About This Episode

What if Boston's colonial past held witch trial stories just as gripping as Salem's but almost entirely overlooked? This week, Sarah and Josh sit down with D. Brenton Simons, President Emeritus and former CEO of American Ancestors (New England Historic Genealogical Society), to uncover the witches, criminals, and scandal-makers that Boston's official history left out.

D. Brenton Simons spent 18 years leading American Ancestors, one of the world's foremost genealogical organizations with over 500,000 members in 139 countries. He is the author of Witches, Rakes, and Rogues, a collection of true Boston stories spanning 1630 to 1741, and was honored by King Charles III for his contributions to Anglo-American history.

Boston had a witchcraft period spanning over a century, and the stories from it look nothing like what popular culture has taught us. Brenton walks us through cases that defy every stereotype, including a wealthy, well-connected woman whose "disagreeable" personality made her a target after her husband's death, an Irish Catholic servant whose foreign language and customs terrified a Puritan community, and women whose only real crime was practicing folk medicine and refusing to be pushed around.

The research behind this book took five years and required digging through court records, personal diaries, and archives. The result is a portrait of real people navigating a world where the devil felt as immediate and dangerous as a neighbor's grudge.

• The woman who appears as a background character in The Scarlet Letter and the real, devastating story behind her name

• How the Goodwin children's afflictions during the Goody Glover case reveal something very human about fear and attention

• The connection between Mercy Short's post-traumatic experiences and the Salem trials

• Why the discovery of a black cat may have saved Boston from a second wave of witch hunting

• What happened to accusations that never became trials, and why those stories matter just as much

For descendants of Boston and Connecticut witch trial victims, this episode is essential listening. Brenton discusses his research connecting Mary Hale, Winifred Benham Sr., and the Benham family line across generations and colonies. If you have colonial New England ancestry, you may have more connections to these stories than you realize.

• American Ancestors / New England Historic Genealogical Society

• American Ancestors on YouTube

• Witches, Rakes, and Rogues by D. Brenton Simons

• End Witch Hunts

The Thing About Witch Hunts is produced by End Witch Hunts, the only U.S. nonprofit dedicated to witchcraft accusation awareness. Find us wherever you listen to podcasts and on YouTube.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and share it with anyone who loves colonial history, genealogy, or untold American stories.

What happens when spiritual beliefs are used to justify harm against children in the United States? In this episode, Josh Hutchinson, Sarah Jack, and guest host Mary Bingham explore Spiritual and Ritual Abuse, known as SARA, and why it remains a largely unrecognized crisis in American communities. The team examines how belief-driven violence crosses every demographic and faith background, discusses the landmark case of 3-year-old Arely Procter, and raises critical questions about accountability when religious freedom is invoked as a legal defense.

• What Spiritual and Ritual Abuse (SARA) is and how international bodies define it

• How SARA manifests in the United States across faiths, communities, and demographics

• Why cases of belief-driven child abuse often go unrecognized or are prosecuted without acknowledging the spiritual motivations behind them

• How familiar cases like Elizabeth Smart and Ruby Franke fall under the SARA umbrella

• The story of Arely Procter and the ongoing legal proceedings in Santa Clara County, California

• What the Racial Justice Act of 2020 is and how it is being used in Arely's case

• Why the United States lacks a centralized system for monitoring spiritual abuse-and what End Witch Hunts is doing about it

• What research tells us about the prevalence of supernatural beliefs in America

Mary Bingham is a director of End Witch Hunts and a researcher focused on spiritual and ritual abuse cases spanning historical witch trials through present-day prosecutions. Her case research and victim profiles are available on the Sarah Wildes 1692 YouTube channel, including a dedicated playlist for World Day Against Witch Hunts 2025.

• SARA (Spiritual and Ritual Abuse): Abuse where an offender uses spiritual, superstitious, or traditional beliefs to justify harming others, or uses a victim's own beliefs to manipulate and control them.

• Harmful Traditional Practices: The United Nations' terminology for practices related to accusations of witchcraft and ritual attacks, reported in at least 60 nations.

• Racial Justice Act of 2020 (California): Legislation ensuring that racial, ethnic, or national origin does not influence criminal investigations intentionally or unintentionally.

National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233)

National Deaf Domestic Violence Hotline: Call 855-812-1001 or text START to 88788.

Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: Call or text 800-422-4453.

If you are experiencing spiritual or ritual abuse in the home, trained advocates are available around the clock.

Hosts: Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack Guest Host: Mary Bingham Produced by: End Witch Hunts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization

New episodes weekly. Available wherever you listen to podcasts. The Thing About Witch Hunts has been heard in 100+ countries worldwide.

Links

End Witch Hunts Project: End Spiritual and Ritual Abuse

SARA Cases YouTube Playlist

National Domestic Violence Hotline

Podcast Episode: Jordan Alexander Discusses Spiritual and Ritual Abuse

Podcast Episode: Witchcraft Beliefs Around the World with Boris Gershman

Article by Mary Bingham: Witch Hunting from Salem to San Jose: Dorothy Good and Arely Proctor

Article by Mary Bingham: The Psychology Behind Witchcraft Accusations

Law & Crime Network YouTube Video on Arely Proctor Racial Justice Act Defense https://youtu.be/4DJnPgnRVmY?si=8zSMLDGpT0hLw-YL

Wales has something most countries don't: complete, intact court records from every witch trial held in the Court of Great Sessions. Author Mari Ellis Dunning used these archives to write Witch, a historical novel set in 16th century Wales.

About the novel:

Witch follows Doli, a Welsh young woman desperate to have a baby who seeks help from a local soothsayer. The story explores what happens when accusations arise in a community caught between old Welsh traditions and new English Protestant law.

The historical context:

Five witch trials in Wales resulted in death sentences. The records show fascinating details, including Gwen ferch Ellis's case where "ignoramus" (case dismissed) was physically crossed out before her conviction.

Mari discusses the tension between licensed and unlicensed midwives, how the Royal College of Physicians excluded women from medicine, and why lay healers were often more effective than the male physicians who replaced them. Class boundaries determined which accusations progressed to trial.

The conversation explores:

How Mari balanced creating relatable, nuanced characters while staying true to the limited agency women actually had in the 16th century

Why Wales's cultural identity and the conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism shaped different attitudes toward folk practices

The connection between historical witch trials and modern medical misogyny, political rhetoric weaponizing "witch," and systemic violence against women

Links

Buy the book: Witsh by Mari Ellis Dunning

Guest Article: Gwen ferch Ellis: The first woman in Wales to be sentenced to death on charges of witchcraft