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Speaker 1: Hello.

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Speaker 2: And welcome.

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Speaker 1: To My Favorite Murderer.

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Speaker 2: That's Georgia Hornstein.

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Speaker 1: That's Karen Kilcara.

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Speaker 2: And it's Halloween. Spooky Halloween.

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Speaker 1: Candy. Yay. Okay, let's get the lights up. Guys. Wow.

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Speaker 2: It's a pretty bright light. Pretty bright lights on this show.

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Speaker 1: It's Halloween. We're so excited for you and us.

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Speaker 2: Well, especially us. We got to walk in here. It

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Speaker 2: was a big surprise. They had these beautiful— I mean, when's

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Speaker 2: the last time you had a Halloween bucket?

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Speaker 1: Of my own? Yeah. Not since I was a child. Oh,

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Speaker 1: look at these.

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Speaker 2: Someone did the work. Someone figured out what we love.

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Speaker 1: They really did. These are, let's see, Turkish taffy razzles.

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Speaker 2: Fucking razzles are... I've never had a razzle. They're candy

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Speaker 2: and they're gum. You're going to want to spit it

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Speaker 2: out after about four minutes. Look at these giant Smarties.

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Speaker 2: Those are going to be good. Have you ever had

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Speaker 2: a Slowpoke, which is just a big piece of caramel?

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Speaker 1: No.

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Speaker 2: I mean, the people in the 50s, listen.

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Speaker 1: Sugar babies, break your fucking teeth.

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Speaker 2: I'm anti-Make America Great Again, but it was pretty great

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Speaker 2: when kids could smoke candy cigarettes. Remember? Remember?

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Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. We loved them.

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Speaker 2: We loved them.

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Speaker 1: There was like, you don't know children. There was powder

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Speaker 1: on them. So it looked like you were blowing smoke.

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Speaker 2: Now, here's the thing about these days. Yeah. Is that

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Speaker 2: now they look like capris joints.

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Speaker 1: Don't they? Yeah. That's a little. You look very sophisticated.

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Speaker 1: Good girl. With that gum in your mouth.

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Speaker 2: That's the look. That's right.

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Speaker 1: I love it. Zots.

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Speaker 2: Oh, those are good. They're fizzy. Yeah. Those are the

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Speaker 2: precursor of pop rocks. I mean, this is like a,

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Speaker 2: it's a candy lover's dream in here.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: We talk for a living. That alone.

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Speaker 1: I'm going to mainline. Right? This is the fuel. I'm

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Speaker 1: going to mainline a pixie stick right now.

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Speaker 2: Please do it.

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Speaker 1: Let's see how good my performance is.

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Speaker 2: I might eat some dots. Although they're going to get

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Speaker 2: stuck in my teeth. Let's see if this is a

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Speaker 2: plus or a yeah, girl.

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Speaker 1: Hit that. That's right. It's cherry flavor. Hit that pixie stick.

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Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. Oh. Mm. Mm-hmm.

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Speaker 1: I really get you.

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Speaker 2: That's a nice. You let it pile up on your

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Speaker 2: tongue and then you smash it down.

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Speaker 1: Definitely. All right. Can we take these down or I'm

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Speaker 1: going to just keep eating? Oh, okay. Or do you

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Speaker 1: want to leave it?

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Speaker 2: Well, how about right there as a kind of foreground decor?

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Speaker 1: Speaking of spooky, when we left the office on Monday,

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Speaker 1: it's getting dark earlier. So it was like dark, dusky,

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Speaker 1: but not totally. And I see, not here, a swoop

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Speaker 1: out in the back in the parking lot. Owl? It's

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Speaker 1: a fucking owl.

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Speaker 2: What color? Oh, just like a regular owl?

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Speaker 1: But it was the first owl I've ever seen in L.A.

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Speaker 2: Oh, shit.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. And I like gave it a little, you know,

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Speaker 1: and it like did look at me. And then immediately

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Speaker 1: the staircase came to mind. And I was like, what

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Speaker 1: are you fucking doing?

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Speaker 2: Get in your car.

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Speaker 1: Get in your car.

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Speaker 2: You know, it's funny. Blossom and I can hear an

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Speaker 2: owl like out at night or have in the last month.

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Speaker 2: Very loud and very distinct. Yeah, because you live near

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Speaker 2: some like, you know. We got some trees, which is

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Speaker 2: I feel very lucky for in Los Angeles. There's only

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Speaker 2: five and I have three.

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Speaker 1: I have trees and then immediately a freeway.

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Speaker 2: Right.

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Speaker 1: That's like kind of.

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Speaker 2: My trees kind of open up onto the freeway. So

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Speaker 2: it's what it's like here.

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Speaker 1: My trees are covered in freeway dust. That's like what

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Speaker 1: you get kind of, you know.

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Speaker 2: Well, I was going to tell you, I know that

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Speaker 2: every year you get really into your costume, usually a

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Speaker 2: couple's costume. Yeah. Are you going to reveal what it is?

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Speaker 1: I suggested to Vince, Rambo, First Blood. I'm Rambo in

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Speaker 1: the forest and he is... The sheriff. The sheriff. And

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Speaker 1: he's all beat up and everything and I'm Rambo because

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Speaker 1: it's kind of perfect.

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Speaker 2: It is perfect.

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Speaker 1: But we don't... I don't know. We haven't gotten dressed

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Speaker 1: up in a while because we just stay at home

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Speaker 1: and pass out candy to a thousand children.

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Speaker 2: But don't you dress up for the children?

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Speaker 1: I put festive stuff on. Yeah. Vince doesn't care.

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Speaker 2: Vince is like... Yeah, he has a Halloween. I'm trying

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Speaker 2: to name a band that he would like and I

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Speaker 2: don't think I can. Dave Matthews.

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Speaker 1: Chat pile or something. He'll put on like a... You know,

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Speaker 1: spooky punk rock shirt. That's it.

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Speaker 2: Fire hose. There. It only took me seven minutes. Well,

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Speaker 2: I was going to show you this is what my

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Speaker 2: costume is going to be this year.

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Speaker 1: Oh, my God. That how... You are an employee at

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Speaker 1: Spirit Halloween.

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Speaker 2: This is the, yeah, for the listener, I'm just putting

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Speaker 2: a nice big Spirit Halloween pin on my shirt.

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Speaker 1: And I love that it has the sticker that says

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Speaker 1: your name, but it's clearly covered up all the employees

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Speaker 1: that have worked there in the past. It's not new.

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Speaker 2: This pin is haunted for sure.

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Speaker 1: Definitely. Yeah. That pin has seen some shit.

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Speaker 2: This is for busy moms on the go, uncreative people

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Speaker 2: who don't like thinking, or just people like me are

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Speaker 2: a little bit checked out.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, but like the black t-shirt, it's perfect.

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Speaker 2: All you need.

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Speaker 1: You look like you're going to work and then afterwards

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Speaker 1: you're going to your second job bartending.

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Speaker 2: Yes, that's right. Or your second job, the late shift

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Speaker 2: at Starbucks or whatever.

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Speaker 1: Good job. I like it.

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Speaker 2: Everybody. I guess I shouldn't do a spirit Halloween commercial.

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Speaker 1: Everyone loves them, I think.

