If you are interested in learning more about the Salem witch trials, you can read one of the many books published on the subject.
Hundreds of books have been written about the Salem witch trials since they were first held in 1692.
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This is despite the fact that in October 1692, Governor Phips ordered a ban on the publication of books discussing witchcraft and the Salem witch trials, fearing it would only fan the flames and incite more fear.
This prohibition did not apply to Boston Minister Cotton Mather, whose father had personally recommended Phips for the post of Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Province.
As a result, Mather’s book, Wonders of the Unseen World, was the first official published book on the Salem witch trials when it came to light in October 1692.
The other ministers and various people involved in the Salem witch trials also published their own books and memoirs on the subject before Prohibition and in the years that followed.
These books, along with the actual court records, are the main sources on the trials and later become the main source material for contemporary books on the subject.
In the 19th century, a renewed interest in the story stimulated a second wave of books on the trials, beginning in 1867 with a book titled Salem Witchcraft by former Salem Mayor Charles W. upham. the books have continued to arrive ever since and don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.
With so many books to choose from, it’s hard to know where to start. Many of the primary sources are invaluable references, but due to their age, they are somewhat out of date and the dense language makes it difficult for modern readers to understand.
Books published since then, particularly in the 20th and 21st centuries, are much more accessible and easy to understand for readers and also offer a fresh, modern perspective on the trials.
With that in mind, I’ve compiled a list of what I think are the best books on the salem witch trials. the list includes fiction and non-fiction books. These books mentioned here are some of the best selling books on the subject and have great reviews on sites like amazon, goodreads, etc.
I have also used these books myself in my research for this website (except fiction books) and can personally recommend them as some of the best books on trials:
(Disclaimer: This article contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
1. the salem witch trials : a chronicle of the daily lives of a besieged community by marilynne k. cockroach
Published in 2002, this book explains the details and events of the Salem Witch Trials as they occurred.
Each chapter covers each month during the trials, beginning in January 1692 when the girls of the village of Salem first showed signs of being grieved.
Since the events and timeline of the trials can get confusing and convoluted at times, this book is great for figuring out exactly what happened and when.
Roach has written several books on the Salem Witch Trials, and in fact I highly recommend his other books as well, including: Six Women of Salem: The Untold Story of the Defendants and their Accusers in the Salem Witch Trials salem witches and a children’s book titled in the days of the salem witch trials.
roach is a member of the gallows hill project which, in January 2016, officially confirmed that proctor’s ledge in salem was the location of the witch trial hangings.
after posting this blog post in february 2016, i received an email from the author emerson w. Baker in which he explained how important Roach’s book was to his research for his own book, A Storm of Sorcery, stating, “I am in awe of her work and, as I have told her, I could never have written my book without her.” . Chronicle day by day.”
2. A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Witch Trials and the American Experience by Emerson W. baker
Published in 2014 by Oxford Press, this book not only describes the details of the trials, but also explores the larger context by looking at the events that led up to and influenced the trials, such as King Philip’s War and the new charter of the massachusetts bay colony issued in 1691.
In doing so, it provides an overview of the colony in the 17th century and explains how the scenario of the 1692 witch hysteria developed slowly over time.
Each chapter deals with a different aspect of the witch trials, such as the history of Salem and the influence it had on the mass hysteria in 1692, the politics of Salem Village, and the different groups of people involved in the trials. trials as the judges, the accused and the accusers. the last few chapters are devoted to the aftermath of the trials, which is a subject often overlooked in many books on the witch trials.
baker is a professor at salem state university and is also a member of the gallows hill project which confirmed the site of the witch trials in 2016 and was featured in many of the articles and tv interviews about the discovery.
3. salem possessed: the social origins of witchcraft by paul boyer and stephen nissenbaum
Published in 1974 by Harvard University Press, this book explores the social setting and history of Salem prior to the witch trials to provide a better understanding of how and why they occurred.
The book explores the problems that occurred in Salem just before the trials, including factionalism, land disputes, family rivalries, and church disputes.
