9 New Witchcraft Suspects and Thomas Putnam's Cryptic Letter

Nine New Accused and Thomas Putnam’s “Wheel Within a Wheel” Letter (April 21, 1692)We race through April 21, 1692 as accusations explode with nine new witchcraft suspects—William and Deliverance Hobbs, Nehemiah Abbott Jr., Mary Esty, Sarah Wildes, Edward Bishop Jr., Sarah Bishop, Mary Black, and Mary English—pushing the total accused to 23 and prompting Hathorne and Corwin to issue arrest warrants for examination at Ingersoll’s Ordinary. We also follow the chaotic jail questioning of Mary Warren as her story shifts about the Proctors, the “book,” coercion, fits, spectral pressure, and an alleged greenish ointment tied to the Bassett family. Elsewhere, Samuel Appleton summons witnesses in the Rachel Clinton matter. The day’s strangest turn is Thomas Putnam’s dramatic, scripture-laced letter to Corwin and Hathorne—widely read as aimed at George Burroughs—invoking “a wheel within a wheel” and “ears shall tingle.”00:00 Nine New Accused00:39 Meet the Suspects03:19 Arrest Warrants Issued03:55 Mary Warren Recants06:25 Spectral Evidence Debate07:14 Poppets and Ointment08:03 Other Court Business08:26 Putnam’s Bizarre Letter09:05 Biblical Clues and Burroughs