The Salem Witch Trials
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Spooky season is here. I put a spell on you.

I thought at first you were singing I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas, and I'm so glad that's where you went. We could do a mashup. Yeah. In November, we'll do the mashup. Yeah. Follow us on Spotify for our covers. Not just for the podcast. Ever since Whitney, we've just gone downhill with the singing. Sorry, guys. If you want us to stop, just tell us. Don't make me sing. Oh, please. I just had to. That's been on my mind all day. Of course. Because...

Guys, this is our Halloween episode. Ram Halloween edition. And you know what? Thank God it's fall. Am I right? We're drinking a cider right now. I didn't think that I liked cider until I started drinking this.

so refreshing. It's so gorgeous. It feels like fall. It's tasting. And I feel like it never gets you drunk. I feel like the hangover would be detrimental from ciders. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But that's why it's delicious right now. It feels comforting. It's like a fall day in a glass. God bless it. God love you, cider. But guys, we thought, you know, what other things should we talk about for spooky season other than

Shivers down my back. Down everywhere. Everyone knows about it, but I don't feel like everyone knows what it means or what went into it. Yeah, I feel like I've always been fascinated by it. I was in The Crucible in high school. Oh my gosh, I feel like that's a classic theater kid thing. I think my cousin was in it one time. Everyone has been in it.

But it's such a good play. I mean, it really is. Arthur Miller, he wrote it in the 50s. I actually don't really know what it's about. It's literally about, it's the exact, it's the true story of what really happened with the actual characters. And it's a little, now looking back on it, I'm like, wait, what? Because they seem to play a lot older in the movie. But, and in the play. Maybe that was also my own misconception of...

Wow.

Oh, man. Well, I've just been – I watched Hocus Pocus last night in preparation and in comfort. Love it. Yeah. I mean, you have to watch it at least three times every fall season, I would say. I agree. What did and what do you know about the Salem Witch Trials? When I think of the Salem Witch Trials, I think of women who speak their mind and then got drowned for it. Literally, that's pretty much the entire summary. Oh, great. Okay. So we're done here. Thank you, guys. Tune in next week.

It's all you need to know. But yeah, that's kind of just like I think of, is Puritan the right word? It is. It sure is. Yeah. And then just people being scared and pointing their fingers at women and crazy shit like that. That is a great starting point. And that represents pretty much the entire thing I will be talking about and the themes of the sandwich trials, which are all about...

I don't even know how to categorize it yet. We'll get into it. It's really, it's pointing your finger. It's fear. It's fear of the unknown. It's mass hysteria. It's religion. It's everything that just... A potion, you might say, for disaster. You always have the best one-liners. Oh, God, thank you so much.

I'm glad you think so. Everyone thinks so. Please. But I will say, in honor of this, we are, check out our TikTok, it'll be up, and Instagram, wearing witch hats. I put on some dark lipstick. I'm scared to see how it transpires throughout this episode. You look great. Thank you. Rain black. Oh, thank you so much. Yeah, all black. But yeah, we'll get into it. But first, should we make a little announcement? Yes, of course. We're so excited about this.

Guys. This Wednesday, by the time you're hearing this, this Wednesday, October 27th, we are having Trivia Night at the Waterfront. Yes.

Buy your tickets. Go to opentable.com. Look at Search Waterfront. Yes. October 27th, 6 to 8 p.m. under Experiences. Book your table. Yes. And it says $25. Guess what? That goes towards your food and drink. And in L.A., that's like... That's literally a cocktail. Exactly. So you're welcome. Truly. We won't say other places in town and our experiences with that, but...

And they charge $500 for trivia. Yeah. I'm not joking, guys. We're actually not joking. $500 for a table. So you should be lucky to come to those. We're so generous. And also, it's so fun. Yeah. No, just kidding. Please, please come. Yeah, please come. But also, listen to the episodes because we have decided our questions from each episode and they're not easy. They're tricky. And we will say that we have really good, like, I know some people are like, oh, prizes. What? You get like a...

Chocolate bar? No. No. I mean, we could give you a chocolate bar too. Yeah. But we've got even more than that. Yes. We'll announce it soon. But it's like stuff that I'd be like, oh, I got to get there. Should we just say at least one? Let's just say it. Yeah. If you win, you could get a 50-minute massage from the now. It is the best massage in LA. It really is. We love it.

So. Yeah. So that's one. But there's a lot more coming. Yep. We just wanted to give you a little teaser. Little tease. And our shout out this week goes to. Oh. Our boy. Yes. Ryan Buds. And if you go to www.triviawithbuddys.

With buds. B-U-D-D-S. Dot com. He will help you host a trivia night. As he has helped us so generously. He's been amazing. It's made it very effortless. Yes. And taken a lot of stress off of us. So check him out. Ryan we appreciate you. And now we know that we will have all the right answers for our trivia. Which before it would have been mostly for us. Cute Claire. Thank you. Look at you on one today. The cider is just giving me life.

Just wasted already. Yep. That's why I like it. Speak for myself. No, I'm not drunk at all. I feel nervous for this one. I'm nervous for this one just like from what we're going to hear. Yes. I mean, should we... Should we... Fly in? Fly in. God damn it. On our brooms. God damn it. I knew that you could always... I'll be goddamned. I'll be goddamned. All right. So let's... Give it to us. Let's talk a little bit about the Salem Witch Trials. Okay. So...

I started doing some research and then I was like, you know what? Let's take it back and let's really just establish sort of what people have thought about witches through our entire life.

history of being on this earth and you know what it's not good which is crazy because like i would love a witch it's definitely changed and it's become trendy yes um joogies some might say some might say and especially like in the 90s it was like buffy and all of these like supernatural show sabrina and then it became kind of cute and cool and witchcraft was associated with a

So witchcraft. So let's go back to the Middle Ages. Okay. So in the Middle Ages, everyone knew that witchcraft was real. It was like, of course it is. Male or female, there was practitioners of low or high magic. Some were midwives, some were astrologers, some were chemists.

