EPISODE · May 26, 2026 · 1 MIN
New Witch Specters from Distant Communities: May 26, 1692
from Salem Witch Trials Daily · host Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack
Today was a fast day across the Massachusetts colony. Essex County Marshall George Herrick and Constable Joseph Neal saw several people be afflicted by supposed specters. Mary Walcott, Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, and a Mrs. Mary Marshall of Reading, who was reported as afflicted for the very first time, claimed that Mary Bradbury of Salisbury, Sarah Rice of Reading, Wilmot Redd of Marblehead, and Elizabeth Fosdick of Malden had harmed them through witchcraft. Mrs. Mary Marshall, the wife of Edward Marshall of Reading, likely knew Sarah Rice, who was from the same town. But the Salem Village afflicted, on the other hand, expanded their net to include people they'd never met in communities distant from their home. And today, May 26th is significant, because in 1647, the very first person in the American colonies was hanged for witchcraft. That was Alice Young of Windsor, Connecticut. She was executed in Hartford, May 26th, 1647. It's up to all of us to remember Alice Young. As you may know, Connecticut does not have a witch memorial for the state. So any tribute that you're able to offer her in her name, remembering the day that she died, helps honor her innocence.
What this episode covers
Today was a fast day across the Massachusetts colony. Essex County Marshall George Herrick and Constable Joseph Neal saw several people be afflicted by supposed specters. Mary Walcott, Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, and a Mrs. Mary Marshall of Reading, who was reported as afflicted for the very first time, claimed that Mary Bradbury of Salisbury, Sarah Rice of Reading, Wilmot Redd of Marblehead, and Elizabeth Fosdick of Malden had harmed them through witchcraft. Mrs. Mary Marshall, the wife of Edward Marshall of Reading, likely knew Sarah Rice, who was from the same town. But the Salem Village afflicted, on the other hand, expanded their net to include people they'd never met in communities distant from their home. And today, May 26th is significant, because in 1647, the very first person in the American colonies was hanged for witchcraft. That was Alice Young of Windsor, Connecticut. She was executed in Hartford, May 26th, 1647. It's up to all of us to remember Alice Young. As you may know, Connecticut does not have a witch memorial for the state. So any tribute that you're able to offer her in her name, remembering the day that she died, helps honor her innocence.
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New Witch Specters from Distant Communities: May 26, 1692
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