From Witch Cakes to Blood Wine: The Flavor of the Salem Witch Trials

Sarah Good’s final words to the minister who demanded her confession—”God will give you blood to drink”—would echo through Salem long after her death. In a community where everyday foods like butter, bread, and pudding became evidence of witchcraft, the line between nourishment and damnation blurred beyond recognition. Explore how Salem’s fears transformed the most basic human need into suspicions of a pact with the devil, from spoiled butter that doomed a sea voyage to cheese found in an accused witch’s pocket.

Links

Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project

Massachusetts Court of Oyer and Terminer Documents, ⁠The Salem Witch Trials Collection, Peabody Essex Museum

Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt

The Thing About Salem YouTube

⁠The Thing About Salem Patreon

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts YouTube⁠⁠

The Thing About Witch Hunts Website

Transcript

Read the full transcript of “From Witch Cakes to Blood Wine: The Flavor of the Salem Witch Trials” here or download the file below.