So it didn't always... It was a scary thing to people, but the association was not just like, witch, kill them. Because part of this was that most people didn't have this modern understanding yet of science and the world. Right. So there was a part of witchcraft that was like...

Like, well, you know, the supernatural dominates many aspects of life and we can't understand everything going on around us. And so someone just died. Like, how could they just die at 10 years old? Well, it could be the supernatural and witches could have done it.

Wow. That's interesting that they're like, and witches did it. Yeah. It's like, and it does, there's a theme throughout this entire episode of like, just a lack of knowledge and a lack of understanding anything. I think...

you know, combined with hysteria, people just point their finger at something, especially things that we don't understand. And they go, well, let's blame it on that. It's easier to do that. Easier. And also, so you said that men and women were considered witches. And it's so funny when I heard that I was like, people just believe witchcraft was real. But then I'm like,

Yeah, I've said Mercury's in retrograde so many times. Like, not many things are very different. Right. Yeah, it's like, it's similar themes. I mean, it was, for some context, in like 1450 to 1750 in Europe, 80% of people that were accused of witchcraft were women. So, of course, the women get the short end of the broomstick. Oh, thank you. Tried to make you proud of that one. But yeah, it has not been kind. And from the beginning...

It was not. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the witch appears in the book of Exodus and Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy. Thank you. Like former Triscode right here. Yeah. I'm not sure I ever even heard of that before. I mean, I could be wrong, but I believe that's what it is. There it is. We will take... You guys go let us know. Thank you, Claire. Appreciate it. So the OG text, you could say, of a witch...

is a being who is intent on opposing the existing power structure of society. That's what was in our good little... Oh my gosh, which makes so much sense that women would always be considered witches because women were always, I don't know, held back, you could say. Oh yeah, you could say. Well, also that's already so manipulative.

It's basically just like anyone that has a different theory or way of life than what they have been ingrained and brainwashed to think. You are a witch and you should probably be killed. Wow. Oh, my God. It's so intense. It's very, very intense. However, at the beginning, there was a difference between...

white magic and black magic. So white magic is good magic that could heal people and black magic is of the devil. Love ain't nothing more than black magic. It's a Rustin Kelly song. Oh, gorgeous. Sorry, I've been listening to it nonstop. All right, proceed. Gorgeous. So also during this time when it wasn't just so black and white, black and white,

She's killing me. Thank you. People that were in medicine that practiced witchcraft that were saving people, they could be forgiven. It was apprehensive, but it was like, all right, if they did some fucking spell. Also, it's like, whatever you can do to save me, you'll be okay. Exactly, which is just so selfish, really. It really is. Obviously, nothing... The structure was not making sense. It's not consistent. But high magic, which...

Sounds lovely. High magic, which was considered people that were in astrology, like I said, those who were educated, even like Sir Isaac Newton in Galileo, people were like, you know what? They probably have a little bit of witchiness in them. But they're smart and they're educated. And the low magic required no education. So already there was this hierarchy and major difference between...

non-educated people and educated. So high magic was valued more. Yes. And people, you know, res...

respected might be a leap but they identified it and I think they were also intrigued like for Sir Isaac Sir Isaac Newton you could say of course it's like okay if he has a little bit of witch in him like he's doing good so did he ever identify as a witch no but people thought he was he's like well alright maybe he did I'd actually be curious if that was part of his identity he's like don't put me in a box exactly

Um, so going back to, you know, in this time in Europe, 1450, 1750, witchcraft is becoming more, um, alive and well, and people were blaming women for it. Um, there were, there were two Dominican inquisitors responsible for ending witchcraft in Germany. So these guys were like, Hey, we're spreading the word.

Watch your back. Witches are everywhere. And they wrote this book published in 1485. They publish it in Latin, German, English, Italian, and French. They wanted everyone to read this book. It was called Malleus Maleficarum. Okay. Of course. Of course. This book. Do you want to hear what's inside of it? I sure do. A little behind the scenes, you could say. Mm-hmm.

So they said that women were more ready to receive influence of a disembodied spirit and possessing slippery tongues. Since they are weak, they find an easy and secret manner of vindicating them by witchcraft.

So that's basically how the book starts. It's like, hey, we believe in this. Also, any woman is pretty much capable of it because they're weak bodied and mind, spirit, weak losers. Who hurt you? Literally, probably an ex-girlfriend when they're like 12. I'm going to write this book about you. Literally. Also in the book described gruesome methods for how to, you know, that you can be able to find out who is a witch. Yeah.

had fearful images, had different ways to torture witches. If you do find one, how, you know, how to kill them. Oh my God. It was obviously a paranoia story.

It began when this was released. Oh my God. Can you imagine being a woman and then having everyone read that? You're like, well, shit. I mean, it's like immediately it's like nowhere is safe. I also have to act exactly how people expect of me or else I'm going to be sought after and murdered. Yes. You can't just have a bad day. You sure can't, Claire. Wow. Yeah. So the 16th and 17th century in Europe, roughly 40,000 to 50,000 people were executed for witchcraft. Wow.

Excuse me? Which I had no idea. I thought that Salem was sort of the start of this. Yes. And that's why Salem is so famous. No, that's actually like it's the least deadly of the trials and of the executions in the world because Europe had like tons and tons of executions. Europe, please get it together and relax. Yeah. Oh, my God. I know. I know.

What's that number one more time? 40,000 to 50,000 people. Wow. That's what historians estimate. That is. Yeah. And that's probably just public numbers. I thought there was even more. Exactly. And just tons more people accused. Just imagine what was going on on the streets. On the streets. It's always on the streets, isn't it? Mm-hmm. So let's get to, flash forward, just a few hundred years, to 1692. Still seems so far away. It sure does. And-

I guess, too, in doing my research about Salem, you just have to picture. And I know it's so hard for us, even when we're talking about things that happened 100 years ago. And it's a different time with access to technology and communications and how people spoke to each other and what we believed. But like there was no way to really know what was going on in another city, in another state. It took a really long time for information to get to you.

and I think that was a really fascinating part of realizing how isolated Salem was and how scary it was because no one was really there to be like, oh, have you heard about what's going on in that small town? Yeah. There was no one to help them. Well, oh my gosh, that's so scary. Yeah, and there's not really much colonization yet. No, no. I mean, like it's,

There's no like rights for anybody. Yeah. It's just people like came over and decided this place was theirs. They're just hanging out there now. Exactly. And that's really what the Puritans did in New England. The Puritans had brought with them this unique mindset and belief structure that reflected their religious convictions, which was mainly an unwavering understanding that if anything went ill, it was because they deserved God's wrath. Ugh.