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Speaker 2: I think people have embraced what they seem to symbolize.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: It's like they're like hermit crabs that go into the

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Speaker 2: empty shells of like old marshals. Totally. Only. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: It's like the whole world is going to be a

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Speaker 1: spirit Halloween pretty soon.

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Speaker 2: We're all going to have these.

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Speaker 1: The way we're going.

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Speaker 2: We're all going to have our names on them.

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Speaker 1: That's right. Okay, we have a podcast network. It's called

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Speaker 1: Exactly Right Media. Here are some highlights.

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Speaker 2: Our very own Kate Winkler Dawson has a new audio

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Speaker 2: book that's out right now. It's called Blood on the Page,

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Speaker 2: and it tells the story of the infamous Ratcliffe Highway

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Speaker 2: murders and the lasting mark they left on literature and

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Speaker 2: also on law enforcement history. And guess who reads that book?

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Speaker 1: Paul Hulse?

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Speaker 2: It's actually Kate Winkler Dawson herself.

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Speaker 1: If you want even more MFM, join the fan cult.

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Speaker 1: You'll get every episode ad-free, merch store discounts, exclusive content,

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Speaker 1: and access to our Discord, where you can chat with

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Speaker 1: fellow murderinos. Head to fancult.supercast.com to join.

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Speaker 2: And both Buried Bones and Disgraceland are going to be

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Speaker 2: taking true crime to the high seas. They're going on

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Speaker 2: Virgin Voyages this March. Booking for the true crime voyage

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Speaker 2: is open now on Virgin Voyages' website.

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Speaker 1: That's going to be debauchery.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Oh, it's going to be so fun.

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Speaker 1: Wow. Yeah. And in the merch corner, spooky season is

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Speaker 1: in full swing and there's still time to grab your

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Speaker 1: stay out of the forest raglan.

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Speaker 2: Oh, look, it's perfect for spooky Halloween.

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Speaker 1: That is so spooky and good. I love it. Go

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Speaker 1: to exactlyrightstore.com to get yours.

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Speaker 2: Also, if you're listening to this podcast, just a quick reminder,

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Speaker 2: you can watch it on Netflix. My Favorite Murder and

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Speaker 2: Buried Bones are on Netflix every week. So go and

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Speaker 2: And check out the visual version of this mayhem.

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Speaker 1: That's right. A lot of energy and efforts put into it.

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Speaker 1: So why not take a look?

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Speaker 2: Why not take a little peeky-poo? Well, we have a

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Speaker 2: very fun surprise for ourselves.

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Speaker 1: Yes.

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Speaker 2: This is the gift we give to ourselves, but actually

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Speaker 2: that Nick Terry gives us.

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Speaker 1: Right. This is the brand new MFM animated by Nick Terry.

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Speaker 1: And I haven't seen it yet. It's called Werepigs.

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Speaker 2: I haven't seen it either.

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Speaker 1: This should be fun.

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Speaker 2: It's a big surprise.

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Speaker 1: Here we go.

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Speaker 2: I grew up on a farm. We just get right

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Speaker 2: into it. There's not even a hello. Good. I grew

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Speaker 2: up on a farm in rural North Georgia. Think big

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Speaker 2: pastures broken up by dense forests of pine trees. Well,

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Speaker 2: during the summer and after school most days, my eight

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Speaker 2: cousins and I would be kept by my sweet grandmother,

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Speaker 2: who instead of having eight elementary school children in her

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Speaker 2: house from 2.30 to 8 p.m., would kick us out

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Speaker 2: to play outside. Because she couldn't keep a close eye

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Speaker 2: on us, she called in the help of the werepig.

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Speaker 2: The werepig was a werewolf-like pig that lived in the

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Speaker 2: woods and would watch us to make sure that we

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Speaker 2: were doing good. And if we were bad, would eat us,

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Speaker 2: just like he did the neighbor kid.

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Speaker 1: A threat with an imaginary, like, beast.

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Speaker 2: Crypto.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Cryptoid.

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Speaker 1: That's killed before.

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Speaker 2: That's killed children before. And then it says, this might

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Speaker 2: sound bad, but what's worse is all of our parents,

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Speaker 2: my five uncles, and my dad adopted the werepig to

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Speaker 2: do their bidding.

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Speaker 1: Oh, my God.

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Speaker 2: The whole family said on it. When we were in

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Speaker 2: our early teens, one of my uncles actually dressed up

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Speaker 2: like the werepig and scared the shit out of us

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Speaker 2: while we were playing flashlight tag in the woods.

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Speaker 1: Oh, my God. I would pay a lot for that video.

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Speaker 2: The screaming, the screaming, and then the crying, and then the, oh,

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Speaker 2: come on. Needless to say, we were all traumatized by

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Speaker 2: the werepig and kept a close eye on the woods.

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Speaker 2: Years later, we were all joking at a family dinner

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Speaker 2: and found out that our grandmother and our parents had

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Speaker 2: a family meeting to discuss what to do about our

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Speaker 2: behavior when we were kids. Thus, the werepig was born.

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Speaker 2: That's how bad they were.

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Speaker 1: It's like a cult, kind of.

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Speaker 2: Here's the agreed lie. Tell the children.

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Speaker 1: It sounds like it works.

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Speaker 2: I don't think so. And it says, stay sexy and

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Speaker 2: watch out for the werepig, Maddie. Werepig. And also, it's

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Speaker 2: a pig that's watching you. Amazing. I fucking love Nick Terry.

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Speaker 1: I know.

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Speaker 2: Because Nick Terry allows me to love us.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Right? And you never know what dumb shit you

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Speaker 1: say is going to become a classic MFM animated.

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Speaker 2: And also the way you said good when I was like,

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Speaker 2: there's no intro. You're good. It made me laugh so hard.

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Speaker 1: It made me realize we talk really fast.

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Speaker 2: We talk a lot, really fast.

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Speaker 1: It's a podcast.

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Speaker 2: And we're funny.

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Speaker 1: We're so funny. Goddamn. Good job.

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Speaker 2: Thank you. Good job to you too.

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Speaker 1: Thank you.

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Speaker 2: And good job to our favorite.

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Speaker 1: Nick Terry. Go to MFMAnimated on Instagram and then on

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Speaker 1: the Exactly Right Media YouTube page, you can see all

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Speaker 1: of the... Yes. Classic MFM animated. My dad loves them.

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Speaker 2: Does he?

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Speaker 1: Yes.

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Speaker 2: Did he get into them?

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Speaker 1: Yes.

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Speaker 2: It's a good way to get, if your parents are like,

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Speaker 2: we don't understand you or your true crime, be like, hey,

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Speaker 2: do you want to watch this video? Having nothing to

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Speaker 2: do with anything else in the world, you sell them

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Speaker 2: on our personalities. You sell them on our fast talking.

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Speaker 1: It's like, hey, kid, do you want some candy? And

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Speaker 1: then you give them drugs.

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Speaker 2: And then you go. And then you give them cigarettes.

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Speaker 2: There's razor blades in there. And now you're over here

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Speaker 2: with us.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. God.

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Speaker 2: God.

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Speaker 1: Well, I'm first, right?

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Speaker 2: Happy Halloween! Happy Halloween!

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Speaker 1: I'm first.

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Speaker 2: Great.

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Speaker 1: Let me put my magic, my meta glasses on.

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Speaker 2: Oh, are you filming me right now? I'll sue you. Good.

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Speaker 1: Good. For Halloween, you know a story we've never done?

