EPISODE · Mar 30, 2026 · 3 MIN
Witchcraft suspect arrested by the man who accused her of hurting his daughter
from Salem Witch Trials Daily · host Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack
In our March 29, 1692 episode, we track escalating turmoil in Salem Village and Ipswich as Elizabeth Proctor’s specter is said to assault Abigail Williams and Mercy Lewis, and Samuel Nurse and John Tarbell address the prior day’s dispute at the Putnam house over who named Rebecca Nurse as Ann Putnam Jr.’s spectral attacker. We also follow the Essex County Court session in Ipswich, where routine cases mixed with a serious rape accusation against Mordecai Larkin, drawing testimony from two of Sarah Good’s sisters. The court appointed new constables, including Joseph Fuller, and we examine the missing witchcraft complaint against Rachel Clinton—known only through a warrant—along with her same-day arrest and overnight custody. We close by noting how required prosecution bonds were often not collected in witchcraft cases, making accusations dangerously easy.00:00 Welcome and Date00:26 Spectral Attack Reported00:33 Putnam House Finger Pointing00:50 Ipswich Court Session01:02 Mordecai Larkin Case01:16 Constables and Missing Complaint02:03 Rachel Clinton Warrant Details02:26 Bonds and Easy Accusations03:01 No Bond for Earlier ArrestsLinksSign 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
What this episode covers
In our March 29, 1692 episode, we track escalating turmoil in Salem Village and Ipswich as Elizabeth Proctor’s specter is said to assault Abigail Williams and Mercy Lewis, and Samuel Nurse and John Tarbell address the prior day’s dispute at the Putnam house over who named Rebecca Nurse as Ann Putnam Jr.’s spectral attacker. We also follow the Essex County Court session in Ipswich, where routine cases mixed with a serious rape accusation against Mordecai Larkin, drawing testimony from two of Sarah Good’s sisters. The court appointed new constables, including Joseph Fuller, and we examine the missing witchcraft complaint against Rachel Clinton—known only through a warrant—along with her same-day arrest and overnight custody. We close by noting how required prosecution bonds were often not collected in witchcraft cases, making accusations dangerously easy.00:00 Welcome and Date00:26 Spectral Attack Reported00:33 Putnam House Finger Pointing00:50 Ipswich Court Session01:02 Mordecai Larkin Case01:16 Constables and Missing Complaint02:03 Rachel Clinton Warrant Details02:26 Bonds and Easy Accusations03:01 No Bond for Earlier ArrestsLinksSign 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
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Witchcraft suspect arrested by the man who accused her of hurting his daughter
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