So they were like, we're coming in hot. You guys want to know what we think? Mess up. Oh, sorry. It's God. It's God punishing you. Like literally. That's really just like, sorry, I had to take my sunglasses off. That's what that bump was. It just starts to feel like a cave after a while. It does. I was like, ooh, there we go. Yeah. Okay.

So the Puritans weren't there to mess around, you could say. They were very, very conservative. The Puritans opposed customs of the Church of England. They were really just really angry at any sort of implication of witchcraft. Like the fear of anything demonic to them was like...

I mean, life or death. And demonic is probably so many things. So many things. I mean, also at this time, the Puritans, but people really did believe in witchcraft in general. And it was spread to New England at that time that women were a lot more susceptible to be taken over by it. Because that damn book was like, they're weak so they can get out of place. Exactly. That book really ruined everything. Oh, God.

So, yeah, we still have that women were perceived as weak body. They admitted guilt also easier than men in this time because literally they had no one telling them you don't have to. You can stand up to someone. You can say something. They were just like, oh, my husband said I'm a witch. Guess I'm a witch. Well, also, again, if you're going to stand up to them, it's like going against. It's like saying exactly what the text says. It's like that you're going against the grain. So you're a witch. I'm getting mad. I'm going to pour some red wine. It's like a trap.

It is. And that's just what makes me so sick about this whole thing. Because there's just no, you literally have no rights. Oh, can I have some? Yeah, of course, of course. But like also why do you want to put that on people? Like why do you want to believe the worst? That's a good question. So obviously, or not obviously, because you might not know about this. Salem witch trials went from 1692. Thank you.

To 1693. They were a... It's just a year? Oh, yeah. A lot can happen in a year. Oh, my God. That's crazy because I picture it being so much longer. I did, too. Like, pretty much exactly a year, if not a little bit under, which is so short. But also, that's the amount of time that someone was like, wait, what the fuck is going on in Salem? So, such a long amount of time that people started realizing how horrible this was. So, it's like...

It's shocking and then it's also... It's shocking both ways. Truly. So 200 people were accused, 24 found guilty and executed. Do we know how many people were there? In Salem? That's a good question. Just like for numbers? I mean, I can't imagine it was a ton. I know it was a small town. I don't know the exact number. Small town vibes. Small town vibes. So there are some...

important people to discuss. Let's do it. And then I'll be referring to them throughout so we can just be like, oh, got them. Sarah. I feel like there's got to be a Sarah. There are so many Sarahs. So I'll probably be referring to people from their last name. Perfect. So we have, who are our players? Our players are Cotton Mather. Cotton Mather. His first name is Cotton? Yeah.

Cotton Mather is his full last name. Oh, okay. Okay. Yeah. Cotton Mather was the minister in Boston's North church. He is a controversial figure in this because he kind of started out really messing everything up. And then the end was like, what have I done? And what are all of us doing? Um,

Because at the beginning, I mean, people really admired him and respected his political sway. So he was giving out pamphlets about witchcraft and was like, have you guys heard about this thing going on? Like, read about it. And so people were like, oh, shit, it's coming for us. Oh, my God. So he started the paranoia and was a huge factor into the mass hysteria in Salem.

Cotton weather? Cotton mather. Cotton mather. You can call him Cotton if you want. You can call him Mather. Call him Cotton if you're nasty. You can call him CM. Okay, perfect. Easy. Yeah, whatever you prefer. There is Justice Samuel Seawall, who is one of nine judges to convict and sentence 19 victims. Oh, okay.

There was Reverend Samuel Parris. Oh, Tess just did a big eye roll, so I can't wait to hear about old Reverend Samuel Parris. Yeah, he was a new minister in Salem. He's like, I'm here, I'm queer, and I'm ready to party. He testified nine times against the victims. Okay, so he was messing around. Yes, and then getting to our girls here. There is... This one's for the girls.

Ever had a broken heart? That's what they're singing like on their trial. Yeah, you're beautiful the way you are. Oh, wow. That one is for the Salem witches. That's to our girls. Wow. This one is for the girls. May they rest in peace. Literally. Truly. You poor things. Like this. You did not deserve this. No. So we have the trial's first three victims. Tituba. Tituba?

Tituba? I don't know. Oh my God. Fuck. I was like, Tess, don't get this wrong. She's saying a spell. I just become possessed. It's not Tituba. Tituba, I think. Tituba. Tituba. Tituba. Okay, guys, I'm so sorry. I think it's Tituba.

Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne. Oh, wait. Okay. Sorry. What were Tituba's parents smoking to be like? Tituba was from the Caribbean. Oh, I'm sorry to offend. It does sound jarring compared to Sarah. And I should have probably prefaced that. So there's Tituba who was a slave and then there was Sarah Good who was a homeless beggar.

And then we have Sarah Osborne who married a servant and she didn't attend church. So people were like, you're disgusting. Oh my God. It's literally, okay, so three people who are just not doing the norm. Three people who are outsiders, who people feared because of tuba, you know, it was everything that embodied tuba.

not understanding. It was a foreign language. It was a different color of skin. It was, you know... Just not wanting to go to church like when you sleep in on Sunday. Exactly. And so it just was, you know, that's just the fucked up thing about this. It's just all fear of the unknown and people that aren't exactly like you and that people don't follow your beliefs exactly the same. And there it is. And there it is. So we have these three, which we will get back to. And then we have...