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Speaker 2: The movie Halloween?

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Speaker 1: Salem Witch Trials.

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Speaker 2: The history version of the movie Halloween.

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Speaker 1: Allie was very excited about about covering this. Did she

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Speaker 1: do a paper on it or something? That sounds right. Okay. Thanks, Molly.

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Speaker 1: Allie Elkin, everybody, is very helpful in this. Today, we're

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Speaker 1: going to talk about America's most iconic Halloween town, a

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Speaker 1: place now associated with ghost tours and fun, spooky vibes,

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Speaker 1: but which became famous because of a rash of paranoid

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Speaker 1: accusations that would ultimately claim the lives of 26 people.

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Speaker 1: This is the story of the Salem Witch Trials, the

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Speaker 1: deadliest outbreak of witchcraft panic on American soil. The main

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Speaker 1: source for this story is a book called A Storm

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Speaker 1: of Witchcraft by Emerson Baker. And that's Allie Elkin, the

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Speaker 1: smart researcher. That's her source. My main source is Abigail's

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Speaker 1: Divine Comedy web series, created, written, directed, and starred in

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Speaker 1: by Joe Hedgeyes as Abigail Williams. Have you seen this

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Speaker 1: on TikTok at all?

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Speaker 2: Probably, but like it sounds familiar, but I'm not sure.

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Speaker 2: Have you seen Abigail Williams with a.

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Speaker 1: Mustache as a man? Yes, yes, yes. That's Abigail's divine

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Speaker 1: comedy and I am so obsessed with it. I can't

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Speaker 1: even go look that up. The rest of the sources

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Speaker 1: can be found in the show notes. So that's where

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Speaker 1: I get my history from is comedy sketches.

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Speaker 2: It's weird because I know it's the season and for

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Speaker 2: one second I'd just seen a TikTok kind of about

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Speaker 2: summing up. what that was all about. And I was like, God,

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Speaker 2: what a strange coincidence. I just saw that TikTok.

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Speaker 1: It's October. Yeah, we love it.

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Speaker 2: Of course.

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Speaker 1: Right. That's the theme.

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Speaker 2: It's all around.

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Speaker 1: So the Salem witch trials happened in Europe at the

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Speaker 1: same time. They would have barely registered as particularly notable.

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Speaker 1: That's because between the 1400s and the 1700s, there are hundreds,

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Speaker 1: if not thousands, of witch hunts all over Europe, many

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Speaker 1: with higher death tolls than this one. There's a kind

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Speaker 1: of corny documentary called The History of the Devil that

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Speaker 1: talks about a lot of those, which is kind of cool.

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Speaker 1: A lot of the classic things we associate with witch hunts,

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Speaker 1: burning at the stake, the water test where tied up

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Speaker 1: witch will float but non-witch will sink and likely drown,

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Speaker 1: are actually from European witch hunts and did not happen

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Speaker 1: in Salem. But Salem does come toward the tail end

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Speaker 1: of this witch hunt era, and it's the most notable

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Speaker 1: instance of this in the colonies.

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Speaker 2: An era that lasts 300 years. Jesus.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. So let's set the stage as briefly as possible.

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Speaker 1: Salem is a coastal city 16 miles north of Boston,

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Speaker 1: which is the capital of the providence of Massachusetts Bay.

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Speaker 1: This colony had only just been founded in 1691, a

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Speaker 1: year before witchcraft accusations began in Salem. So not a lot.

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Speaker 2: It makes sense. It's like everybody goes there. They live

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Speaker 2: there for a year through all the seasons. And they're

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Speaker 2: just like, this is fucked.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: The devil is among us. Right. Right.

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Speaker 1: This had already followed a years-long power vacuum period after

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Speaker 1: King James II had revoked the charter for the original

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Speaker 1: Massachusetts Bay Colony. That original colony had been expressly Puritan,

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Speaker 1: like you. Only Puritans had been allowed to vote, for example.

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Speaker 1: The new Massachusetts Bay is chartered by William and Mary,

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Speaker 1: Protestant co-rulers of England during a weird time, says Allie,

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Speaker 1: and includes a huge chunk of New England and Canada.

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Speaker 1: It puts the region on a much tighter leash, having

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Speaker 1: it be ruled by a governor appointed by England rather

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Speaker 1: than being self-governing. It also expands voting rights to any

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Speaker 1: property-owning Protestant. So the key takeaway is that this is

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Speaker 1: a period of heightened anxiety for Puritans whose old way

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Speaker 1: of life is changing, who founded their colony to be

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Speaker 1: a shining beacon of godliness, and who most fiercely believe

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Speaker 1: that God already knows whether they're going to heaven or

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Speaker 1: if they will be damned to hell for eternity. Like,

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Speaker 1: there's no... doing better and getting into heaven, right?

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Speaker 2: There's no play whatsoever.

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Speaker 1: And also, like, this is hard to believe now, but, like,

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Speaker 1: Satan is real and, you know, very, like, an actual entity.

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Speaker 2: Also, I think it's ironic, and I won't say much

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Speaker 2: about this because I don't know anything about it, but

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Speaker 2: just the idea that the Puritans came to America and

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Speaker 2: they're like, finally, we get to be super Protestant amongst ourselves.

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Speaker 2: Or it's like, you were driven out because of Religion.

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Speaker 2: But suddenly you're like, but religion's the answer here.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, get these Native Americans out of here.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Let's murder, murder, murder.

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Speaker 1: Right.

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Speaker 2: For God.

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Speaker 1: Because we're going to be in heaven no matter what.

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Speaker 1: And that's what God wants.

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Speaker 2: Or going straight to hell no matter what. Right, right.

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Speaker 2: Once you do that one big one.

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Speaker 1: Either way, I bet they were boring to drink with.

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Speaker 2: And the food was bad.

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Speaker 1: So they are constantly examining themselves for reassurances that they

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Speaker 1: are among the chosen. And the way they reassure themselves

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Speaker 1: of this is by not sinning. and keeping a watchful

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Speaker 1: eye out for sinful behavior. And then I added, aka

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Speaker 1: buzz kills.

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Speaker 2: Or also aka, you know, it's the old don't think

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Speaker 2: of a pink elephant. And then the only thing you

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Speaker 2: can think of is a pink elephant. And now you're

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Speaker 2: fucking your neighbor out in the woods. Sorry to say.

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Speaker 1: Those pink elephants will get you every time.

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Speaker 2: They're so sexy.

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Speaker 1: In January of 1692, Betty Parris, who is a nine-year-old,

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Speaker 1: and her cousin, Abigail Williams, who is 11, begin exhibiting

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Speaker 1: strange behaviors. Betty's father is a minister, the Reverend Samuel Parris,

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Speaker 1: and Abigail's parents have died, so she lives with the family.

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Speaker 1: Reverend Samuel Parris had become ordained about 12 years prior

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Speaker 1: after several failed business ventures and is known for his

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Speaker 1: strict interpretations, even by Puritan standards.

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Speaker 2: That's a bad fucking sign.

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Speaker 1: Even they're like, bro, pump the brakes.

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Speaker 2: Because that, in my personal theory, absolutely editorializing here, usually

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Speaker 2: people are super into the abusive part of religion.

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Speaker 1: Right.

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Speaker 2: Their pervs. Right.

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Speaker 1: That are like sadomasochistic. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: And you know who they like to take it out on? Children.