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In the introduction, Boyer and Nissenbaum state that up to the time this book was published, almost no other historian had explored these issues before, explaining that the only one who had come close was Charles W. Upham in his 1867 book Salem Witchcraft. When they realized this, he encouraged them to write this book to give readers a deeper understanding of the tests.
boyer, who died in 2012, was a history professor at the university of wisconsin and earned his Ph.D. from harvard. He was also a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Society of American Historians, and the American Antiquarian Society.
nissenbaum is a professor of history at the university of massachusetts at amherst. He received a Ph.D. in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
4. death in salem: the private life behind the 1692 witch hunt by diane foulds
Published in 2010, rather than looking at the big picture or listing the chronology of events, this book explores the personal lives of the people involved in the trials to form a sort of psychological profile of the colony at the time.
The book details each person’s name, age, place of residence, and explores the personal circumstances that prompted each person to act as they did.
The chapters are divided by the roles each group of people played in the trials, such as the accusers, the victims, the clergy, the judges, and the elite (wealthy outsiders and government officials).
The book really helps the reader understand what life was like for these people at the time and puts their actions into perspective. brings a much-needed humanizing aspect to this complex subject.
diane foulds is a vermont native and has written for numerous publications including the boston globe and yankee magazine travel.
Although foulds is not a historian and writes primarily on travel-related topics, she does a great job of delving into the lives of the people involved in the trials and exploring their personal stories.
5. a delusion of satan: the complete story of the salem witch trials by francis hill
Published in 1995, this book explores the psychology and social issues behind the Salem witch trials. the book theorizes that the trials were primarily caused by issues such as fear, religion, and politics.
The book explains that the trials were the result of a repressed society expressing its greatest fears and lashing out at those it held responsible for its suffering.
a delusion of satan also details the similarities between the salem witch trials and modern witch hunts, such as the communist scare in the 1950s and the islamophobia sparked after September 11, 2001.
Francis Hill is a British novelist and journalist who has written many other books on similar topics, including The Salem Witch Trials Reader, The Witch Hunt, and Those Men Are Dangerous.
6. In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692 by Mary Beth Norton
Published in 2002, this book suggests that the Salem community lived in a state of constant fear at the time and this fear is what set the stage for mass hysteria and witch trials.
norton argues that the people of salem felt attacked and believed that the devil was responsible for their suffering.
Salem residents at the time suffered from numerous problems, from disease outbreaks to wars and crop failures, and believed at the time that witches and the devil were often behind such unfortunate events. the book is organized chronologically to help readers understand these events as they occurred.
norton is a historian and professor of american history at cornell university. He has written numerous books on American history, including the Founding Fathers and Mothers, and has appeared in many documentaries and history programs about the Salem Witch Trials, such as the History Channel’s Witch Hunt and the educational film Salem Witch Hunt. : Check out the National Park Service. the evidence.
7. the devil in massachusetts : a modern investigation into the salem witch trials by marion l. star
Published in 1949, The Devil in Massachusetts takes dialogue from the court records of the Salem Witch Trials and uses it to tell the story of the trials in a dramatic narrative.
starkey also applies modern psychology to events to help explain what they really mean.
many authors of newer books on the trials have cited the devil in massachusetts as one of the first well-researched and well-researched books on the salem witch trials.
In the preface to Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft, authors Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum said of the book: “despite its occasional imaginative embellishments [the devil in massachusetts] remains the best researched and certainly the most dramatic of the events of 1692.”
Satan’s Rave author Francis Hill also cited it as an important book on the subject, but noted that since it was published so long ago, it is a bit out of date.
starkey, who died in 1991, was a newspaper editor and later became an author. He wrote many other history books, including Visionary Girls: Witchcraft in the Town of Salem, the Cherokee Nation, and the First Plantation: A History of Hampton and Elizabeth County, Virginia 1607-1887.
8. the crucible by arthur miller. the cruble is a play that first premiered on broadway in 1953.
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Although the play is set in Salem in 1692 and depicts the events of the Salem Witch Trials, it is actually an allegory for the Red Terror that took place in the United States in the 1950s.
in the crucible, miller was comparing the salem witch hunts to the communist witch hunts in the 1950s.
The Crucible is both a blessing and a curse for anyone interested in learning more about the Salem Witch Trials. On the plus side, it was responsible for sparking a renewed interest in the witch trials and fueled the start of Salem’s tourism industry.
