January 1-4, 2026
Welcome to Week 1 of Salem Witch Trials Daily! Whether you’re working through the full course or just following along, this is where it all begins.
We’re covering the events of 1692-1693 day by day, following the actual timeline. This week sets the foundation for understanding how America’s largest witch panic could happen.
This Week’s Content
Daily Videos (Salem Witch Trials Daily YouTube Playlist)
- January 1: Introduction to Salem Witch Trials Daily
- January 2: Five Contributing Factors
- January 3: The History of Massachusetts
- January 4: Salem’s Founding
Weekly Podcast
The Thing About Salem: “What harm were Salem’s supposed witches actually accused of causing?”
The Scope of the Salem Witch Trials
The Salem Witch Trials produced at least 156 formal accusations, 30 convictions, and 20 executions. Some sources suggest accusers named more than 200 people as witches, though not all were prosecuted. It started in mid-January 1692 in the household of Salem Village Minister Samuel Parris. His nine-year-old daughter Betty and eleven-year-old niece Abigail Williams began behaving strangely. They barked like dogs, quacked like ducks, and flapped around like geese pretending to fly. Doctors couldn’t diagnose what was wrong. Strangely, Betty and Abigail were the only ones in a household of eight to exhibit these symptoms. The parents didn’t get sick. Betty’s siblings didn’t get sick. One of the enslaved individuals in the household, John Indian, eventually showed symptoms, but not right away. This mysterious illness in the minister’s house would spark a panic that consumed the colony.
Five Factors That Created the Perfect Storm
Universal Belief in Witchcraft: Belief in witchcraft was nearly universal in 1692. Even trial critics didn’t refute the existence of witches. Those defending accused witches believed in witchcraft. This wasn’t just a Puritan thing or a Massachusetts thing. It was universal across Europe and the colonies, regardless of denomination.
War and Sickness: King Philip’s War in the 1670s was the deadliest war per capita in what is now the United States. King William’s War was being fought in the 1690s in northern New England. War brought trauma, death, and displacement. A smallpox outbreak accompanied King William’s War. Soldiers attempting to invade Quebec came home sick, bringing smallpox with them. This epidemic would later factor into witchcraft accusations.
Economic Collapse: The wars ravaged the economy. Colonial debt was massive. Massachusetts started printing money for the first time to pay war costs. Taxes were high, burdening residents already suffering direct financial losses from the wars. Property destruction, loss of income, and economic precarity created anxiety.
Social Tensions: War refugees flooded into Massachusetts, particularly Essex County where Salem is located. This influx of displaced people heightened existing tensions between neighbors. Economic precarity amplified conflicts.
Religious Anxieties: Many Massachusetts ministers felt the colony was spiritually backsliding. By 1692, this was the third and fourth generation since the founders. Ministers believed the current generation lacked the strong faith of those who first settled in the 1620s and 1630s. Locally in Salem Village, intense controversy surrounded Minister Samuel Parris. For two decades, the community squabbled over ministers. No one lasted more than a few years. In 1692, at least half the community opposed Parris.
These five factors created an environment ripe for panic.
Massachusetts: From Native Land to Colonial Crisis
For more than 10,000 years, Native Americans occupied what is now Massachusetts. In the 16th century, Europeans came to fish and trap game. A series of epidemics from 1616 to 1619 decimated the coastal native population where contact with disease-carrying Europeans was common. English colonists tried several settlements before the Mayflower pilgrims successfully established Plymouth Colony in 1620. In 1626, Roger Conant founded Salem at Naumkeag, a former Native American settlement. The name means “fishing place.”
In 1628, the Massachusetts Bay Company founded Massachusetts Bay Colony. King Charles I issued a charter in 1629 allowing the colony to govern itself. Boston was founded in 1630 and became the colonial capital, displacing Salem. The 1630s brought massive immigration. About 20,000 Europeans poured into New England, creating new towns around Salem. Between 1648 and 1691, Massachusetts prosecuted many witchcraft cases. Eight people were convicted, five were executed, and two women were jailed or placed under house arrest.
In 1684, King James II revoked Massachusetts’s charter, throwing the colony into disarray. Two years later, he established the Dominion of New England, a supercolony running from New Jersey to Nova Scotia under one royal governor, Edmund Andros. Andros was unpopular and harsh. When the Glorious Revolution happened in England in 1688 (King William and Queen Mary taking the throne from James II), colonists stormed Boston’s capitol, arrested Andros, and sent him back to England. From 1688 to 1692, Massachusetts operated under an interim government. Courts couldn’t function properly, leading to jail overcrowding as suspects couldn’t be tried.
Massachusetts finally got a new charter in 1691, but it was controversial. The colony had to tolerate other religious beliefs besides Puritanism. They had to accept Anglicans, Baptists, and Quakers. Previously, they had persecuted these groups, even executing Quakers. The charter was issued in October 1691 but didn’t arrive until February 1692. The new governor didn’t arrive until mid-May. By then, jails were already packed with witchcraft suspects.
Salem: From Capital to Divided Town
Salem was founded in 1626 by Roger Conant, who led 20 families from Cape Ann to settle at Naumkeag. You can see a statue of Conant outside the Salem Witch Museum today. In 1628, the Massachusetts Bay Company bought out the previous holdings. John Endicott was appointed governor and sailed to New England with 100 colonists, establishing his government in Salem. Roger Conant was granted 200 acres in exchange for surrendering leadership. After this peace was forged, the community was renamed Salem, from shalom, the Hebrew word for peace.
