COVE

The document above is the examination order of Bridget Bishop, who was later one of the first townsfolk executed as mentioned by Cotton Mather in “Wonders of the Invisible World” (Mather). During the examination, which was recorded by John Hauthorn and  Jonath: Corwin Esq'rs, "spectral evidence" was the primary source of information to prove Bishop guilty. Bishop mentions never seeing the four to five people who accused her of being a witch, and even that she does not know what a witch is; to which the judge says: "How can you know, you are no Witch, & yet not know what a Witch is?" (SWP No.013).  Ironically, it seems as if the judge is playing devil’s advocate during the examination to get Bridget to confess to witchcraft. The entirety of the examination seems faulty in hindsight, yet it only seemed to excite the residents of Salem. As Mather mentions, “The execution of the washerwoman, Bridget Bishop, had greatly increased the excitement; and people in a more respectable position began to be accused” (Mather). This lead the people of Salem to begin to convict others based upon social status; whether they were jealous of a position someone held or simply did not think highly of someone, it did not matter to the accusers. This left the town spiraling in conspiracies and by the time the trials were over, 19 were left dead and many others imprisoned (Wallenfeldt).

Bridget was only the beginning of the downward spiral in which we now know as the Salem Witch Trails. Mass hysteria soon filled the town of Salem and greed began to take over the people. The results: 19 casualties, families brutally tore apart, and a period of chaos which lives on to this day. When faced with troubling time, the people of Salem turned against each other which resulted in mass chaos. Mathers and Bridget’s examination confirm the presence of a scapegoat -- witchcraft -- which caused a troubling time that Americans will remember forever.

“Bridget Bishop Home and Orchards, Site Of.” Salem Witch Museum, 2 Mar. 2021, salemwitchmuseum.com/locations/bridget-bishop-home-and-orchards-site-of/#:~:text=There%20was%20gossip%20that%20she,neighbors%20now%20testified%20against%20her.

Mather, Cotton. “The Wonders of the Invisible World. Being an Account of the Tryals of Several Witches Lately Executed in New-England.” The Project Gutenberg E-Book of The Wonders of the Invisible World, 6 Apr. 2009, www.gutenberg.org/files/28513/28513-h/28513-h.htm#Page_3.

“SWP No. 013: Bridget Bishop Executed, June 10, 1692.” SWP No. 013: Bridget Bishop Executed, June 10, 1692 - New Salem - Pelican, salem.lib.virginia.edu/n13.html. Accessed 2 May 2024.

Wallenfeldt, Jeff. “Salem Witch Trials.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 29 Mar. 2024, www.britannica.com/event/Salem-witch-trials.