Salem Witches, Ghosts & Legends

Salem Witches, Ghosts & Legends Ghostly tales abound in the Witch City!

One of the strangest accusations made against Mary Bradbury during the Salem witch trials was that she could transform h...
08/18/2026

One of the strangest accusations made against Mary Bradbury during the Salem witch trials was that she could transform herself into a blue boar. In 1692, a man named John Kimball testified that while riding his horse, he encountered a mysterious blue boar that frightened the animal and caused him to fall. Kimball claimed he later saw the creature again and became convinced that Bradbury had transformed herself into the boar through witchcraft. She was sentenced to hang but managed to escape ex*****on.

Did you know spoiled butter was once used as evidence of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials? When Mary Bradbury wa...
08/17/2026

Did you know spoiled butter was once used as evidence of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials?

When Mary Bradbury was accused in 1692, sailor Samuel Endicott testified that butter he bought from her for a voyage mysteriously turned rancid and became filled with maggots. During the same journey, the ship encountered violent storms and several horses reportedly died, misfortunes Endicott connected to Bradbury and her supposed supernatural powers. The testimony became part of the case against Bradbury, who was eventually convicted of witchcraft and sentenced to hang—although she escaped ex*****on and survived the hysteria.

Philip and Mary English were among the wealthiest residents of Salem when they were accused of witchcraft in 1692. Phili...
08/15/2026

Philip and Mary English were among the wealthiest residents of Salem when they were accused of witchcraft in 1692. Philip was a successful merchant and landowner, while Mary belonged to the prominent Hollingsworth family, but their wealth could not protect them from the hysteria. Both were arrested and imprisoned in Boston, where they faced the possibility of ex*****on. Before they could be tried, however, the couple managed to escape and flee to New York, where they remained until the witchcraft panic subsided. They eventually returned to Salem and recovered much of their property, making them two of the fortunate few who escaped both the jail and the gallows during the Salem witch trials.

In the late 1800s, a mysterious woman living along the Yazoo River in Yazoo City, Mississippi, was accused of witchcraft...
08/12/2026

In the late 1800s, a mysterious woman living along the Yazoo River in Yazoo City, Mississippi, was accused of witchcraft and luring fishermen to their deaths. When authorities chased her into the swamp, she became trapped in quicksand and, as she sank, cursed Yazoo City, promising to return in 20 years. She was reportedly buried in Glenwood Cemetery, where chains were placed around her grave to contain her spirit.

On May 25, 1904, a devastating fire swept through Yazoo City, destroying more than 200 homes and much of the business district. When townspeople visited the witch’s grave afterward, legend says they discovered the heavy chains mysteriously broken.

The Four-Year-Old Accused of WitchcraftThe youngest person accused during the Salem witch trials was Dorcas Good, the da...
08/11/2026

The Four-Year-Old Accused of Witchcraft

The youngest person accused during the Salem witch trials was Dorcas Good, the daughter of accused witch Sarah Good. Dorcas was only four or five years old when she was arrested in March 1692 and questioned by authorities, who claimed the frightened child confessed to being a witch and described a small snake as her familiar. She was imprisoned for roughly eight months, while her mother was convicted and hanged that July. Dorcas eventually survived the trials and was released, but her father later petitioned the government for compensation, saying that the ordeal had left his young daughter permanently traumatized and unable to care for herself.

In Hampton, New Hampshire, Eunice “Goody” Cole became the only person convicted of witchcraft in the state’s history aft...
08/10/2026

In Hampton, New Hampshire, Eunice “Goody” Cole became the only person convicted of witchcraft in the state’s history after neighbors accused her in 1656. She was imprisoned in Boston before eventually returning to Hampton, where suspicion and accusations followed her for the rest of her life, despite being acquitted at another trial in 1673. Nearly three centuries later, Hampton residents sought to restore her reputation, ceremonially burning copies of her court records in 1938 and restoring her citizenship. In 1963, a sculpted boulder was placed on the town green near the site of her former home.

In Tennessee’s history, only one witch trial is known to have taken place. In 1835, Fentress County residents accused el...
08/09/2026

In Tennessee’s history, only one witch trial is known to have taken place. In 1835, Fentress County residents accused elderly recluse Joseph Stout of witchcraft. Stout lived alone near the Obed River, reading books on philosophy and rarely attending church. Rumors claimed he cast spells and could transform into smoke and slip through keyholes. When a local girl became mysteriously ill, her father blamed Stout, and a group of armed men carrying silver bullets dragged him from his cabin to face charges.

Stout was sent before Circuit Court Judge Abraham Caruthers, but Attorney General John B. McCormick refused to prosecute, and the court ruled that English witchcraft laws had no authority in Tennessee. Stout then sued the men who had assaulted him—and won. Locals whispered that he had bewitched the court, and legend claimed that whenever the old “warlock” came to town afterward, he would finish his business and vanish in a cloud of smoke.

Nearly two centuries after the Salem witch trials of 1692, Salem found itself at the center of another witch trial. In 1...
08/09/2026

Nearly two centuries after the Salem witch trials of 1692, Salem found itself at the center of another witch trial. In 1878, Lucretia Brown, a follower of Mary Baker Eddy and the emerging Christian Science movement, accused former Civil War soldier Daniel Spofford of using malicious mental or mesmeric powers to cause her physical suffering. Encouraged by Eddy, Brown took Spofford to court, essentially asking a judge to stop him from harming her through the power of his mind. Spofford didn't even appear, and the court quickly dismissed the complaint, ruling that it had no authority to control another person's thoughts and citing defects in the case. It sas America's last witchcraft trial.

Years before she was accused of witchcraft, Martha Carrier became one of the most feared women in Andover, Massachusetts...
08/07/2026

Years before she was accused of witchcraft, Martha Carrier became one of the most feared women in Andover, Massachusetts, because many neighbors blamed her family for bringing smallpox to the town. Although there is no evidence she intentionally spread the disease, the deadly outbreak left her with a lasting reputation that made her an easy target when the Salem witch trials began in 1692. Prosecutors portrayed her as the leader of the witches, and Cotton Mather famously called her the “Queen of Hell.” Refusing to confess, Martha maintained her innocence until she was hanged on August 19, 1692.

When Bridget Bishop stood trial during the Salem witch trials, one of the most damaging pieces of evidence against her h...
08/07/2026

When Bridget Bishop stood trial during the Salem witch trials, one of the most damaging pieces of evidence against her had nothing to do with spells or apparitions. A panel of women was ordered to search her body for a "witch's teat," a blemish, mole, or extra ni**le that Puritans believed witches used to nurse their demonic familiars. The women reported finding such a mark, seemingly confirming Bishop's guilt. Yet when they returned for a second examination, the supposed witch's teat had disappeared. Despite the contradictory evidence, the court ignored the inconsistency, and Bishop became the first person hanged during the Salem witch trials on June 10, 1692.

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