THE DEVIL IN MASSACHUSETTS

Fascinating material vividly presented, this story of witchcraft in Massachusetts makes absorbing reading. This examines the origins and the course of the malady, the tragedies of the accused and the mass hysteria of the bewitched, the attitudes of the judges, the temper of the public, and the qualities of the times that made for such an orgy of terror and cruelty. It traces the religious fears, the restraint which turned youthful high spirits into the only possible outlets, the condemning of 21 witches, and it follows the counter-balance of logic and sanity which finally conquered the unleashed bigotry. Absorbing reading and excellently handled source material.