These little girls. Oh. Betty Elizabeth Paris. Okay. Wait, Betty Elizabeth Paris. Elizabeth was her nickname. So we call her Betty. Elizabeth was her nickname, but her name was Betty. Yeah. Or was Betty her nickname and her name was Elizabeth? It doesn't matter. Probably Betty was her nickname now that I look at it. I wrote that down incorrectly.

Let's call her Betty. Betty. Cute. So we have Betty and we have Abigail Williams. Okay. Who I believe is played famously by Winona Ryder in the 90s version of The Crucible with... Wait, so I know you've said this, but The Crucible is actually from these stories? Yes.

Oh, yeah. Oh, wow. It's literally the main family that dealt with all of this. Wow. I mean, probably what the 90s was Winona Ryder. Yeah, she plays a crazy, crazy girl. I watched the trailer the other day because I had seen it, but I forgot about it. And she's literally just flailing all over the place. Oh, gosh. So she's Abigail. She's Abigail. And Daniel Day-Lewis is in that. And I truly think it's his hottest role ever. Oh, I love that. Another movie name. Abe Lincoln didn't do it for you? Yeah, you know. Yeah.

It's been another weird week. Yeah, exactly. You never really know what your heart is attracted to. So these are the girls that fucked everything up.

Literally. Not good. They're 9 and 11 years old, which I was shocked to find because in the movie they're portrayed as like these kind of sexy teenagers, honestly. Hollywood, am I right? Hollywood. Like she, I think in the movie, mistake me or tell me if I'm wrong, I think she's going after and making out with Daniel Day-Lewis. So I think she's supposed to be like 17. Also people in this time, everyone's dying at like 22. Well, that's true. It's like you got to start young. You got to start young. But yeah, so...

Nine and 11 years old. And this is important to remember in what is going to happen with everyone, because this was the point in which these two girls led the accusations, accusing nearly 60 neighbors of witchcraft. And you want to know why, how that started? How? So the girls began to have unexplained fits of screaming, crawling under furniture and contorting themselves into unusual positions.

Like it sounds like when I'm about to start my period. Sounds like just another fucking Monday. Yeah. Again. Yes, for sure.

They had some neck and back pain. They were flapping their arms as birds uncontrollably. They're bored 9 and 11-year-old girls. Sorry. And they don't mean to jump the gun. We're all thinking it. They are bored as hell, and they want attention, and they're probably having some fucked up shit going on at home. Yeah, I bet. And they're like, look at me. I'm flapping like a bird. And everyone's like, what? You're possessed.

Oh, God. It's so crazy. It's crazy. And so then they were like, you know, they wanted to cause a scene in the town. And so they were like, oh, my goodness. Like, that was crazy. Mama, you know who I think did it to me? It was her. And would literally point to like a woman walking down the street. And that woman turns around. It's like, you're a little bitch. You're a little bitch, aren't you? Do you? That's sad.

Yeah. So this fueled the craze at the beginning and they, you know, went to the doctor and the doctors were like, well, we don't see anything wrong with them physically. So it does have to be something of the supernatural. And who is doing this to you? Oh my gosh. So then funny, all the other girls in the neighborhood started feeling the exact same way. Of course they did. Yep. So when they were all in church together, all of them suddenly would be like, oh,

And just start flapping and contorting. And literally, like, there are, I mean, obviously, there's no video footage of this. I wish. God's name. It's like, we have it, actually. Yeah, like, we did post it to our Instagram. But it was people, it was, no, not people. Children just flailing, you know, falling over in the middle of the church, convulsing, like, convulsing? Convulsing. What word? Both? Both? Question mark.

Right answers mostly. You guys can understand what the scene was like. It wasn't, it wasn't cute. I mean, talk about committed to your craft. I know. I mean, also how exhausting would this be? Like physically and, and mentally. I mean, it really takes it out of a method acting. Imagine. Even me flailing my arms like a bird for like two seconds. I'm sweating. Oh my God. And like in the middle of church. Truly. They're like, we got to do it when everyone's together. Exactly. All eyes on me. It's,

So desperate for attention. It makes me so angry at these little, like, oh my gosh, good little brats. Little brats. This is what makes me hate children. Like, sometimes even on the plane the other day, I saw this little kid causing a scene, and I was like, you're the problem. You're why the Salem witch trials happened. You should have said, did you say that straight to his face? I should have said it to their mother. Seeing Tess say this with a witch hat on right now is just everything. She's like, truly evil? You are why the Salem witch trials happened. Exactly. And I stand by it. Mm-hmm.

So the first to be obviously accused and brought up to the stand was Tituba. And as we were saying, she represented every version of other. And there's honestly very little documentation that exists from before or after her trial. But what does exist is that she was immediately called the Black Witch of Salem. Oh, my God. And at the home that she was enslaved. Right.

They had some little things to do to be like, let's see if she's a witch. One of those being she was ordered for her and another slave to bake a witch cake to identify other culprits. It was composed of the victim's urine mixed with rye meal and baked in the ashes of the fire, which then they would feed to the family dog who would reveal the source of enchantment. What? Where did they come up with this?

That's a good question, Claire. Wait, what? No idea. I mean, it's not every day that you're just like, let's mix some rye and urine and see who's killing everyone. Feed it to the dog and the dog will handle it. It's cruel. It's cruel. The dog's like, I want to eat you now because I was mean. The dog's like, why put me into this, guys? You're all crazy. Leave me out of this narrative. Yeah. So the girls immediately afflicted to tuba as a source of their pain. And the really fucked up thing...

She was the only one to confess. She was the first one to confess saying, you know what? I am a witch because she felt like that could give her a little bit of forgiveness and she would be safer to maybe not be killed if she was like, yes, it's been happening to me. I can't help it. So there's all of this for her trial. There's like documentation that she spent four days literally in prison.

What's the word? Court or trial? Trial, yeah. Electrifying the audience with her tales of her bewitchment. So she said that Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne told her to attack someone with a knife, forced her to pinch Betty and Abigail. There was this tall man who wore all black following her around that she didn't know where he was coming from.