However, one of the main drawbacks is that, because it is based on the trials, many readers mistakenly believe that the play is historically accurate and think that many of the things that happened in the play actually happened in life real.
As a result, many myths and misunderstandings have arisen from this work, as well as from the 1996 film adaptation. Although the work is fairly close to being historically accurate, it is not completely so, and readers should remember to take what is, a fictional account of the trials.
miller took many liberties with the story, which he had a right to do as a playwright, and injected his own theories, ideas, and events.
for example, miller was convinced, after reading court papers from elizabeth proctor’s trial, that abigail williams and john proctor were having an affair and made that idea the main plot of the play. This has never been proven and seems highly unlikely given the age difference between Proctor and Williams, but it was Miller’s theory, so he used it as a plot device.
Miller was inspired to write The Crucible after reading Charles W. Upham’s book Salem Witchcraft. the book was one of the first contemporary books published on the subject and is cited as an important historical book on the subject.
9. i, tituba, black witch of salem by maryse conde
Originally published in French in 1986 and later translated into English, this novel is a fictionalized account of the life of Tituba, a slave of Reverend Samuel Parris, who was one of the first women accused of witchcraft during the witch trials of salem.
Since not much is actually known about Tituba’s life before or after the trials, the author creates a fictional tale about Tituba’s childhood, adolescence, life in Salem, and life after the trials.
this novel is interesting because tiba is a person who is often overlooked in court and this novel tries to remedy that by shedding light on his life. In doing so, the novel explores the role of gender and race in witch trials and challenges traditionally white and male-dominated historical narratives.
count, french author and former columbia university professor, has written numerous novels of historical fiction, including the book segu. his novels often explore social issues such as race and gender.
10. a break with charity : a story about the salem witch trials by ann rinaldi
Published in 1992, this novel is a fictionalized account of the grieving girls of the town of Salem.
The story is about Susannah English, daughter of accused warlocks Phillip and Mary English and a friend of Ann Putnam, Jr.
The story explores the theory that affected girls lied about their afflictions in an attempt to punish people their families didn’t like.
The protagonist must decide between keeping silent to protect herself and her family from false accusations or ending the witch trials by telling the truth about the girl’s claims.
although susannah english was a real person in salem and her parents were accused of witchcraft in 1692, it is important to note that she was not one of the afflicted girls in real life and that the plot of the novel is purely fictitious.
rinaldi is a former newspaper columnist who later became an author. He has written numerous historical fiction novels, including Hanging a Thousand Trees with a Ribbon and A Knowledge of the Dark.
further reading:
If you want to know even more about the witch trials and aren’t put off by historical texts, I also recommend charles w. upham’s book salem witchcraft : with an account of the village of salem and a history of views on witchcraft published in 1867.
This book doesn’t get good reviews from modern readers because it’s a bit dry and the language is outdated. however, for scholars, students, and researchers who are used to historical texts and want to study the trials in more depth, it is an absolutely essential book that cannot be overlooked.
As I mentioned before, Salem Witchcraft was the book that inspired Arthur Miller to write The Crucible. It was one of the first complete books on the Salem witch trials.
Since it’s an outdated historical text, it has its flaws and sometimes gets some facts wrong (eg upham confuses sarah bishop with bridget bishop and merges them into one person), but otherwise it’s a great read.
If you like historical texts like this, I also recommend reading any of the main sources on the Salem witch trials, which were written by the local ministers involved in the trials.
While the language in these books is also dated, they offer a very unique first-hand perspective on the subject that you can’t find in any other book:
♦ a brief and true account of some notable passages connected with various persons afflicted by witchcraft, in the town of Salem: which happened from the nineteenth of March to the fifth of April, 1692; deodat laws; 1692 ♦ a modest investigation into the nature of witchcraft; healthy john; 1702 ♦ more wonders of the invisible world, robert calef; 1700 ♦ the wonders of the unseen world: an account of the recently executed witch trials in new england; cotton material; 1692
sources: tomorrow, james. “James Morrow’s 10 best books on witch chases”. the guardian, guardian news and media limited, 18 april. 2006, theguardian.com/books/2006/apr/19/top10s.witch.persecution “what is the best book on the salem witch trials?” quora, quora.com/what-is-the-best-book-on-the-salem-witch-trials
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