The Salem Witch Trials and Robert Eggers’ The Witch

Show Notes

We compare Robert Eggers’ 2015 film The Witch to 17th-century New England witchcraft folklore and the 1692 Salem Witch Trials court transcripts, showing
how Caleb’s climactic deathbed scene reflects the content of witness testimony. From hag-riding to animal familiars and a folk test for witchcraft, this scene is packed with elements straight from witch trials.

We link Caleb’s final words and actions with accounts from figures such as Tituba, Abigail Hobbs, Mary Warren, and Susannah Sheldon.

Chapters

• 00:00 Film Meets Salem
• 00:58 Caleb Returns Afflicted
• 02:36 Satanic Familiars
• 03:44 Pointing at Specters
• 05:08 Courtroom Fits Evidence
• 07:09 Poison Apple Blood
• 09:02 Violence and Black Phillip
• 12:37 Catatonia Folk Remedies
• 14:53 Rapture and Election
• 18:38 Lord’s Prayer Test
• 20:59 Death by Bewitchment
• 21:49 Wrap Up and Where Next

Links

• Salem Witch-Hunt Facebook Page
• Salem Witch Trials History YouTube
• The Thing About the Salem Witch Trials
• Salem Witch Trials Daily
• The Thing About Witch Hunts

Transcript