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Speaker 1: Right.

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Speaker 2: I'm going to act like this the whole story. Good.

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Speaker 2: Just lecturing you like you did it.

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Speaker 1: Betty and Abigail start acting weird as if they've been

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Speaker 1: bitten or pinched. They contort in odd ways. This is

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Speaker 1: generally described as them having fits. At first, Samuel and

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Speaker 1: his wife Elizabeth are mainly worried that the girls are

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Speaker 1: sick and This is, of course, hundreds of years before

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Speaker 1: the availability of vaccines and children die all the time

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Speaker 1: of illnesses that are now preventable. So they're worried about that.

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Speaker 1: And a few weeks later, the symptoms persist and Samuel

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Speaker 1: starts to suspect witchcraft.

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Speaker 2: Boom.

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Speaker 1: Got to be witchcraft.

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Speaker 2: You know, there's about two or three things it could be. Right.

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Speaker 2: They're faking it. Right. The devil's here. Right.

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Speaker 1: And three.

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Speaker 2: And three, it's a wheat allergy.

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Speaker 1: Right. He calls friends and other clergy over to examine

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Speaker 1: the girls, and they also see these bits. In late February,

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Speaker 1: Samuel and Elizabeth leave the house to attend a religious lecture.

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Speaker 1: And while they're away, their neighbor, a woman named Mary Sibley,

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Speaker 1: is watching the girls. And so the Paris family enslaves

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Speaker 1: two workers, a married couple named Tituba and John. Mary

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Speaker 1: instructs Tituba to make something called a witch cake. Get

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Speaker 1: it ready for this. Oh. which is meant to determine

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Speaker 1: if the girls are being bewitched and by whom.

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Speaker 2: Oh.

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Speaker 1: Sounds like a great treat, right? Yes. A nice little

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Speaker 1: sweet treat.

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Speaker 2: It's going to be delicious.

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Speaker 1: No.

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Speaker 2: Oh.

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Speaker 1: The way you make a witch cake is by taking

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Speaker 1: samples of urine from the afflicted person, so in this case,

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Speaker 1: both the girls, and mixing it into a loaf of

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Speaker 1: rye bread, which you bake.

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Speaker 2: Bad enough rye bread on its own.

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Speaker 1: And then this fucking dog is minding his own goddamn

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Speaker 1: business in fucking Salem, and they feed the bread to

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Speaker 1: the dog.

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Speaker 2: To what?

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Speaker 1: After the dog eats the bread, it's supposed to help

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Speaker 1: reveal who the witch is because after the dog eats

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Speaker 1: the bread.

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Speaker 2: Hens and needles over here.

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Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't specifically know. The dog maybe

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Speaker 1: is like interested in the person who's the witch. Okay.

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Speaker 1: You know, which in this case is Tituba, probably because

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Speaker 1: she feeds him. Who knows what? Which is the only

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Speaker 1: one who doesn't whip him constantly.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, really. But then why does the pea have to

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Speaker 2: be in.

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Speaker 1: The rye bread? Don't question the urine.

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Speaker 2: You're right. I'm so sorry.

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Speaker 1: You're in luck. Don't ask me questions. So the girls

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Speaker 1: end up accusing Tituba of bewitching them. Mary Sibley will

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Speaker 1: ultimately be chastised for also using witchcraft. But the pea

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Speaker 1: bread is seen as legitimate evidence. Always trust the pea bread.

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Speaker 2: I mean.

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Speaker 1: That's what they're thinking.

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Speaker 2: It's who had the recipe. And then who made that

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Speaker 2: final decision? The religious people, I'm assuming?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, right. At the same time this is happening, two

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Speaker 1: other girls on opposite sides of the town start exhibiting symptoms.

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00:19:22,910 --> 00:19:25,649
Speaker 1: One is named Ann Putnam, and she's 12, and the

447
00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:29,300
Speaker 1: other one is a 17-year-old girl named Elizabeth Hubbard. Both

448
00:19:29,359 --> 00:19:32,220
Speaker 1: girls would have known about the first two girls' fits.

449
00:19:32,300 --> 00:19:36,500
Speaker 1: It's not like it spontaneously fucking happened, right? Anne's father

450
00:19:36,580 --> 00:19:39,340
Speaker 1: is one of Samuel Parris' close friends, and Elizabeth is

451
00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:41,290
Speaker 1: a maid in the household of a doctor who is

452
00:19:41,330 --> 00:19:44,070
Speaker 1: widely believed to have attended to Betty and Abigail. So

453
00:19:44,230 --> 00:19:47,050
Speaker 1: it's already spreading. Anne and Elizabeth, without a witch cake,

454
00:19:47,470 --> 00:19:51,580
Speaker 1: say they are haunted by specters. Anne says her specter

455
00:19:51,710 --> 00:19:54,400
Speaker 1: has been sent by Sarah Good, who is very poor

456
00:19:54,540 --> 00:19:58,959
Speaker 1: and prone to loud outbursts that often startle people. Elizabeth

457
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,920
Speaker 1: says that hers was sent by a woman named Sarah Osborne.

458
00:20:02,060 --> 00:20:05,440
Speaker 1: And this Sarah was in very poor health, practically bedridden,

459
00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:08,139
Speaker 1: but she had caused a scandal after the death of

460
00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:12,590
Speaker 1: her husband by buying the contract of an indentured servant

461
00:20:12,750 --> 00:20:16,810
Speaker 1: and marrying him, possibly because she could only get rights

462
00:20:17,050 --> 00:20:19,770
Speaker 1: if she was a married woman. And so all three

463
00:20:19,910 --> 00:20:22,710
Speaker 1: of the first accused are vulnerable women who are considered

464
00:20:22,830 --> 00:20:25,270
Speaker 1: outcasts in some way. Let's see what photos we have.

465
00:20:25,730 --> 00:20:26,450
Speaker 2: Photos.

466
00:20:28,210 --> 00:20:31,619
Speaker 1: Here's a selfie. Here's a photo of Ann Putnam. I mean,

467
00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:32,660
Speaker 1: a drawing. You know what I mean.

468
00:20:32,820 --> 00:20:34,360
Speaker 2: Yes. A representation.

469
00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:37,760
Speaker 1: Oh. Pointing. The comfortable pillow on her back. And then

470
00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:39,280
Speaker 1: here's the Putnam house. Ew.

471
00:20:40,420 --> 00:20:40,720
Speaker 2: Ew.

472
00:20:41,170 --> 00:20:42,730
Speaker 1: That's a nice little clapper down.

473
00:20:42,750 --> 00:20:44,630
Speaker 2: That's like a four-story-er. Totally.

474
00:20:44,950 --> 00:20:47,129
Speaker 1: So on leap day of 1692, Ann Putnam's father, Thomas.

