Spectral Attacks, a Boston Arrest, and the Oyer and Terminer Jury CallWe dive into a chilling cluster of late-May 1692 developments: a tantalizing, barely recorded claim that Elizabeth How’s specter dragged Susannah Shelden to a pond, and the strange death of Captain John How’s sow—followed by countermagic, a numb hand, and lasting pain that pointed suspicion back to Elizabeth. Tension spikes as Philip English, hidden for a month, is seized in Boston and transferred into Essex County custody. We also track fresh accusations that never become warrants and revisit the vivid, decades-old testimonies Samuel Gray and William Stacy used to condemn Bridget Bishop—midnight visitations, vanished figures, sudden mishaps, and fleeting mentions of dead children. Everything races toward the turning point: jurors are ordered, witnesses warned, and the Court of Oyer and Terminer is set to convene in Salem.

00:00 Daily Briefing May 30

00:35 Philip English Arrested

01:08 Mysterious Pig Incident

01:52 Samuel Gray Testimony

03:49 William Stacy Testimony

07:11 Court of Oyer and Terminer

07:44 Trials Begin and Fear

Sunday Arrests and Spectral Attacks: May 29, 1692We drop you into a shocking Sabbath in Salem’s 1692 crisis, when Wilmot Redd, Sarah Rice, and Elizabeth How are seized despite the day’s sacred rules—one arrest made even as the constable’s own mother sits jailed for witchcraft. Tension spikes as Captain John How refuses to escort his own sister-in-law to Salem Village, declaring he won’t be part of a witchcraft charge at any price. Our story races through reports of spectral assaults blamed on members of the Procter family, a sudden turn from stomach pain to fits, a frantic ride home through “devils in the woods,” and troubling contradictions in Elizabeth Hubbard’s account. The accusations widen further with claims against Elizabeth How’s and Rebecca Nurse’s specters.00:00 Welcome and Date00:14 Sunday Arrests00:39 Captain How Refuses00:54 Procter Specter Attack01:22 Ride Home and Devils01:44 Skipping Sabbath Meeting02:02 More Spectral Assaults02:12 Nurse Specter Claim

May 28, 1692: Eleven New Accusations and a Wave of Arrest WarrantsEleven new witchcraft accusations land at once, and with trials looming, the danger is immediate—three of today’s newly named suspects, Martha Carrier, Wilmot Redd, and Elizabeth How, will ultimately be hanged. We track the sweeping complaint filed by Jonathan Walcott and John Holten, aimed at a wide-ranging set of people from Andover to Boston, and tied to alleged attacks on Salem Village’s afflicted, while highlighting how even basic details like first names were missing in Judge John Hathorne’s record. Our deep dive connects families and rivalries—Carrier’s ties to the Toothakers, the Ingalls network, and minister Francis Dane’s far-reaching kin—alongside high-profile targets like Captain John Alden. Arrest warrants fly, constables move in across multiple towns, and the panic’s widening footprint reaches even Stamford, Connecticut.00:00 11 New Accusations00:39 Complaints Filed Today01:57 May 26 Spectral Attacks02:29 Martha Carrier Background04:17 Ingalls and Dane Connections05:09 Other Accused Profiles06:20 Warrants and Arrests07:31 More Warrants and Outcomes07:55 Connecticut Case and Records

May 27, 1692: Oyer and Terminer Rises as Jails OverflowWe’re at a turning point on Friday, May 27, 1692, as the new charter transforms Massachusetts into a royal province, wipes out the old legal system, and forces new courts and laws aligned with England—just as overcrowded jails strain under at least 51 witchcraft prisoners and rising “jail fever.” Governor Phips moves fast, creating the special Court of Oyer and Terminer under Chief Justice William Stoughton and a roster of elite, largely non-Salem judges—wealthy merchants, landowners, and doctors—some with prior witch-trial experience. We track the key appointments that will shape Essex County, including young, well-connected George Corwin becoming sheriff, and we follow the wider panic as Connecticut’s Katherine Branch accusations spark examinations and trials of Elizabeth Clawson and Mercy Disborough.00:00 New Phase Begins00:26 Charter Changes Courts01:05 Overcrowded Jails Crisis02:03 Oyer and Terminer Formed02:16 Meet the Justices04:01 Earlier Witch Trial Experience05:17 Court Scope and Reforms06:24 Essex Sheriff Shift06:46 Connecticut Case Update

