Today in Salem: The cruel magistrate John Hathorne is sweeping the breakfast crumbs from his desk, preparing to sign eleven more arrest warrants.
Hathorne has just returned from Boston, where he’s seen firsthand the dire situation in the overcrowded jails. More precisely, they’ve heard about it. Seeing it would have required walking into the overwhelming filth of the prison, where the the vermin are running free, the air is indescribably foul, and the wails and shouting are beyond imagining.
Witches deserve no better, though, so he orders all eleven of them to be arrested. Three of them have especially damning accusations:
The outcast Martha Carrier brought smallpox to the town of Andover, where 13 people died (including several members of her family). She and her husband have been pariahs ever since.
The neighborly Elizabeth How has a pleasantly ordinary life except for one long-standing accusation from a neighbor whose 10-year-old daughter died. The girl had convulsions, felt like she was being pricked by pins, and said – just once – that she wouldn’t treat a dog the way Elizabeth How treated her.
The crabby Wilmot Redd is widely reviled. She sells butter and milk that’s moldy and sour, and curses her neighbors mightily when they object. (She even caused severe constipation in revenge for a neighbor’s complaint.) Worse: she’s threatened children repeatedly. No one feels a twinge of concern on her behalf when they hear she’s been accused.
WHO was Elizabeth How?
Age 55, née Jackson. Married to James How, who was fully blind, and had six known children. Compared to many people, Elizabeth was thought to be friendly and a good neighbor. During her trial, at least twelve people testified on her behalf.
Elizabeth’s accusers fell into two camps: first, a family whose ten-year-old daughter was very sick, and claimed that Elizabeth’s specter was to blame. She took back her accusation, but after two or three years of illness, the girl died, and her parents continued to hold Elizabeth accountable.
Second, church members who then suspected her of witchcraft and wouldn’t let her join the church. Their gossip increased the number and fervency of accusations. Case files: Elizabeth How
Elizabeth How’s descendants include British fashion designer Alexander McQueen.
WHO was Wilmot Redd?
Age around 55. Redd had a reputation for being ornery and unlikeable. Case files: Wilmot Redd
Tomorrow in Salem: A TANGLED WEB: an afflicted girl lies, again and again