The Devil in New England: Witch Belief and Witch Trials in the 17th century

The Torrington Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) organization which offers exhibits, tours, educational programs and historical research for people of all ages. The Society operates the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum, the Torrington History Museum and the John H. Thompson Research Library and Archives. The Society’s mission is to build a sense of community and a foundation for the future through the preservation and understanding of our shared past.

Torrington Historical Society

An exploration of witch trials over four decades before the Salem witch trials and the way popular culture has represented that dark history

When most people think about historic American witch trials, it is Salem Massachusetts that comes to mind. With good reason; in 1692-3, the Massachusetts courts sentenced 19 people to hang and tortured a 20th to death. Others died in Jail. But dozens and perhaps hundreds of people were tried for witchcraft in New England beginning over four decades before the Salem witch trials. Many of those trials occurred in Connecticut. At least sixteen people in Connecticut and Massachusetts were executed for the crime of witchcraft, most of them women. This program will explore those trials and consider the ways that popular culture has represented that dark history.Leslie Lindenauer is a Professor in the Department of History, Philosophy, and World Perspectives at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury Connecticut, where she teaches courses in early American history, public history and museum studies, the American Revolution, local history, and gender studies. She holds an A.B. from Brown University, and an MA and PhD from New York University. She is currently working on an article examining the mythologies inherent in popular representations of early American witch trials. Her book I Could Not Call Her Mother: The Stepmother in American Popular Culture, 1750-1960 was published by Lexington Books.