475
00:20:49,530 --> 00:20:52,050
Speaker 1: Travels from Salem Village, which is a few miles from

476
00:20:52,090 --> 00:20:54,470
Speaker 1: the coast and where all of this has been happening,

477
00:20:54,550 --> 00:20:58,090
Speaker 1: Salem Village, to Salem Town, which is the town center

478
00:20:58,250 --> 00:21:03,450
Speaker 1: on the water, to file witchcraft complaints. I don't know

479
00:21:03,490 --> 00:21:07,139
Speaker 1: how that's done. And by that afternoon, there are warrants

480
00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:10,419
Speaker 1: out for the arrest of these three women. The next day,

481
00:21:10,460 --> 00:21:12,919
Speaker 1: the whole town shows up for the legal proceedings in

482
00:21:12,940 --> 00:21:16,600
Speaker 1: the town meeting house. Imagine the smell. All four afflicted

483
00:21:16,650 --> 00:21:21,179
Speaker 1: girls describe their symptoms and their accusations. The two Sarahs

484
00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:26,440
Speaker 1: deny being witches, deny everything. But then Tituba confesses to witchcraft,

485
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,140
Speaker 1: confirms that the other women are also witches, and says

486
00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:33,119
Speaker 1: that there are actually nine witches in Salem who have

487
00:21:33,140 --> 00:21:36,730
Speaker 1: made covenants with the devil. It's unclear why she does this,

488
00:21:36,869 --> 00:21:40,210
Speaker 1: except for the fact that her captor, Samuel Parris, regularly

489
00:21:40,250 --> 00:21:44,610
Speaker 1: beats her. So it's probably a coerced confession. And it means...

490
00:21:45,150 --> 00:21:46,570
Speaker 1: she isn't in trouble anymore.

491
00:21:46,590 --> 00:21:48,969
Speaker 2: Oh, like she got up by turning them in type

492
00:21:48,990 --> 00:21:49,149
Speaker 2: of thing.

493
00:21:49,170 --> 00:21:50,909
Speaker 1: Yeah, they were essentially like, admit it and tell us

494
00:21:50,930 --> 00:21:52,970
Speaker 1: who else, like to everyone, admit it and tell us

495
00:21:52,990 --> 00:21:54,989
Speaker 1: who else is a witch and you can get out.

496
00:21:55,020 --> 00:21:56,560
Speaker 1: And so many people refused to do that.

497
00:21:56,720 --> 00:21:59,920
Speaker 2: Right. It's just interesting the person with the absolute least

498
00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:03,000
Speaker 2: agency in the entire situation is like, you know what?

499
00:22:03,060 --> 00:22:03,680
Speaker 1: I got this.

500
00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:04,600
Speaker 2: It was me.

501
00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:05,400
Speaker 1: Right.

502
00:22:05,420 --> 00:22:06,200
Speaker 2: It was them.

503
00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:10,000
Speaker 1: It's also believed that she genuinely cares about Betty, the child,

504
00:22:10,260 --> 00:22:12,760
Speaker 1: and is concerned for her. It's often said that she

505
00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,820
Speaker 1: entertained Betty and Abigail with fortune telling, but this is

506
00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:18,800
Speaker 1: actually never proven. But there is also a practical reason

507
00:22:18,820 --> 00:22:21,859
Speaker 1: to confess. Those who confess and who name other people

508
00:22:21,980 --> 00:22:25,139
Speaker 1: are not executed. So if you're a true believer in

509
00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:28,140
Speaker 1: the Puritan framework, you can't do this because you believe

510
00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:31,580
Speaker 1: you would be first an outcast and then damned for eternity.

511
00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:35,960
Speaker 1: So Tituba isn't a Puritan, so she isn't worried about

512
00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:38,540
Speaker 1: saying that she is. Those rules. Yeah. But if you

513
00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:40,700
Speaker 1: don't care so much about the Puritan framework, it's a

514
00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:42,899
Speaker 1: good option. Over the course of the trials, more than

515
00:22:42,900 --> 00:22:46,419
Speaker 1: 50 people will ultimately confess. So the three women are

516
00:22:46,460 --> 00:22:49,600
Speaker 1: put in jail. And when this happens, most of the

517
00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:54,399
Speaker 1: girls find that their symptoms alleviate. So the 12-year-old, Ann Putnam,

518
00:22:54,700 --> 00:22:58,810
Speaker 1: her symptoms don't go away. And she accuses four other people,

519
00:22:59,270 --> 00:23:04,350
Speaker 1: including the four-year-old daughter of Sarah Goode. named Dorothy. Besides Dorothy,

520
00:23:04,410 --> 00:23:07,270
Speaker 1: the small child of a mentally ill woman, the women

521
00:23:07,790 --> 00:23:10,919
Speaker 1: Anne accuses in this round are not as vulnerable as

522
00:23:10,980 --> 00:23:13,300
Speaker 1: the first three women who had been accused of witchcraft.

523
00:23:13,340 --> 00:23:16,820
Speaker 1: So now the total stands at seven people accused. And remember,

524
00:23:16,859 --> 00:23:19,619
Speaker 1: Tituba said that there are nine witches total, so everyone

525
00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:23,240
Speaker 1: is like keeping their eyes peeled for whatever they happen

526
00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:24,240
Speaker 1: to think witchcraft is.

527
00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:27,140
Speaker 2: It sounds like anybody and everybody all around. Right.

528
00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:30,619
Speaker 1: But then the accusations begin to come from all angles. Many,

529
00:23:30,900 --> 00:23:33,180
Speaker 1: but not all of those afflicted by fits or other

530
00:23:33,220 --> 00:23:36,320
Speaker 1: symptoms are younger women, but not all of them. Tituba's

531
00:23:36,460 --> 00:23:40,480
Speaker 1: own husband, John, believes himself to be bewitched. So does

532
00:23:40,570 --> 00:23:43,830
Speaker 1: a 40-year-old woman in a prominent family. And her family

533
00:23:43,950 --> 00:23:46,710
Speaker 1: is part of the town's small Quaker minority. So she's

534
00:23:46,750 --> 00:23:50,090
Speaker 1: not even totally locked within the same Puritan framework as everyone.

535
00:23:50,580 --> 00:23:52,040
Speaker 1: And she still comes down with something.

536
00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:55,199
Speaker 2: But it's like the concept of it is this catching idea.

537
00:23:55,220 --> 00:23:57,740
Speaker 1: Yeah. And then you think of like mass hysteria as

538
00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:02,250
Speaker 1: maybe part of that. So a 71-year-old woman named Rebecca

539
00:24:02,350 --> 00:24:06,030
Speaker 1: Nurse is accused. And this results in public outrage because

540
00:24:06,070 --> 00:24:08,990
Speaker 1: she is known to be in particularly good standing with

541
00:24:09,010 --> 00:24:12,609
Speaker 1: the church, is well-liked, well-respected, and is also not in

542
00:24:12,650 --> 00:24:14,950
Speaker 1: great health. She's not flying around on a broom every

543
00:24:14,990 --> 00:24:17,530
Speaker 1: fucking night, you know? You may remember her character as

544
00:24:17,570 --> 00:24:20,370
Speaker 1: well as John Proctor's from the play The Crucible. John

545
00:24:20,430 --> 00:24:21,910
Speaker 1: is brought into all of this when one of his

546
00:24:21,990 --> 00:24:26,070
Speaker 1: young servants starts experiencing symptoms and starts leveling accusations at

547
00:24:26,109 --> 00:24:29,210
Speaker 1: both him and his wife, Elizabeth. In The Crucible, he's

548
00:24:29,260 --> 00:24:32,679
Speaker 1: traditionally viewed as the hero, although that's changed in recent years,

549
00:24:32,820 --> 00:24:36,189
Speaker 1: the one with all the integrity. It's true that as

550
00:24:36,230 --> 00:24:38,080
Speaker 1: this goes on, he will be a vocal critic of

551
00:24:38,100 --> 00:24:39,990
Speaker 1: the witch trials, but he also threatens to beat the

552
00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:43,399
Speaker 1: living daylights out of his young servant. On multiple occasions,

553
00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:46,219
Speaker 1: he proposes beating the people who are experiencing the fits.

