The Devil's Disciples: The Makers of the Salem Witchcraft Trials

Hoffer, Prof Peter Charles Charles

ISBN 10: 0801852013 / ISBN 13: 9780801852015

Published by Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998

Seller Inventory # 0801852013-4-32738948

Synopsis:

Honorable Mention in the History Category for the Professional and Scholarly Book Award

Mention the term witch hunt, and Salem, Massachusetts, springs to mind—and with it the power of superstition, the danger of mob mentality, and our natural fear of gross injustice. For more than a year, between January 1692 and May 1693, the men and women of Salem village lived in heightened fear of witches and their master, the Devil. Hundreds were accused of practicing witchcraft. Many suspects languished in jail for months. Nineteen men and women were hanged; one was pressed to death. Neighbors turned against neighbors, children informed on their parents, and ministers denounced members of their congregations. How could a settled community turn so viciously against itself? Why were certain persons accused and condemned while others were not? And why did the incidents of Salem occur where and when they did?

Approaching the subject as a legal and social historian, Peter Charles Hoffer offers a fresh look at the Salem outbreak based on recent studies of panic rumors, teen hysteria, child abuse, and intrafamily relations. He brings to life a set of conversations—in taverns and courtrooms, at home and work—which took place among suspected witches, accusers, witnesses, and spectators. The accusations, denials, and confessions of this legal story eventually resurrect the tangled internal tensions that lay at the bottom of the Salem witch hunts.

About the Author: Peter Charles Hoffer is a distinguished research professor of history at the University of Georgia. He is the author of many books, including Sensory Worlds in Early America and Law and People in Colonial America.

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Devil's Disciples: The Makers of the ...
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication Date: 1998
Binding: paperback
Condition: Fair