The First Church in Salem formed in August 1629. In colonial Massachusetts, a church was a body of people, not a building. Members met in private homes until 1635 when the first church building was constructed. In 1629, John Winthrop succeeded Endicott as governor. In 1630, Winthrop and 700 colonists reached Salem in 11 ships. But Winthrop didn’t stay. He and most new arrivals relocated to found Boston, making it the new capital.
As immigration exploded, new towns were created around Salem. Salem itself originally included what are now Beverly, Marblehead, Manchester, Wenham, Topsfield, Danvers, Middleton, Peabody, and Swampscott. These communities gradually split off. Most of Salem’s population lived near the bustling port. Others resided to the west in Salem Farms, which included a small settlement called Salem Village. Salem Village’s history and disagreements with the town of Salem are crucial for understanding the local dynamics during the witch hunt.
This Week’s Podcast: What Witches Were Accused of Doing
The Thing About Salem: “What harm were Salem’s supposed witches actually accused of causing?”
Understanding what people believed witches could do is essential for understanding why accusations were believed. According to 17th century belief, witches were recruited by Satan. This diabolical witchcraft theory developed in 15th century Europe. All witchcraft was believed to come from Satan. All powers granted to witches came from him. Witches betrayed God by abandoning his church for Satan’s church. Satan marked his recruits with a witch’s mark or teat hidden on their body. Several Salem accused were physically inspected and found to have supposed marks. New witches signed the devil’s book in their own blood, echoing how Puritan church members signed covenants. Witches were baptized by Satan in rivers. They gathered at sabbats where they drank blood wine and ate red bread, mocking Christian sacrament.
In New England, Satan’s purpose was tearing down the Christian Church. The witches supposedly wanted to begin in Salem Village where conflict was rampant. They intended to spread across New England and return the land to the devil. Witches attacked Christ’s kingdom by creating chaos. They afflicted people through maleficium (harmful magic), causing sickness like Betty Parris and Abigail Williams experienced. Many murders were blamed on witches. Witnesses reported seeing ghosts of murder victims dressed in winding sheets, demanding justice. Witches spoiled food, destroyed crops, attacked livestock, and raised storms. They could separate their specters from their bodies. These spirits traveled great distances to harm people, animals, and property. Accused witches were shackled in jail because colonists believed metal prevented specters from roaming free. It apparently didn’t work.
Witches had familiar spirits, usually animals or strange amalgamations. These familiars assisted witches and fed through witch’s teats. Witches could shapeshift, know the future, read private conversations, and use poppets to inflict pain on enemies. The devil promised rewards like money and fashionable clothing to recruits. He never delivered and utterly failed to protect his servants from trial and execution.
Where We Are in the Timeline
Week 1 of ~75 weeks | 1% Complete | January 2026 – May 2027
We’re in the setup phase. January 1-4, 1692. All the conditions are in place, but the trials haven’t started yet. This is the calm before the storm.
Next week, we dive deeper into Salem Village’s conflicts and Minister Samuel Parris’s controversial ministry. We move closer to mid-January when Betty and Abigail’s symptoms become impossible to ignore.
Key People to Remember
Betty Parris (age 9): Minister’s daughter whose symptoms started the panic
Abigail Williams (age 11): Minister’s niece who exhibited the same symptoms
Samuel Parris: Salem Village’s controversial minister facing opposition from half his congregation
Roger Conant: Salem’s founder who surrendered power for land and peace
John Endicott: First governor who established Massachusetts Bay Colony’s government in Salem
Join the Course
This isn’t just a video series. It’s a comprehensive course researched from primary sources by Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack.
Course students get:
- Weekly workbooks with activities, exercises, and challenges
- Fill-in-the-blank summaries and reflection questions
- Citation practice and character journal prompts
- Vocabulary building and quote analysis
- Achievement badges tracking your progress
- A special descendant track for those with ancestral connections
Everyone can:
- Watch the daily videos
- Read these weekly blogs
- Listen to the podcast
- Follow along at your own pace
Whether you dive deep or follow casually, you’re welcome here.
Week 1 workbooks
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Join the Conversation
What do you think happens next? When doctors can’t explain Betty and Abigail’s symptoms, and the community is dealing with war trauma, economic collapse, social tensions, and religious anxiety, what does Salem Village do?
Drop your predictions in the comments.
See you next week.
#SalemDailyStudent #SalemWeek1 #ThingAboutSalem #SalemDailyYoutube
Sources & Further Reading
This week’s content draws from primary sources and the following recommended books:
Bernard Rosenthal, ed., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt
https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781107689619
Primary Sources:
People Accused of Witchcraft in 1692: http://www.17thc.us/primarysources/accused.php
First Church in Salem History:
https://www.firstchurchinsalem.org/history
https://www.firstchurchinsalem.org/the-long-history
Connect & Support
Watch & Listen
Salem Witch Trials Daily (YouTube):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIz3vKHO9eBqIfjWd4e0mZpuXlrxzaE-3
The Thing About Salem Podcast:
https://aboutsalem.com
Weekly episodes exploring Salem Witch Trials topics
The Thing About Witch Hunts Podcast:
https://aboutwitchhunts.com
Historical witch trials and modern witch hunt news
Take Action
MA Witch Hunt Justice Project:
Sign the petition for justice and exoneration
www.change.org/witchtrials
Learn more: https://massachusettswitchtrials.org/
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This course is created by the nonprofit End Witch Hunts. Your donations support primary source research, educational content, and advocacy for those facing witch accusations today.
Donate: https://endwitchhunts.org/donate/
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