554
00:24:46,780 --> 00:24:49,440
Speaker 2: Listen, he only had a very small toolbox back then

555
00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:50,820
Speaker 2: in Puritan America.

556
00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:54,780
Speaker 1: That's true. Ultimately, after expressing all this disbelief, John is

557
00:24:54,820 --> 00:24:57,320
Speaker 1: accused as well. And there's also a play now called

558
00:24:57,380 --> 00:24:59,980
Speaker 1: John Proctor is the Villain, which was recently on Broadway.

559
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:01,240
Speaker 1: It's kind of cool.

560
00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:02,020
Speaker 2: I want to see that.

561
00:25:02,060 --> 00:25:04,320
Speaker 1: I know. So throughout the spring, more and more people

562
00:25:04,380 --> 00:25:07,920
Speaker 1: are accused of witchcraft until 36 people have had charges

563
00:25:08,060 --> 00:25:12,379
Speaker 1: filed against them. The jail's overflowing. Sarah Osborne, one of

564
00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,609
Speaker 1: the first three women accused, dies in prison in May.

565
00:25:15,910 --> 00:25:19,510
Speaker 1: It's freezing cold in there. Food and water is scarce.

566
00:25:19,730 --> 00:25:23,109
Speaker 1: It's just really bad conditions, obviously. It's not like it

567
00:25:23,170 --> 00:25:24,990
Speaker 1: is today in prison.

568
00:25:25,050 --> 00:25:26,090
Speaker 2: Where it's so great.

569
00:25:26,210 --> 00:25:26,830
Speaker 1: Luxury.

570
00:25:27,250 --> 00:25:29,610
Speaker 2: You said in May, but then you're like, it's freezing

571
00:25:29,630 --> 00:25:29,990
Speaker 2: in there.

572
00:25:30,210 --> 00:25:33,370
Speaker 1: Maybe if you're a witch, it's always cold. Maybe it's

573
00:25:33,430 --> 00:25:38,590
Speaker 1: also really hot. Oh, it's beautiful in May. Never mind. No, no.

574
00:25:39,010 --> 00:25:41,310
Speaker 1: It's actually beautiful in May. Except those allergies.

575
00:25:41,330 --> 00:25:42,530
Speaker 2: It's so gorgeous.

576
00:25:43,470 --> 00:25:45,810
Speaker 1: Those seasonal allergies will get you. Yep.

577
00:25:46,010 --> 00:25:47,129
Speaker 2: Or the devil. Depends.

578
00:25:47,150 --> 00:25:51,400
Speaker 1: Yep. So the trials begin in June and a woman

579
00:25:51,460 --> 00:25:54,380
Speaker 1: named Bridget Bishop is the first to be tried. She

580
00:25:54,420 --> 00:25:56,460
Speaker 1: had not been the first to be accused, but the

581
00:25:56,500 --> 00:25:59,020
Speaker 1: prosecutor wanted to try her first because he believed the

582
00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:02,020
Speaker 1: evidence against her was the strongest. So she was most

583
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:04,460
Speaker 1: likely to be convicted, which would then set a precedent

584
00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:05,740
Speaker 1: for the rest of them. A what?

585
00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:07,379
Speaker 2: A precedent of success? Yeah.

586
00:26:07,460 --> 00:26:08,879
Speaker 1: Essentially like, yeah.

587
00:26:09,060 --> 00:26:12,560
Speaker 2: Let's keep it positive, everybody. Come on. Everybody needs a win.

588
00:26:12,580 --> 00:26:14,220
Speaker 1: One, two, three.

589
00:26:14,270 --> 00:26:15,899
Speaker 2: Kill women.

590
00:26:16,050 --> 00:26:19,510
Speaker 1: Yeah. She had previously been tried and acquitted for witchcraft

591
00:26:19,550 --> 00:26:22,830
Speaker 1: about 12 years earlier. Girl can't catch a break. Bridget,

592
00:26:22,850 --> 00:26:26,449
Speaker 1: like several other members of the accused, is elderly, poor,

593
00:26:26,530 --> 00:26:30,270
Speaker 1: and considered by many to be quarrelsome. Put her to

594
00:26:30,310 --> 00:26:33,030
Speaker 1: death immediately. We'd be so fucked.

595
00:26:33,590 --> 00:26:35,510
Speaker 2: Dead, like, upon birth, basically.

596
00:26:35,609 --> 00:26:39,900
Speaker 1: Absolutely. The evidence presented against her includes a penchant for

597
00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:43,980
Speaker 1: wearing black. She's a witch! Yes, I am.

598
00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:46,460
Speaker 2: Yes, I am. Then I grab a big rock and

599
00:26:46,500 --> 00:26:47,280
Speaker 2: jump into the river.

600
00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:54,290
Speaker 1: Goodbye! Goodbye! She drowns. Here's Bridget Bishop. A drawstring. That's spooky.

601
00:26:54,690 --> 00:26:56,750
Speaker 2: I could pull that hat off, don't you think?

602
00:26:56,770 --> 00:26:58,380
Speaker 1: I think you could. I think I could.

603
00:26:58,390 --> 00:26:59,450
Speaker 2: I've got the cheeks for it.

604
00:26:59,450 --> 00:27:02,939
Speaker 1: Or a bonnet. Oh, you think so? Yeah. Why?

605
00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:04,140
Speaker 2: Because it's down over my ears?

606
00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:08,540
Speaker 1: Yeah. Puffy in the back. A little bow at the chin.

607
00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:11,580
Speaker 2: Bring back bonnets. Isn't that what the trad wives are

608
00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:14,199
Speaker 2: trying to do right now? God. Let's hope. Did you

609
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,010
Speaker 2: just sing bring back bonnets or did I?

610
00:27:16,070 --> 00:27:19,670
Speaker 1: You did. I'm not a witch. Why would I sing that?

611
00:27:20,350 --> 00:27:25,220
Speaker 2: I was going to compliment you on that song. Wow.

612
00:27:25,380 --> 00:27:27,100
Speaker 2: I was looking at it and thinking of something else,

613
00:27:27,140 --> 00:27:31,260
Speaker 2: but the song just came out separately, witchcraft style.

614
00:27:31,300 --> 00:27:32,140
Speaker 1: You're definitely a witch.

615
00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:32,580
Speaker 2: I know.

616
00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:35,389
Speaker 1: That's what I would say if I didn't want to

617
00:27:35,410 --> 00:27:36,710
Speaker 1: be known as a witch.

618
00:27:36,730 --> 00:27:37,869
Speaker 2: That's a perfect cover.

619
00:27:39,230 --> 00:27:41,610
Speaker 1: So a few men who had been hired to do

620
00:27:41,750 --> 00:27:45,100
Speaker 1: work in Bridget's home testified to finding a voodoo doll

621
00:27:45,130 --> 00:27:47,619
Speaker 1: in her basement wall, though they do not show the

622
00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:51,929
Speaker 1: doll at trial. Ten witnesses testify about strange behavior, and

623
00:27:51,950 --> 00:27:55,199
Speaker 1: the women who are accusing Bridget testify that her specter,

624
00:27:55,220 --> 00:27:59,020
Speaker 1: evil spirit, is harassing them during trial.

