Susannah Martin face John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin at Ingersoll’s Tavern amid chaos from the afflicted, sensational claims of spectral attacks, and taunting courtroom exchanges. Our close look at Martin’s sharp rebuttals raises the explosive question of whether the devil could wear an innocent person’s shape, a debate later taken up by Increase Mather and tied to the Witch of Endor. The day ends with Hoar, Martin, Lydia Dustin, and Sarah Morell ordered to Boston jail as the hunt accelerates.00:00 Welcome and Setup00:11 Arrests and Examinations Begin00:48 Dorcas Hoar Under Fire01:41 Dorcas Defies the Court02:39 Susannah Martin Examined03:43 Spectral Evidence Debate05:18 Courtroom Tests and Taunts06:34 Depositions and Copycat Claims07:59 Commitment to Boston Jail08:10 Burroughs Warrant Confirmed08:33 Wrap Up and Subscribe

Walpurgis Night, May Day, and a Spectral Attack: Salem’s May 1, 1692We open on May 1, 1692, as Elizabeth Hubbard claims an attack by the specter of Rebecca Jacobs, wife of George Jacobs Jr., with warrants soon to follow for George Jacobs Sr. and Margaret Jacobs and later complaints and arrests that send George Jacobs Jr. fleeing. From there, we trace how Walpurgis Night—rooted in Saint Walpurga’s May 1 canonization and older Northern European May Eve traditions—became linked with fears of witch power and sabbaths, including lore of gatherings on the Brocken. We connect those layered beliefs to New England’s own culture wars over May Day through Thomas Morton’s defiant Merry Mount maypole and William Bradford’s theological condemnation of revelers as “fairies or furies,” then follow the thread to John Endicott, his Salem Village land, and the still-fruiting Endicott pear tree near where Rebecca Nurse was arrested.00:00 May 1 1692 Update00:46 Walpurgis Night Today01:16 Origins and Traditions02:02 Witches and the Brocken02:57 Salem Echoes and May Day03:08 Merry Mount Maypole Clash05:09 Endicott and Salem Landmarks05:45 Podcast Teaser and Wrap

April 30, 1692: Six New Warrants and a Minister Hunted to MaineWe’re on Friday, April 30, 1692—day seven of Susannah Shelden’s afflictions—as the panic surges with fresh warrants for six new suspects: George Burroughs, Lydia Dustin, Susannah Martin, Dorcas Hoar, Sarah Morell, and wealthy merchant Philip English. Accusers Jonathan Walcott and Thomas Putnam tie these names to torments suffered by Mary Walcott, Mercy Lewis, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam Jr., Elizabeth Hubbard, and Susannah Shelden, while Susannah reports Martha Cory choking her. The paperwork tells its own story: Major Elisha Hutchinson’s rare, non-magistrate warrant reaches into Maine to seize former minister Burroughs; other warrants send constables across county lines for 79-year-old widow Lydia Dustin and bring Susannah Martin in from Amesbury as Philip English slips away. The day ends with another chilling claim—Sarah Good’s specter attacking Sarah Bibber’s four-year-old child.00:00 Welcome and Date00:19 Six New Warrants01:10 Burroughs Arrest Order01:47 Lydia Dustin Case03:14 English Morell Hoar05:17 Susannah Martin Warrant06:07 Sarah Good Specter06:34 Closing and Subscribe

Susannah Sheldon’s Sixth Day of Torment and Repairs at Boston JailWe take you straight into Friday, April 29, 1692, as Susannah Sheldon endures a sixth consecutive day of torment and reports a terrifying night visitation by the specters of Bridget Bishop, Mary English, Giles Cory, and Martha Cory. We follow her account as Martha presses the devil’s book, claims to be in Boston Prison, and describes a grotesque scene involving the “black man” and a creature like a hairless black pig, before Bridget and the “black man” boast that Bridget killed four women, naming two Fosters’ wives and John Trask’s wife. We also track the real-world fallout in Boston Jail, where Jailer John Arnold buys boards, locks, and nails to mend the jail and keeper’s house at a cost of seven pounds, five shillings, and nine pence.00:00 Show Introduction00:14 Susannah Sheldon Tormented00:28 Martha Corys Dark Vision00:56 Bridget Bishops Confession01:20 Boston Jail Repairs01:44 Thanks And Subscribe

April 28, 1692: Susannah Shelden’s Torment and John Willard AccusedWe’re back in Salem on Thursday, April 28, 1692, where Susannah Shelden’s account turns physical and threatening: Giles Cory and Mary English urge her not to eat, and Susannah says Cory strikes her, nearly chokes her, and holds her hands shut while mocking her. Philip English then appears demanding she sign his book, biting her when she refuses. At the same time, Ann Putnam Jr. reports a brutal assault by John Willard’s specter, including threats to kill her unless she writes in his book, and claims his apparition confessed to murdering her infant sister Sarah—followed by Sarah Putnam’s own ghost crying for vengeance. We also hear Lydia Wilkins, in a winding sheet, accusing Willard of involvement in her death.

00:00 Daily Intro and Date

00:15 Susannah Shelden Accusations

00:56 Ann Putnam vs John Willard

01:25 Putnam Baby Death Mention

01:36 Lydia Wilkins Appears

01:46 Subscribe and More Podcasts

Statement of Susannah Shelden v. Philip English, Sarah Buckley, Mary Whittredge, Bridget Bishop, Giles Cory, Mary English, and Martha Cory: https://pem.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/statement-of-susannah-shelden-v.-philip-english-sarah-buckley-mary-whittredge-bridget-bishop-giles-cory-mary-english-and-martha-cory/4696

Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781107689619

Susannah Shelden Faces Bridget Bishop and . . . SatanWe follow Susannah Shelden deeper into the week-long string of spectral encounters she reported, landing on Wednesday, April 27, 1692, when Bridget Bishop, Philip English, Giles Cory, Mary English, and a black man in a high-crowned hat—identified as the Devil—arrive with books and pressure Susannah to touch and sign. Susannah resists, questions Bridget directly, and hears claims that Bridget has been a witch for more than 20 years, echoed again with even sharper precision. The scene turns unsettling as a snake crawls over Bridget, yellow birds and turtledoves are held to chests to suckle, and Bridget and Giles kneel to pray before Satan. The specters and the Devil bite Susannah and vanish, leaving a chilling snapshot of accusation, coercion, and vivid omen-like detail.00:00 Welcome to the Show00:11 Susannah's Week of Visions00:38 Bridget Bishop's Book01:01 Witch for 20 Years01:13 Snakes Birds and Doves01:30 Kneeling to Satan01:45 Bites and Farewell01:50 Subscribe and More Podcasts