Pinching was what? Sorry, go ahead. Oh, yeah. Pinching, too. They would just feel little pinches and be like, who is that? It's her. Because you guys are little brats. I'm sure she was pinching you. You deserved it. Yeah, exactly. And also that Sarah Good had signed her name to this diabolical book that had all the names of who else was a witch in town. Oh, no.

So, of course, human nature, when you're put on a stand, literally and figuratively, is to be like, well, it's not just me. It's her. If I fall, you're going down with me. Exactly. So, obviously, no one was supporting each other. And everyone was saying, well, yeah, maybe. And Tituba was literally like, Tituba was like, yes, I confess.

This has happened to me, but I'm going to take other people down. And I'm also going to really say that like it was out of my control. So like, give me a break. It's like the same thing with people interrogating people now that it's like that they can convince people that they did it. And it's almost like just say that you did it. So it's easier for everyone. And just like going back to that lack of knowledge about the world.

about science, about your well-being. Like, there's just nothing. They had no chance. Yeah, no chance. And that's what's just so sad about it. So on March 7th, 1962, Sarah Goode. 1962? 1692. 1692. I'm like, guys, let's just, let's go into a different story about which is in 1692.

We're talking about Bewitched now. Thank you, Claire. I got so into this, like literally reading this. I'm like, is this even English? Like nothing is spelled correctly. I'm like, you're a witch. Yeah. Someone made me do it. Someone that possessed me made me do this. So Good, Osborne and Tituba were sent to a Boston jail to await their formal trial.

And two months later, the witch hunt would claim the first victim when Osborne died in custody in jail. Oh, shit. Just from like bad conditions? Yes. And also people at this time were dying like in their 30s. Like you were lucky to really... It's true. Like from a cold. Truly. Yeah. There just was... I would hate to live in this time period. It seems so unsanitary. Dirty, dumb. Dirty and dumb. And everyone... Yeah. Everyone smells bad. Yeah.

horrendous. Absolutely. How do you entertain yourself? You act like you're getting possessed by a witch. That's how you do it. It's boredom. This whole story is just boredom. It's true. So, um, Osborne, Osborne was unfortunately gone, um, gone too soon. But there were some people even in town that were like, hold on a second. Someone can just be walking down the street and then this little bitch comes up and is like, you're a witch. Like that doesn't really seem fair. Um,

Thank you. Right. So there were some people like that, like a woman named Martha Corey, who expressed some skepticism about these girls' accusations. There was a report that she laughed the first time that she heard this, that she was like, this is going down. Guys. This is insane. Yes. She was also in the community described to be outspoken and opinionated. So guess what happened to her? She became a witch. She became a witch. God. Yeah.

Yeah, no, she, I believe, what did happen to her? I mean, she was accused of being a witch and then taken to trial and then sent to jail. So, and even her husband was like, wait a second, she's actually not like, she doesn't go to church that much. I mean, she does, she seems to be like a little like not super focused. And so he was like, I agree, she is a witch. But God, who is focused at church? Sorry, boring answer.

But apparently the Puritans. Oh my gosh. I don't mean to offend, but. No, I mean, this is insane. Especially back then. It's like there's no. There's nothing else to do. Yeah. There's no like pep and people stop talking about God. No. God no. So we're reaching the point where it is a free for all. Oh no. Dorsey Good, who was the daughter of Sarah Good, who was four years old, was accused and sent to jail.

What? To jail? Mm-hmm. What's a four-year-old doing in jail? Because she's a witch, Claire. She needs to be there. What is she? Just sitting in a cell? Oh, my God. What? Yep. In her trial answers, she's like, goo-goo-ga-ga. She had a confession that implemented her mother. Ugh. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Goo-goo-ga-ga. They're like, what? It's just so crazy. It is just so crazy. Sorry, pause for laughter.

Oh, my God. Literally, baby talk meant that you were off the devil. Wait, what was her thing? That she was just a witch. She just said that my mom's a witch. Yeah, she was like, my mom's a witch. And people thought that she had, like, weird characteristics. She's like, does anyone have any Cheerios? It's my snack time now. So upsetting. Sarah Close and Elizabeth Proctor were arrested in April.

I'm trying to just name some, I'm trying to say some of the names, even though there's a lot that I'm going to miss. And I was like, my goal was to say all of them, the victim's name, the victim's name to like pay respect. And I, I'm not going to say every single one. Cause I think I forgot to exactly write down every single one, but I'm trying to, trying to honor them. Um,

So in April, there were 20 more people that were arrested or in the midst of being questioned. Martha, remember Martha Corey? Her husband ended up saying something because at first he was against her. And I think he was like, well, fuck, I didn't think that she was going to like. He's like, well, no one's here to cook me dinner. So yeah, he's like, this actually isn't great. Like, I enjoyed my time with my wife. And so he then spoke out about it.

And he was crushed to death by stones. Oh, my God. So one could say stone to death, I guess, is the appropriate form of torture. That is torture. Is Martha already dead at this point? She's in trial. No, Martha's still, she's sitting in jail at this point. Sitting pretty in jail. She's sitting pretty in jail. God, yeah.

Um, there's Abigail Hobbs, who's 14 and Bridget Bishop, who was an unpopular older woman who were also accused. So in May, it went from 29 to 68 people accused. And it started to spread to towns that were, um, Amsbury, which is 40 miles north of Salem also started being like, Ooh, like, Ooh, maybe we should be on the lookout. And so things were happening there. And so it wasn't now just in Salem. It was like, witches are everywhere. Beware. Yeah.

Oh, my God. Mm-hmm. So during this time, there was a man named Sir Williams Phipps, who was a recently appointed governor of Massachusetts, who arrived to bring order to the colony in this time of crisis. He was like, Jesus Christ, what's going on? Truly, actually. But then he got there and was like, you guys are doing this perfectly. Oh, no. Oh, my God.

It's like, this is exactly what I dreamed our new world would be. Like truly. Cause he, so he oversaw the creation of the legal structure meant to deal with the growing number of which cases, but rather than freeing these people, these innocent people, he then created this thing called the court of Oyer and Terminer to hear and determine, which led to touch. That makes me feel uneasy. What's that mean? So touch tests, uh, for instance, um,

If one of the girls who's accusing these women of being witches, like, or if one of the witches touched the girls and they started screaming in pain, they were like, then it settled. Confirmed. Oh my God. You guys are so, you are so dumb. You're really dumb. So fucking dumb. Wow. Well, what do you think those girls are going to do?