625
00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:00,480
Speaker 2: Oh, like in the courtroom?

626
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:02,180
Speaker 1: Yeah. Ah, you know.

627
00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:02,980
Speaker 2: Has he been sworn in?

628
00:28:03,220 --> 00:28:06,199
Speaker 1: The witch? The specter? No, but have you seen the

629
00:28:06,220 --> 00:28:09,380
Speaker 1: movie The Witch? Oh, yeah. Yeah, like when the little

630
00:28:09,420 --> 00:28:12,070
Speaker 1: kids are saying, she's witching me, and she's just like,

631
00:28:12,140 --> 00:28:14,350
Speaker 1: fucking quit it. You can't do that. It doesn't work

632
00:28:14,410 --> 00:28:16,050
Speaker 1: that way. Right. So annoying. Children. Children.

633
00:28:16,350 --> 00:28:18,450
Speaker 2: Also, it's just like they're out in the middle of

634
00:28:18,510 --> 00:28:21,490
Speaker 2: fucking nowhere. And there's like a wolf on one side

635
00:28:21,530 --> 00:28:23,170
Speaker 2: and 18 diseases on the other.

636
00:28:23,190 --> 00:28:26,340
Speaker 1: Yeah. It's just like, yeah, it's her fault.

637
00:28:26,460 --> 00:28:27,520
Speaker 2: Right. That you're unhappy.

638
00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:30,720
Speaker 1: Brigida's found guilty by a jury and sentenced to death

639
00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:33,760
Speaker 1: by hanging. And this, just as the prosecutor had hoped,

640
00:28:34,180 --> 00:28:36,710
Speaker 1: seems to set the tone. The court adjourns for 20

641
00:28:36,710 --> 00:28:39,350
Speaker 1: days after this execution in a rare moment of sensible

642
00:28:39,390 --> 00:28:41,890
Speaker 1: behavior to take a beat and address how they should

643
00:28:41,930 --> 00:28:45,469
Speaker 1: proceed with the many other cases. Right. This is where

644
00:28:45,490 --> 00:28:49,450
Speaker 1: the sensibility ends. A panel of Boston Puritan ministered, led

645
00:28:49,490 --> 00:28:53,110
Speaker 1: by the most famous and influential one, Cotton Mather, put

646
00:28:53,170 --> 00:28:56,230
Speaker 1: out a statement saying essentially, proceed with caution, but absolutely

647
00:28:56,270 --> 00:28:59,410
Speaker 1: try anyone who has been accused of witchcraft. Like, go

648
00:28:59,450 --> 00:29:01,120
Speaker 1: for it. Yeah. Have some fun with it.

649
00:29:01,450 --> 00:29:03,350
Speaker 2: We hear that the people over in Spain are doing

650
00:29:03,410 --> 00:29:04,969
Speaker 2: great work with that Inquisition.

651
00:29:05,030 --> 00:29:08,190
Speaker 1: Just put a little American pizzazz in there.

652
00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:10,840
Speaker 2: On that absolute mayhem.

653
00:29:13,820 --> 00:29:16,580
Speaker 1: In July, five more women, including Sarah Good, from the

654
00:29:16,620 --> 00:29:20,180
Speaker 1: first three accused, and Rebecca Nurse, the respected 71-year-old, are

655
00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:24,719
Speaker 1: all tried, found guilty, and executed. John Proctor, who has

656
00:29:24,740 --> 00:29:28,180
Speaker 1: been speaking out against the trials, is also indicted, along

657
00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:31,630
Speaker 1: with his wife Elizabeth. He is also related to Rebecca Nurse,

658
00:29:31,790 --> 00:29:34,440
Speaker 1: as well as multiple other people who are or will

659
00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:38,270
Speaker 1: be accused. John's main accusers, besides his servant, is an

660
00:29:38,290 --> 00:29:43,400
Speaker 1: 11-year-old named Abigail William. Sarah Good's four-year-old daughter is ultimately

661
00:29:43,500 --> 00:29:46,490
Speaker 1: released and is shuffled from household to household in town.

662
00:29:46,510 --> 00:29:50,130
Speaker 1: She winds up living a pretty sad life and also

663
00:29:50,190 --> 00:29:53,710
Speaker 1: suffers from mental illness like her mom. It's just awful.

664
00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:57,480
Speaker 1: John and Elizabeth Proctor, along with others, are found guilty

665
00:29:57,540 --> 00:30:01,540
Speaker 1: in August. Elizabeth's execution is delayed because she's pregnant, but

666
00:30:01,620 --> 00:30:04,550
Speaker 1: John is hanged, along with four others, three men and

667
00:30:04,620 --> 00:30:07,969
Speaker 1: one woman. Among these is also a man named George Burroughs,

668
00:30:08,050 --> 00:30:11,469
Speaker 1: who is actually a minister. Right before being hanged, he

669
00:30:11,530 --> 00:30:13,890
Speaker 1: recites the Lord's Prayer, which is something a witch is

670
00:30:13,950 --> 00:30:16,700
Speaker 1: not supposed to be able to do. I can't do it.

671
00:30:17,250 --> 00:30:19,510
Speaker 2: Wait, why didn't they all know that and start doing it?

672
00:30:20,010 --> 00:30:20,410
Speaker 1: I don't know.

673
00:30:21,110 --> 00:30:22,810
Speaker 2: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

674
00:30:22,890 --> 00:30:23,170
Speaker 1: Okay.

675
00:30:23,430 --> 00:30:25,490
Speaker 2: If you go to church like for three months, you'll

676
00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:26,100
Speaker 2: know it by heart.

677
00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:26,860
Speaker 1: Then I won't.

678
00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:27,700
Speaker 2: Let's get it going.

679
00:30:29,020 --> 00:30:31,959
Speaker 1: In September, 18 more people are indicted. Among them is

680
00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:36,100
Speaker 1: Giles Corey, whose wife Martha had also been accused. Giles

681
00:30:36,140 --> 00:30:38,680
Speaker 1: and Martha are both older and both have pasts that

682
00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:42,390
Speaker 1: are considered unbecoming to Puritans. Martha had a child out

683
00:30:42,430 --> 00:30:47,310
Speaker 1: of wedlock who was possibly biracial. Before marrying Giles, Giles

684
00:30:47,330 --> 00:30:49,790
Speaker 1: had in the past been accused of murdering a servant boy.

685
00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:51,920
Speaker 1: So they're like, here's a great way to just get

686
00:30:51,980 --> 00:30:56,100
Speaker 1: rid of these anarchists. Yeah. When Martha has tried, several

687
00:30:56,140 --> 00:30:59,160
Speaker 1: of her accusers are in the audience. Martha simply says

688
00:30:59,180 --> 00:31:01,610
Speaker 1: that there is nothing to the accusations and they are

689
00:31:01,620 --> 00:31:06,610
Speaker 1: just hysterical children. The accusers start mimicking Martha's movements, claiming

690
00:31:06,670 --> 00:31:10,130
Speaker 1: she is controlling them. Martha, how do you fucking, how

691
00:31:10,170 --> 00:31:11,230
Speaker 1: do you get them to?

