The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England

392 Pages·1998·6.387 MB·English

by  Carol F. Karlsen

The Devil
in the Shape of a Woman
Also by Carol F. Karlsen
The Journal of Esther Edwards Burr, 1754—1757
(ed., with Laurie Crumpacker) (1984)
The Devil
in the Shape
of a Woman
WITCHCRAFT IN
COLONIAL NEW ENGLAND
CAROL F. KARLSEN
W W NORTON & COMPANY
New York Landon
Copyright © 1998, 1987 by Carol F. Karlsen
All rights reserved.
First published as a Norton paperback 1998
The text of this book is composed in ITC New Baskerville,
with display type set in ITC New Baskerville.
Composition and manufacturing by the Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group.
Book design by Jacques Chazaud.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
ISBN O-393-31759-5
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10110
http://www.wwnorton.com
W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., 10 Coptic Street, London WCiA iPU
123456789°
For Alice, Kate, and Tess
In memoriam

Contents
Preface xi
One New England’s Witchcraft Beliefs i
Two The Demographic Basis of Witchcraft 46
Three The Economic Basis of Witchcraft 77
Four Handmaidens of the Devil 117
Five Handmaidens of the Lord 155
Six New England’s Well-ordered Society 182
Seven Brands Plucked Out of the Burning 222
Epilogue 255
Afterword to the Norton Paperback Edition 259
Appendix: List of Accused Witches 267
Notes 275
Index 553
vii

Tables
i. Sex of Witches in Non-outbreak Witchcraft Cases,
New England, 1620-1725 48
2. Sex of Witches, in Outbreak Witchcraft Cases,
New England, 1620-1725 49
3. Sex of Witches, by Individual Outbreak,
New England, 1620-1725 51
4. Age of Female Witches, New England, 1620-1725 64
5. Female Witches under Forty, New England,
1620-1725 65
6. Female Witches over Forty, New England,
1620-1725 66
7. Age Groups, Female Witches over Forty,
New England, 1620-1725 67
8. Proportionate Representation among Female
Witches of Women between Forty and Fifty-nine and
Women over Sixty by Community Age Structure,
New England, 1620—1725 70
9. Marital Status of Female Witches, New England,
1620-1725 72
10. Proportionate Representation among Female
Witches of Married Women over Thirty and Women
Alone over Thirty, New England, 1620-1725 74
ix
X TABLES
ii. Female Witches by Presence or Absence of
Brothers or Sons, New England, 1620-1725 (A) 102
12. Female Witches by Presence or Absence of
Brothers or Sons, New England, 1620-1725 (B) roj
13. Non-possessed Accusers by Sex and Age, New
England, 1620-1725 184
14. Non-possessed Accusers by Sex and Marital
Status, New England, 1620-1725 185
15. Relative Inheritances of Daughters and Younger
Sons as Revealed in Wills, Salem, Massachusetts,
1651-1700 209
16. Patterns of Widow Inheritance, Salem,
Massachusetts, 1638—1700 210
17. Wills and Intestate Cases by Sex of Estate Holder,
Salem, Massachusetts, 1638-1650 211
18. Possessed Accusers by Sex and Age, New England,
1620-1725 224
19. Possessed Accusers by Sex and Marital Status,
New England, 1620-1725 224
A. Age Groups, Male Witches, New England,
1620—1725 291
B. Marital Status of Male Witches, New England,
1620-1725 293
C. Prosecutions for Sexual Offenses, Essex County,
Massachusetts, 1636—1700 329