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Jun 18, 2025 1 hr

52. Before Salem: The Devil in Springfield

from Into The Fog with Peter Laws Hosted by Peter Laws

Send us Fan Mail Long before the Salem Witch Trials gripped the world’s imagination, another true story of witchcraft unfolded in the shadows of early America… and almost no one talks about it. In this episode of Into the Fog, we travel back to 1651, to the Puritan town of Springfield, Massachusetts, where a man named Hugh Parsons was accused of witchcraft—and his wife, Mary, would soon accuse him of consorting with the Devil. What began as whispers about cursed milk and phantom visions soon spiraled into one of the most disturbing—and forgotten—witchcraft cases in early New England. Was there truly something evil in the woods…? Special thanks to historian and author Malcolm Gaskill, whose extraordinary book The Ruin of All Witches inspired this episode. Malcolm also kindly supplied several historical photographs that appear throughout the video. You can read the full story in his book 'The Ruin of All Witches' https://www.amazon.com/Ruin-All-Witch... All Music is licensed via Epidemic Sound and Artlist. For more on Peter Laws check out: www.patreon.com/peterlaws or www.peterlaws.co.uk

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