Literally. And they just put too much faith in these children. And children. God. So this was his big thing by June. Touch tests were the big hurrah. It's like, this will do it. This will really prove it. And it just, at this point was like,

Fuck, there's no order to this anymore. We tried to bring someone in to help alleviate this and now it's just getting worse. And they even did really horrible things, which was hard to read about that they would do body exams of some of these women and they would look at their genitalia and if they had a witch like mark on them.

that confirmed that they were to be executed. Oh, that's horrible. Absolutely disgusting. Oh, these poor women that this was happening to. I just have like the chills because you just think like, I mean, there's no words to describe how unbelievable it is that this had happened to a group of women. Yeah. It almost seems like because it was so long ago, it's like these people did

Didn't even exist really. You know what I'm saying? Like it sounds like it's a story, but it's actually happened. I don't know if that's a dumb thing to say. No, I feel like because I went to Salem two years ago to be like, oh, I'm here in Boston. It's two hours away or whatever. And let's go have a spooky day. And you think of it almost as like a theme park when you're there. Totally. And then you realize of the details, the gruesome details of what was happening to individuals. And it's just such a violent act against women. Yeah.

It's horrifying. I'm so sorry. I don't mean to laugh. It's just every time I look at Tess with a witch hat on. Talking about something really intense. I'm so sorry. No, it is. It's horrifying. No, you can laugh all you want. Nervous giggles. It's okay. Let it out. Let it out, baby. So the first to be executed by hanging, and I don't know why I just smiled when I said that. It's because it's on our friend's birthday and it's on Katie's birthday. It's June 10th.

Gemini season. Yeah, there it is. It's crazy energy all around. It truly is. And this is a woman named Bridget Bishop. She was the first to be executed. She was a 60-year-old housewife who was very unpopular. And people said she wasn't living a moral lifestyle. Several testified against her. She was said to be wearing a lot of black clothing and odd costumes. Huh.

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This is what I'm saying. Like, guys, it's a color. Claire, we wouldn't last a day. No. Not a day with our mouse, please. Truly. If someone gets killed because they're opinionated. Oh, please. Yikes. Yikes. So the first execution happened. Now people were, I mean, there was always fear. And then it's like, oh, now someone is dead. You know, people came to watch. And they were praying for themselves. Imagine the darkness. I can't believe people used to go do that. Like, for real.

until pretty recently. Well, yeah. And like, what's it called? I'm having a major blackout. Gladiator. They would just kill each other and people would just watch in the stands literally and be like, we're on team. That guy. That guy. It's wild. So after the first execution, the court met up for 20 days to think how to proceed. They were like, one is dead. Now what do we do? Like, are we on the right path? Like, let's check in with each other.

How are your feelings right now? Exactly. So they decided to protect the Christian faith. They decided they must continue trials to weed out demonic people. So let's go forward with a speedy and vigorous prosecution. So then it was like, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. God. Horrible.

The laws of God made them do this so they felt comfortable in their decision. It's so convenient when you can blame a higher power on your terrible actions. Exactly, Claire. Same things with the Romanovs, like divine right to rule or whatever. It's like, no, that's actually not a thing. But it's like, I mean, this is, I guess, sort of a theme too in our episodes, like Tammy and Jim and stealing from people and raping women and then being like, well... God told me to. It's like... No. No.

If you believe in a God that makes you do terrible things, I implore you to maybe reevaluate some things. Yes. And yes, it is a terrible thing. Yeah. It is black and white, actually. God doesn't just let you do whatever the hell you want to do. It's exactly right. So, and actually, I always, I have mentioned this too, that women were being burned at the stake. That is not true. It was...

uh like what's the beheading yes like a guillotine uh-huh it was like let's oh my god ew the thing where you uh just to describe to our listeners where your hands are in the yes and your head yes is yeah chopped off what's that guy in Hunchback of Notre Dame oh who's that

He's always in one of those things, though. He sure is. Oh, yeah, because he's always like, I'm almost like I'm getting in trouble. Yeah. So back to Elizabeth Proctor, someone that was accused, John Proctor's wife. She was given a temporarily like they're like, we're going to hold off on your death because you're pregnant. So you can stay in jail with, you know, pregnant. But like, well, we'll pardon you. And so generous. How generous. Right. But also, like, wouldn't they be like the baby must. Well, that's what I was just about to say. They'd be like Satan baby.

It's very symbolic of even now. There it is. Pro-choice, pro-life. There it is. You know? Wow. Of like, oh, but we'll do anything to protect this. That thing. Unborn baby, but the mother will let rot in jail and we'll be killing her family members and neighbors around her. It's cool. Wow. There it is.

So, yeah, I mean, just a lot of bad stuff was happening. A man named George Burroughs, he was accused and he was being executed. He was a former minister of the town and he had been outspoken about things not really making sense. And so as he was about to be killed, he started reciting the Lord's Prayer and

Um, then people were saying, and then, so then there was almost like a pause of like, well, wait, if he's a witch, he wouldn't be able to recite that. But then people were like, but the devil's making him say that. And the devil is saying those words through him and possessing him. Guys, please like pick a lane because you're getting very blurry right now. And it doesn't make sense. It's hard to follow. Very, very blurry. Um,

There was also a 77-year-old woman accused who escaped prison. Good for you, girl. She was like, guys, it's not that hard. Go out to the back. She's like, you do realize it's like just hay covering up this window right now.

Like we are not technology. We're not advanced enough to have like bolts. Please. Oh God, that probably didn't help her case though in like being a witch. Yeah, that's true. They're like, she can fly out of that, you know, who knows what people were saying. It's like the door is actually just open, guys. That's true. I would like to know the origin of the broom. Yeah, same. And which is being able to fly. I guess it's like being able to just like levitate and all of that. But I wonder why a broom. I agree. Yeah.

