Afflicted Mercy Lewis Visits a Multitude in Glittering Robes: Salem Witch Trials Daily April 1, 1692

In our April 1, 1692 episode of Salem Witch Trials Daily, we explore how the afflictions continue to mislead people in Salem and nearby communities through the reported testimony of Mercy Lewis. We recount her vivid description of being taken to a “glorious place” filled with light, where she saw a multitude in white robes singing from Revelation 5:9, Psalm 110, and Psalm 149—passages we connect to the religious climate of the moment, including Samuel Parris’s recent focus on Psalm 110. We also follow Mercy’s reluctance to leave the vision and discuss Deodat Lawson’s report that a recurring “white man” foretold the timing of future fits, which he claimed happened as predicted.00:00 April Fools Intro00:30 Mercy Lewis Vision01:02 Revelation New Song01:20 Psalm 110 Footstool02:09 Parris Sermon Context02:28 Psalm 149 Vengeance03:19 Lawson Closing NoteSign the petition to exonerate Massachusetts witch trial victimsFind My Massachusetts LegislatorsThe Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub⁠The Thing About Salem⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts⁠Mary Beth Norton, In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692Bernard Rosenthal, ed., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt⁠Emerson W. Baker, A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience⁠Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under SiegePeabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection