In this episode of The Thing About Salem, co-hosts Sarah Jack and Josh Hutchinson examine one of the most invasive and degrading practices used during the Salem Witch Trials: the search for witch's marks and devil's teats. Discover how this invented "evidence" was used to convict innocent people—including the hosts' ancestors.What You'll Learn:The Origins of Witch Mark TheoryHow English legal writers like Michael Dalton (1618) and William Perkins created detailed instructions for finding "devil's marks"Why Richard Bernard claimed these marks appeared in "secretest parts" requiring invasive searchesThe shocking truth: none of this evidence appears in the BibleFamiliar Spirits in SalemCotton Mather's definition of familiar spirits as "devils in bodily shapes"Strange creatures described in testimony: hairless cats with human ears, rooster-monkey hybrids, and hairy upright beingsHow these supposed demons were believed to feed from witch's teatsThe Salem ExaminationsDocumented searches of accused witches including Rebecca Nurse, Bridget Bishop, and Elizabeth ProcterGeorge Jacobs Sr.'s brutal examination with pins driven through his fleshFour-year-old Dorothy Good's traumatic examination and the "flea bite" used as evidenceWhy some marks disappeared between examinations—and what that tells usDehumanizing PracticesThe invasive nature of stripping and examining prisoners in their "most intimate areas"How postpartum scarring from childbirth was twisted into evidence of witchcraftWhy the Court of Oyer and Terminer convicted all 27 people tried in 1692—whether marks were found or notModern Connections As Robert Calef pointed out in More Wonders of the Invisible World, witch marks weren't biblical—they were man-made tests designed to find guilt. This pattern continues in modern witch hunts worldwide, where accusers still decide what constitutes "evidence" against innocent victims.Perfect for listeners interested in:Salem Witch Trials historyColonial American historyWrongful convictions and false evidenceWomen's history and bodily autonomyModern witch hunts and human rightsHistorical witchcraft accusationsLegal history and justice reformFeatured Historical Sources:William Perkins, A Discourse of the Damned Art of WitchcraftMichael Dalton, The Countrey Justice (1618)Richard Bernard, The Certainty of the World of SpiritsCotton Mather, Wonders of the Invisible WorldRobert Calef, More Wonders of the Invisible WorldDeodat Lawson, A Brief and True NarrativeOriginal Salem Witch Trial examination recordsAbout the Hosts: Sarah Jack and Josh Hutchinson are descendants of Salem witch trial victims and co-founders of End Witch Hunts, a nonprofit addressing modern witch hunts globally. Together, they co-host The Thing About Salem and The Thing About Witch Hunts (265+ episodes).Related Episodes: [Links to episodes about Rebecca Nurse, Mary Easty, familiar spirits, spectral evidence, etc.]Support Our Work: Learn more about modern witch hunts and how to help at EndWitchHunts.orgLinksSalem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription ProjectMassachusetts Court of Oyer and Terminer Documents, ⁠The Salem Witch Trials Collection, Peabody Essex MuseumRecords of the Salem Witch-HuntThe Thing About Salem Website⁠The Thing About Salem and The Thing About Witch Hunts YouTube⁠⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts WebsiteSign the Petition: MA Witch Hunt Justice Project www.massachusettswitchtrials.orgSupport the nonprofit End Witch Hunts Podcasts and Projects

Ver todos los episodios