Someone look it up and tell us. Please do. So back to our little man, Cotton Mather. CM. Yep, CM. So he's like, hey guys, I know I was handing out those pamphlets, but I've been doing some thinking for the past few months. Having a little bit of a guilt, like I feel guilty because I do think it's gotten out of hand and I think there needs to be a little bit more structure. Yeah.

So he started writing this book called Cases of Conscience that argued that proof of witchcraft required a free and voluntary confession that if the court did not accept the testimony of a possessed person in a murder trial, then neither way is witchcraft. So he was basically, to sum it up, being like there should be a little bit more of like you're put on trial and it's not just like, yeah, you're a witch, like there needs to be...

A little bit more leeway. Yeah. And it's more innocent until proven guilty. That's pretty much what he was saying. Okay. Like, God damn those pamphlets. Like I shouldn't have even given them out. He's like, I was having a bad day. My girlfriend just broke up with me and I regret it. Like, please. Truly. He was trying to put drama on other people so that he wouldn't maybe have to think about his own life. Oh, wow. There it is. Cotton Mather. Cotton Mather. Yeah. So he sends it to the governor.

A governor FIPS. Okay. And then the governor was like, what the hell is going on in Salem? He's like, I've been asleep for like the past almost year. And he was like, Oh no, this is not good. I need to go there and I need to do something about it. It's like Salem, you're drunk. It's time to go home. Literally. And you know, going back to just, it's just so incomprehensible how no one else knew this was happening. Even the governor. And that makes me so sad for those women because it's like they truly had no lifeline. Right.

Exactly. Like think about it's like the embodiment of imprisonment in every way through men, through religion, through lack of technology and communication. They just had no one to talk to or confide in. I know. I know. It's just it's horrendous. So he came and he was like, guys, I'm gonna read the statement. Basically, the statement was like, innocent people have been killed.

And I don't really feel like great about it. He's like, I understand that you guys are scared, but like this needs to come to a stop. And so it did. There were no more. Debbie. He's like, Noah is in the studio. It was bring your child to work day. It was very cute. He loves Halloween. Um,

So there are no more executions. And in 1693, all were found not guilty and dismissed from jail. Just because all of a sudden, one day someone just said no. All of a sudden, a man comes in. He's like, guys, stop. And everyone's like, oh, sorry. Like, man. Do less. And they did. Yep. Wow. What? I'm pissed. Yeah. So not that I wanted to drag out any longer, but it just feels something that it could have gotten that bad. And then in a second, someone finds out about this and they're like,

Cool it. Yeah, please. Cool the jazz. Relax. So obviously those people were dismissed. That cannot make up for the lives lost. The total tally of the Salem witch trials, you know, end up being 24 people being executed and 140 falsely imprisoned. Oh my God. And you can imagine after that there was quite the division and sore sickness and spirit of people in Salem. Yeah.

Because I think what was happening, that families obviously were resentful that their wives, daughters were killed or imprisoned. Also, I think a lot of people were like, wait, if this wasn't as big of a deal...

As we thought, and maybe there weren't all witches, we just killed a bunch of mothers and daughters. Oh, my God. Well, also, where were you guys when they needed you to stand up for them? Exactly. But, I mean, I guess they would be stoned to death. Exactly. So, our boy, Reverend Paris, he did extend, quote, an apology and some sorrow. But he basically said, through the clouds of human weakness, um...

Oh God, I did not finish the sentence. Satan. He basically was like, well, Satan did this. So I am sorry that that happened and that Satan like is present. But what are you going to do? Satan shows up to ruin the party again. Yeah. And that's really the Salem witch trials. Like that's,

What? Because it's just like, well, you were saying that women were weak earlier and that's why they're witches. And now you're like, well, we're all weak. So, I mean, I'm just, I'm pissed. Exactly. One thing that I've also heard about like ways that they would test witches is being like, we're going to put you in a river and put a stone on you. And if you drowned, you're not a witch. And if you don't, you're a witch. And it's like, well, guess what? That person's dead. Yeah. Some of like the, the ways of, of torture, um,

I mean, like checking like the genitalia, things that I just had no idea. But I'm sadly not shocked that they were doing that. But they were pulling anything out of their hats. Sorry to make a crude joke. Oh, hot, honestly. Great. Great.

And, you know, it's just a bunch of men in power being like, oh, guys, you know what I heard? If you throw a woman into a river and see what happens, then that can give us, you know, the green light to go kill her. God. Can we just enjoy each other instead of shutting people out because they're different? Truly. And I think, too, it's interesting how much...

things change and stay the same at the same time. Like, you know, with everything that we talked about. And then also like how, how I mentioned at the beginning of the episode, how witches are now sort of, it's cool to do spooky things and,

But also we still are so afraid of other people. Completely. And we're such a tortured country. Yes. And we're such a scared country still, obviously, with sexism, racism. It's so true. Transphobia. It's like we still do things so similar to this. Wow. It's like completely the same in just a different time. Now it's like, oh, like we can wear witch hats and dress up because at one point this was like really scary and crazy. Yeah.

we're doing the same things guys. It's the Salem with trials all over again. I mean, in the eighties and nineties, we had the whole satanic panic thing where it was just like, everyone again was worried that people were worshiping Satan and kids who were black and listen to Metallica were the devil. It's so crazy. Exactly. It just, it really does all circle back. And I know like in Tammy Faye, maybe people perceive me as like shitting on religion, but it just does circle back to blindly following anything, whether that's religion, whether that's like just you in a,

Noah. He's upset. For the love of God, I had a good point. He's upset. Keep going. You were making a great point. Just, you know, whether it's religion, a certain community you're in, whatever.

Yes. Be passionate about what you're passionate about. Don't let it hurt other people and don't think that that's the one way of life because there are so many things you need to open your eyes to or else we're going to go back to this time and it's so easy for us to do something like that. And that's exactly what it is. If you're hurting other people, you have to stop and evaluate what you're doing. Then no, you shouldn't be just reading a book that says that made you do it. Yes, exactly. Exactly.