Today was a fast day across the Massachusetts colony. Essex County Marshall George Herrick and Constable Joseph Neal saw several people be afflicted by supposed specters. Mary Walcott, Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, and a Mrs. Mary Marshall of Reading, who was reported as afflicted for the very first time, claimed that Mary Bradbury of Salisbury, Sarah Rice of Reading, Wilmot Redd of Marblehead, and Elizabeth Fosdick of Malden had harmed them through witchcraft. Mrs. Mary Marshall, the wife of Edward Marshall of Reading, likely knew Sarah Rice, who was from the same town. But the Salem Village afflicted, on the other hand, expanded their net to include people they'd never met in communities distant from their home. And today, May 26th is significant, because in 1647, the very first person in the American colonies was hanged for witchcraft. That was Alice Young of Windsor, Connecticut. She was executed in Hartford, May 26th, 1647. It's up to all of us to remember Alice Young. As you may know, Connecticut does not have a witch memorial for the state. So any tribute that you're able to offer her in her name, remembering the day that she died, helps honor her innocence.

Chest Pain on the Road Past Procter’s HouseWe track Salem on May 25, 1692, as magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin push paperwork forward with a mittimus transferring prisoners to Boston Jail—despite those prisoners already being there. Then our attention turns to a tense ride from Newbury to Boston: Priscilla Bailey and her husband Joseph pass through Salem Village and near John Procter’s house, where Joseph is suddenly struck by crushing pains, momentarily loses his speech, and believes he sees John and Elizabeth Procter at the house even though they are jailed in Boston. Priscilla sees only a “little maid,” and later Joseph’s vision of an approaching woman dissolves into a cow. The road quiets, but back in Newbury, Joseph reports invisible pinching and nipping that won’t let him go.00:00 Welcome and Date00:13 Magistrates Paperwork00:27 Baileys Pass Procter House01:13 Speechless on the Road01:26 Second Blow and Apparition01:49 Aftermath Back in NewburyLinks

Mary Esty: Victim of the Salem Witch Hunt with Mary Bingham: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mary-esty-victim-of-the-salem-witch-hunt/id1643770324?i=1000637013845Salem Witch Trials History YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCliis4vjMIUgg3wcA0pXeYQ/

⁠Salem Witch Trials Daily Hub: https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/⁠

⁠The Thing About the Salem Witch Trials: https://aboutsalem.com⁠

⁠The Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.com⁠

⁠Bernard Rosenthal, ed., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781107689619⁠

Emerson W. Baker and John G. Reid, The New England Knight: Sir William Phips, 1651-1695: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780802081711

⁠Emerson W. Baker, A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience:

https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780190627805⁠

⁠Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781589791329⁠

High Quality Scans of Original Court Documents - Peabody Essex Museum Salem Witch Trials Collection: https://pem.quartexcollections.com/collections/salem-witch-trials-collection

We take you straight into Tuesday, May 24, 1692, as Boston’s leadership gathers at the Town House and the governor and council wrangle over who will hold the colony’s key civil offices—sheriffs, justices, and more—while Governor Phips also sets June 8 for the next General Court session. Then we head to Salem Village, where Mary Warren, seemingly trapped in a trance, confronts a chilling demand to sign the devil’s book and describes a specter’s grisly threats involving a coffin, winding sheet, and grave clothes. Another specter—Mary Ireson’s—joins in, afflicting Warren nearly to death, tying the day’s political maneuvers to the escalating fear and accusation surrounding the crisis.

May 23, 1692: Surprise Examinations, New Warrants, and 51 SuspectsWe race through a packed Monday as accusations explode across Salem: Elizabeth Booth alleges nighttime torment from Mary DeRich and the Procters while officials move fast with fresh complaints, sweeping warrants, and three arrests delivered to Salem for questioning. Our biggest jolt comes from Captain Nathaniel Cary’s firsthand account of how magistrates and accusers turned a supposed meeting into a trap—forcing Elizabeth Cary into a painful, staged “test” before seizing her and sending her to jail in shackles. Meanwhile, testimony stacks up against Mary Esty, John Willard, Mary Whittredge, Dorcas Hoar, Roger Toothaker, and others, even reaching back to the long-dead Sarah Osburn. By day’s end, prisoners are shuffled to Boston and Salem, and Hathorne’s tally shows the crisis has swelled to 51 suspects.00:00 Welcome and Date00:15 New Accusations Filed01:05 Warrants and Arrests01:33 Examinations Begin02:01 Missing Records Explained02:31 Elizabeth Cary Trap03:52 Cary Arrest Aftermath04:10 Testimony Roundup05:26 Prisoner Transfers Count05:42 Fifty One Suspects