Escaping Salem, as the title states, recounts the events surrounding witch trials outside of the infamous Salem, Massachusetts. Godbeer takes us to the same time period, but a different location Stamford, Connecticut, where a witch hunt is taking place. This book tells us how this witch hunt “took a very different course from the panic in Massachusetts” (Godbeer 7). In his book, Godbeer presents the readers with a sense of how witchcraft was understood and dealt with in the seventeenth century New England colonies. Before reading this book, I have always had the impression that the Salem witch trials were not just limited to that one area and not the only ones in the whole of American history, but the Salem witch trials are almost certainly
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During the same time, she saw a third witch and described her to Mistress Wescot. Mistress Wescot gave the name of Mercy Holbridge. This is where it gets a little suspicious. Kate again notices the woman and says her name wrong and corrects herself right after her mistake “name was Mercy Woodbridge, but then she paused… she had misheard the name and that it was really Mercy Holbridge” (39). This was very suspicious to me because she did not name the person before, it was only after Mistress Wescot had said who she was. Following this incident, when Mister Wescot got home, Kate described everything about Mercy correctly which is skeptical. Even Mistress Wescot is not convinced “may have noted the discrepancy between this answer and Kate’s earlier description of the witch” (48-49). Another extremely important part of the book is when I felt Daniel Wescot might have been connected to this entire drama and he was in it to get revenge on the people that he had grudges against. Mistress Wescot even remarked “her husband would believe their maid over the pastor, or the magistrate or even herself” (55) and that he, himself boasted that he could “control Kate’s convulsions” (55). What was interesting that in the past, I learned that the officials would use force and torture as they did in the Salem Witch Trials to persuade the “witches” to confess but …show more content…
How all the evidence was sorted out and what was functioning in the mind of Mister William Jones. I found it fascinating that the legal system this early in time, while following the will of God, the Bible view, and The Puritan view, was logical enough to distinguish that even though “The evidence was assuredly impressive in quantity, its substance was problematic” (112). Every single piece of evidence brought in this case was made clear by the author who lets us see what went through the thought process of the magistrates, the jury and Mister Jones himself. I also recount somewhere in the book stating that “two witnesses” had to be needed to prove some valuable evidence. To compare this to my religion, Islam, it also states that two witnesses are needed to prove a murder, rape, or in this case bewitchment. The importance of these trials in Stamford proved that even when the accused of witchcraft were women, they continued to bel treated equally and were given the same orderly
During the same time, she saw a third witch and described her to Mistress Wescot. Mistress Wescot gave the name of Mercy Holbridge. This is where it gets a little suspicious. Kate again notices the woman and says her name wrong and corrects herself right after her mistake “name was Mercy Woodbridge, but then she paused… she had misheard the name and that it was really Mercy Holbridge” (39). This was very suspicious to me because she did not name the person before, it was only after Mistress Wescot had said who she was. Following this incident, when Mister Wescot got home, Kate described everything about Mercy correctly which is skeptical. Even Mistress Wescot is not convinced “may have noted the discrepancy between this answer and Kate’s earlier description of the witch” (48-49). Another extremely important part of the book is when I felt Daniel Wescot might have been connected to this entire drama and he was in it to get revenge on the people that he had grudges against. Mistress Wescot even remarked “her husband would believe their maid over the pastor, or the magistrate or even herself” (55) and that he, himself boasted that he could “control Kate’s convulsions” (55). What was interesting that in the past, I learned that the officials would use force and torture as they did in the Salem Witch Trials to persuade the “witches” to confess but …show more content…
How all the evidence was sorted out and what was functioning in the mind of Mister William Jones. I found it fascinating that the legal system this early in time, while following the will of God, the Bible view, and The Puritan view, was logical enough to distinguish that even though “The evidence was assuredly impressive in quantity, its substance was problematic” (112). Every single piece of evidence brought in this case was made clear by the author who lets us see what went through the thought process of the magistrates, the jury and Mister Jones himself. I also recount somewhere in the book stating that “two witnesses” had to be needed to prove some valuable evidence. To compare this to my religion, Islam, it also states that two witnesses are needed to prove a murder, rape, or in this case bewitchment. The importance of these trials in Stamford proved that even when the accused of witchcraft were women, they continued to bel treated equally and were given the same orderly