Let’s start this summary with a sincere moment of silence for the once-unruly Bridget Bishop, who was hanged yesterday.

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Bridget Bishop was a real person. But what do we know about her? Was she tiny like a peckish bird? Or pleasantly round? Could she carry a tune, or whistle like a chickadee, or did she leave that foolishness to others? Was she an impatient seamstress? Who was she?

We only know what the records tell us: that she was about 60 years old, give or take. That she came to the New World when she was in her 20s, so probably spoke with a trace of a British accent. That she’d had a violently abusive marriage, and did her share of punching and shouting. That when their father disinherited them, her stepsons accused of her of witchcraft, and her neighbors disliked her enough to testify against her.

In the last ten days, Bridget was tried, physically examined in the most humiliating way, then hanged. One judge was so appalled by the proceedings that he resigned. The people of Salem, though, celebrated. Today a stunned silence has descended. Tomorrow the witchcraft hysteria will continue.

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Tomorrow in Salem: ABANDONED: the minister George Burrough’s children