EPISODE · Apr 5, 2026 · 7 MIN
Blood Pudding, Unidentified Flying Objects, and the Miraculous Recovery of Mary Fuller: Salem Witch Trials Daily April 4, 1692
from Salem Witch Trials Daily · host Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack
April 4, 1692We walk through the latest developments in the Salem Witch-Hunt, as new testimony and complaints target recent suspects. We cover a reported spectral attack involving the shape of John Proctor afflicting Abigail Williams, then dig into multiple depositions against Rachel Clinton, including claims of meetinghouse disturbances, strange animal apparitions, a mysterious loss of beer, and a tense late-night confrontation followed by an apparent affliction and near-death of Betty Fuller. We also examine Mercy Lewis’s statements about being bitten, pinched, choked, and urged to “write in a book,” attributed to the shape of four-year-old Dorothy Good and to Sarah Osburn. Finally, we follow new complaints filed against Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor, including an early mention of John Indian among the afflicted.00:00 April 4 Overview00:23 Proctor Spectral Attack00:38 Boarman vs Clinton01:49 Beer Barrel Curse02:56 Edwards Livestock Losses04:38 Fuller Night Visit06:10 Dorothy Good Accusation06:34 Osburn Book Pressure06:54 New Complaint Filed07:19 Afflicted List UpdateA Brief and True Narrative by Deodat Lawson: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A49794.0001.001/1:3?rgn=div1;view=fulltextSign the petition to exonerate Massachusetts witch trial victims: https://change.org/witchtrialsFind My Massachusetts Legislators: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislatorThe Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCliis4vjMIUgg3wcA0pXeYQ/Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub: https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/The Thing About Salem: https://aboutsalem.comThe Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.comMary Beth Norton, In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780375706905Bernard Rosenthal, ed., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781107689619Emerson W. Baker, A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780190627805Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781589791329High Quality Scans of the Original Court Documents -Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection: https://pem.quartexcollections.com/collections/salem-witch-trials-collection
What this episode covers
April 4, 1692We walk through the latest developments in the Salem Witch-Hunt, as new testimony and complaints target recent suspects. We cover a reported spectral attack involving the shape of John Proctor afflicting Abigail Williams, then dig into multiple depositions against Rachel Clinton, including claims of meetinghouse disturbances, strange animal apparitions, a mysterious loss of beer, and a tense late-night confrontation followed by an apparent affliction and near-death of Betty Fuller. We also examine Mercy Lewis’s statements about being bitten, pinched, choked, and urged to “write in a book,” attributed to the shape of four-year-old Dorothy Good and to Sarah Osburn. Finally, we follow new complaints filed against Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor, including an early mention of John Indian among the afflicted.00:00 April 4 Overview00:23 Proctor Spectral Attack00:38 Boarman vs Clinton01:49 Beer Barrel Curse02:56 Edwards Livestock Losses04:38 Fuller Night Visit06:10 Dorothy Good Accusation06:34 Osburn Book Pressure06:54 New Complaint Filed07:19 Afflicted List UpdateA Brief and True Narrative by Deodat Lawson: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A49794.0001.001/1:3?rgn=div1;view=fulltextSign the petition to exonerate Massachusetts witch trial victims: https://change.org/witchtrialsFind My Massachusetts Legislators: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislatorThe Thing About Witch Hunts / About Salem YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCliis4vjMIUgg3wcA0pXeYQ/Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub: https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/The Thing About Salem: https://aboutsalem.comThe Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.comMary Beth Norton, In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780375706905Bernard Rosenthal, ed., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781107689619Emerson W. Baker, A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780190627805Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781589791329High Quality Scans of the Original Court Documents -Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection: https://pem.quartexcollections.com/collections/salem-witch-trials-collection
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Blood Pudding, Unidentified Flying Objects, and the Miraculous Recovery of Mary Fuller: Salem Witch Trials Daily April 4, 1692
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