Because it's not okay. No, it's not okay. It's just so true. And like, this is why it's important to revisit history so we can just learn from it because it's all on a cycle. It's, and there it is. God. So yeah, justice for those women. Justice for those women. And the few men that were in there. Yes. It's, you know, once again, women are just always the, the, the pinpoint of just horrific events.

It's so true. It's just because it's easier to blame it on someone. It's so, so true. Is he hopping up to get that jambalaya? No, he was trying to get on his travel crate. On the baby, no. He's looking at me like he's upset. He's like, what the hell are you wearing? Yeah.

I think he just realized we're wearing witch hats and he's upset about it. He just came to and he's like, I'm terrified. It terrifies me. Well, Tess, that was so well done. I was fascinated. I mean, it was so interesting. And I've always been someone who's been really into that kind of like. Noah. Noah. God, thank God he did. He waited.

He knew. He knew. But I just think it's so interesting and I can't believe that happened. I know. Well, I appreciate you listening. I know I was talking very fast and all over the place. Oh, you were. To me, you were not. Okay, good. You're perfect. Okay, good. If you read my notes, you'd be like, are you okay? Like, it looks like I truly was. Something might have came over you. Like witchcraft. I hope it did. May we all be so lucky, honestly. Literally. Yeah. One day. One day. We're just going to, the magic will come through.

But yeah, everyone watch or read The Crucible. I mean, I'd say read it first. Wow, wow, wow. I mean, so it's basically The Crucible is about the Proctor family.

And Abigail specifically being a crazy little brat. Brat. Like kindly. B-R-A-T. I mean, just so rude. So rude. Also, it's like have some control over your children, please. Yeah, exactly, guys. Like is there no such thing as discipline? Yeah. Shove them in a closet. Exactly. Do something. Do something. Parenting tips from Tespaloma. Yeah, you heard it from me. Shove them in a closet.

I'm starting a podcast called Shove Them in the Closet about how to deal with horrible children. Who make up lies. And there it is. And there it is. Also, have you seen The Witch, the A24 film with Anya? I thought her name was Anna Taylor-Joy, but I guess it's Anya. Oh, Anya. Your world is rocked. Oh, wow. It's so disturbing, but it's so good. Ooh, I'd like to watch. We need to watch it actually now. And you guys, it's the perfect time. Watch all of these spooky movies. Who's your favorite witch?

That is a good question. I'm going to keep you guys here for days. Oh, God. Who is my favorite witch? I mean, Hocus Pocus was my first instinct, but which one out of them? I mean, they're also iconic. Sarah Jessica Parker is like the cutest little witch to me because she's such a ditz. Okay. So I was watching last night and I was like, we need to start nominating these types of movies for Oscars because all three of those women's performances...

They commit out of this world, out of this world. They are all them. Yes. Need to be nominated more. They really do. It's harder to do that than like shave your head and lose like 10 pounds. Still respect people doing that. But also come on. A hundred percent. Like I was just watching all of them and I was like, they just commit and they're fantastic. And even as an adult, I completely agree. Who's your favorite witch?

Good. Stevie Nicks. Oh, that was good. Thank you. But no, also like the Sanderson sisters. Hello. Of course. Also Alphaba. Alphaba. Oh my gosh. Defying gravity.

Thank you. I was like, what part to sing? There's so many options. They're the only part. It's true. And with voices like ours. Who can stop us? That's true. Oh, I love it. I hope that you guys dress up like a witch this season. Yes, if you do. An honor. Let us know and tag us. Yes, tag us. Also, so we were going to make a video about this and then we didn't. But dress up for Halloween as something from one of our episodes. Yes.

So it could be anything. It could be Hugh Hefner in a Playboy bunny. It could be Ted Kennedy. It could be Tammy Faye looking all crazy with tons of makeup. It could be. The Romanoffs. Yes. Just go through our catalog. Barbie. Barbie. Yes. If you post a picture and tag us and we'll pick the best one and we will send you a prize. And the prize will probably be merch.

Guys, we have merch coming with the cutest t-shirts coming. We're so excited. And our next round is going to be even more merch. But this first round, you guys got to buy it so we can have another round. Please do. Really cute shirts. Yeah, we're so excited. There's even some craps. And when you buy our merch, you support the pod. Exactly. So please do. That's why we can keep doing what we are doing. And we can pay people who have been helping us and making this happen. So buy away. But yeah, guys, dress as...

Dress as anything. Noah's like, get me the hell out of this dark, crazy room. This is not dark. It's dark in our souls. Yeah, it is dark. I mean, emotionally. Exactly. It always is. Yeah, tag. And then we're going to pick our favorite costume and we will send you a free shirt. Yes. We're so excited about it. And we truly appreciate you guys more than you know. And please, please, please come to Trivia Night. Come to Trivia. Plan your Halloween costume. Keep, like, subscribe, all that fun stuff. We appreciate all the...

posts that people do, the stories throughout the week, even if you've done it once, please keep doing it. Yeah, it really means the world to us. Because we have so much fun doing this. Guys, nothing's made us happier. Honestly. I'm just going to say it. We're going to put it right now. Truly. Yeah, we can't erase it. It's true. So...

God love you. God love you. Have a happy and safe Halloween. Yes, happy and safe Halloween. Eat as much candy as you want. And should we say one last thing warning everyone about the end? Oh, it's not the end for now. Next week will be our season finale.

Yes. Prayer hands. It's actually going to be, I think, such a fun episode. Tess and I have been waiting for it. Passionate. Yeah, exactly. It's going to be a little different than the other episodes, but we're excited about that. It's going to be a brief pause and we will be back with season two. Super brief. People get crazy for like the holidays. Yeah.

We want to really dedicate our time to just making season one everything it can be and reaching as many people as it can. Exactly. So yeah, the sooner we come back is dependent on you guys spreading it. So it's all on you. Literally. And we'll be mad at you. Exactly. Just kidding. We love you guys so much. Yeah, we love you so much and we'll do anything for you. Well, XOXO. Right answers mostly.