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[The Forgotten Witches of Boston: A Dark History Before Salem]-[Episode 363: New England Witches]

Morbid · B2 · 2022-09-12

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📋 Summary

The Forgotten Witches of Boston: A Dark History Before Salem

While the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 are the most infamous chapter in American occult history, the Morbid podcast highlights that the persecution of "witches" in Massachusetts began decades earlier. Between 1648 and 1688, four women—Margaret Jones, Alice Lake, Anne Hibbins, and Ann Glover—were executed in Boston and Dorchester, long before the hysteria reached Salem.

The Brutal Reality of "Witch Hunting"

To understand these executions, one must look at the legal and social framework of the 1600s, specifically Michael Dalton’s Country Justice. This text served as a manual for "witch watchers," justifying the violation of personal boundaries. Suspected witches were searched for "devil’s marks"—often just moles, freckles, or bruises—which were claimed to be "insensible and being pricked will not bleed." The presence of a "familiar" (often a house pet) or the possession of clay images were deemed "full fucking proof" of a league with the devil.

The Victims of Misogyny and Superstition

Margaret Jones (1648)

A successful midwife from Charlestown, Jones was accused of witchcraft simply because she was good at her job. When patients failed to recover after refusing her herbal cures, they claimed she had "cursed" them. Despite her pleas that she relied on "anise seed, liquors, et cetera," she was hanged. Her execution coincided with a massive tempest, which locals interpreted as supernatural proof of her guilt rather than a natural weather event.

Alice Lake (1651)

Alice Lake’s tragedy was rooted in profound grief. After losing her infant, she confessed to friends that she saw her baby in her dreams. In the rigid Puritan mindset, this was not a mother’s mourning but a visitation from the devil. Her past history of premarital sex and an unsuccessful abortion were weaponized against her, leading to her execution in Dorchester.

Anne Hibbins (1656)

Anne Hibbins was a wealthy, high-society woman whose "crime" was being too outspoken. After winning a lawsuit against dishonest carpenters who overcharged her, she was excommunicated by her church for being "too loud and opinionated." Years after her husband’s death, her neighbors used her abrasive reputation to frame her for witchcraft, eventually hanging her on Boston Common.

Ann Glover (1688)

Known as "Goody Glover," this Irish widow was a Roman Catholic who struggled with English. When she argued with a neighbor over missing linens, the neighbor’s children began acting out with "fits." Cotton Mather, a central figure in the later Salem trials, interrogated her and dismissed her prayers in Gaelic as "demonic." She was hanged, becoming a martyr for the Catholic faith in Massachusetts.

Conclusion: The Persistence of Spookiness

These women were not practitioners of dark arts; they were victims of a society that feared intelligence, independence, and grief in women. The podcast also explores the legend of "Witch’s Woods" in Beverly, Massachusetts, where local folklore speaks of a "great disappearing farmhouse" and ghostly soldiers. These stories serve as a haunting reminder of how easily fear and superstition can turn a community against its own members.

🎯Key Sentences

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I wonder what neurovirus I'm going to get this year.
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This is the time when it just feels right to do that.
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I'm not infecting everyone, don't worry.
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So get fucking better.
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I'm trying. I'm really trying.
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📝Key Phrases

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dive into
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lurk around
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get the goodies
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race to the finish
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well into it
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📖 Transcript

Hey, weirdos, before we dive into today's twisted tale, let me tell you about a place where the darkness never ends.
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