Blaming the Towne Sisters for the Death of a Putnam Baby: Salem Witch Trials Daily April 13, 1692

We’re back in Salem on Wednesday, April 13, 1692, pulling today’s report straight from sworn testimony and depositions. Abigail Williams’s records place Martha Cory, Elizabeth Procter, and Rebecca Nurse among the specters said to torment her—dragging, pinching, choking, and pressuring her to sign the Devil’s book, with lurid details like Procter nearly pulling her bowels out and Nurse urging her toward the fire, plus a claim of seeing Nurse at a witches’ sabbath beside a man in a high-crowned hat. Ann Putnam Jr. adds fresh accusations against Giles Cory and Abigail Hobbs for beating, biting, choking, and coercion to sign. The stakes turn personal as John Putnam Jr. recounts his two-month-old daughter’s violent fits, a doctor’s conclusion of an “evil hand,” and a prolonged, cruel death.00:00 Welcome and Date00:14 Sources and Records00:24 Abigail Williams Afflictions00:57 Spectral Attacks Described01:30 Ann Putnam Jr Targeted01:49 Putnam Infant Falls Ill02:46 Tragic Death Account