692
00:31:12,250 --> 00:31:14,530
Speaker 2: It's like those little children are the ones possessed by

693
00:31:14,590 --> 00:31:17,480
Speaker 2: the devil that are just like You're doing it to me.

694
00:31:17,500 --> 00:31:19,100
Speaker 1: Right. Right. You're the witches.

695
00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:21,600
Speaker 2: It's why so many horror movies are child-based.

696
00:31:21,740 --> 00:31:25,040
Speaker 1: Totally. Martha's found guilty and hanged. Giles then refuses to

697
00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:27,960
Speaker 1: undergo a trial, and he is punished with an antiquated

698
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:31,790
Speaker 1: form of torture, being pressed between boards with heavy stones

699
00:31:31,870 --> 00:31:34,330
Speaker 1: on top. It takes him two days to die.

700
00:31:35,230 --> 00:31:37,770
Speaker 2: Okay. Pressed between boards.

701
00:31:37,790 --> 00:31:38,950
Speaker 1: No. Or not.

702
00:31:39,210 --> 00:31:41,690
Speaker 2: Please hold. Okay. Because there's also the thing where there's

703
00:31:41,710 --> 00:31:44,170
Speaker 2: like a big metal... Stretchy?

704
00:31:44,450 --> 00:31:44,800
Speaker 1: Pig.

705
00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:47,380
Speaker 2: That they put you inside of and then put a

706
00:31:47,500 --> 00:31:48,560
Speaker 2: fire underneath.

707
00:31:48,660 --> 00:31:51,550
Speaker 1: I don't want fire. I would do anything to avoid fire.

708
00:31:51,570 --> 00:31:53,610
Speaker 2: That's a very witchy thing of you to say.

709
00:31:54,290 --> 00:31:54,730
Speaker 1: Just saying.

710
00:31:56,130 --> 00:31:59,150
Speaker 2: But what, stretched or pressed? Shit.

711
00:31:59,290 --> 00:32:02,830
Speaker 1: Have you seen that quote that's like, I bet that

712
00:32:02,870 --> 00:32:05,489
Speaker 1: press does feel good for like one second. There's just

713
00:32:05,530 --> 00:32:08,580
Speaker 1: got to be one second of that that's just like, ah.

714
00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:11,500
Speaker 2: It's the same thing. Someone tweeted this long ago when

715
00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:14,030
Speaker 2: The Revenant came out, which is, I know that scene

716
00:32:14,050 --> 00:32:16,510
Speaker 2: was really horrible, but for one second when a bear

717
00:32:16,550 --> 00:32:19,990
Speaker 2: attacks you, I bet it feels so good. Hugging a bear.

718
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:23,580
Speaker 1: Terrible. Awful. Terrible.

719
00:32:23,660 --> 00:32:28,040
Speaker 2: How else do we process these past realities? This really

720
00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:28,820
Speaker 2: fucking happened.

721
00:32:28,900 --> 00:32:31,719
Speaker 1: Truly, truly. He's the only accused witch to die from

722
00:32:31,780 --> 00:32:35,080
Speaker 1: something other than hanging or in prison awaiting trial. At

723
00:32:35,100 --> 00:32:37,870
Speaker 1: the end of October, the governor of the Providence of

724
00:32:37,950 --> 00:32:41,850
Speaker 1: Massachusetts Bay, remember, now appointed by England instead of chosen

725
00:32:42,070 --> 00:32:45,229
Speaker 1: by the Puritans, steps in and dissolves the court that

726
00:32:45,250 --> 00:32:48,490
Speaker 1: had been established to hear the cases and instead instates

727
00:32:48,530 --> 00:32:50,660
Speaker 1: a different court to hear the rest of the cases.

728
00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:54,020
Speaker 1: These trials resume in January and February, so a year

729
00:32:54,180 --> 00:32:57,400
Speaker 1: after the initial accusations. But of 56 remaining people who

730
00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:00,920
Speaker 1: are indicted, only three are convicted and they are pardoned

731
00:33:00,940 --> 00:33:03,740
Speaker 1: by the governor in May. So if someone fucking steps

732
00:33:03,850 --> 00:33:06,580
Speaker 1: in with some Basic common sense.

733
00:33:06,980 --> 00:33:09,200
Speaker 2: It's almost like they were like, oh, you know that

734
00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:13,350
Speaker 2: thing that the Spaniards wouldn't stop doing for 300 years?

735
00:33:14,010 --> 00:33:14,990
Speaker 1: It broke back out.

736
00:33:14,990 --> 00:33:17,710
Speaker 2: In the colonies. It broke out again.

737
00:33:17,790 --> 00:33:19,210
Speaker 1: How do we spin this?

738
00:33:19,270 --> 00:33:21,320
Speaker 2: Now, if we go straight at them, they're going to

739
00:33:21,340 --> 00:33:22,420
Speaker 2: be like, no, no, no, we're right.

740
00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:23,980
Speaker 1: Now you're from the devil. Totally.

741
00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:25,660
Speaker 2: Come back around and act like we like it.

742
00:33:25,660 --> 00:33:28,380
Speaker 1: We need a crisis PR manager immediately.

743
00:33:28,970 --> 00:33:31,410
Speaker 2: And that's the person who invented jack-o'-lanterns.

744
00:33:32,230 --> 00:33:36,480
Speaker 1: The people who were canceling people got canceled.

745
00:33:36,620 --> 00:33:37,060
Speaker 2: That's right.

746
00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:39,040
Speaker 1: And it's just a circle. It's a snake eating its

747
00:33:39,060 --> 00:33:39,600
Speaker 1: own tail.

748
00:33:39,620 --> 00:33:42,160
Speaker 2: This whole cancellation culture.

749
00:33:42,340 --> 00:33:45,420
Speaker 1: You mean you hate waffles? Did you see that?

750
00:33:46,080 --> 00:33:47,680
Speaker 2: Is that one of those things where you post something

751
00:33:47,700 --> 00:33:48,310
Speaker 2: about loving pancakes?

752
00:33:48,350 --> 00:33:50,750
Speaker 1: I love pancakes. Oh, so you hate waffles. Does that

753
00:33:50,770 --> 00:33:51,750
Speaker 1: mean you hate waffles?

754
00:33:51,890 --> 00:33:54,010
Speaker 2: Or the person that's like, I'm blind. I've never seen

755
00:33:54,070 --> 00:33:54,770
Speaker 2: a pancake.

756
00:33:55,350 --> 00:33:59,330
Speaker 1: What if you don't like beans? That's my favorite one. Okay.

757
00:33:59,670 --> 00:34:02,250
Speaker 1: In the end, 19 people have been hanged, five died

758
00:34:02,270 --> 00:34:05,880
Speaker 1: in custody, and Giles had been pressed to death. Ultimately, Tituba,

759
00:34:05,910 --> 00:34:08,319
Speaker 1: who still hadn't been tried, is among those let out

760
00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:11,000
Speaker 1: of prison. There's no record of her or her husband, John,

761
00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:16,020
Speaker 1: in Salem after 1693. I bet. Because goodbye. Bye there.

762
00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:17,080
Speaker 2: Bye-bye. Thank you.

763
00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:21,950
Speaker 1: Bye. Okay, let's talk about theories, takeaways. Historians still disagree

764
00:34:22,010 --> 00:34:23,950
Speaker 1: on why this happened in the first place. And if

765
00:34:23,989 --> 00:34:26,860
Speaker 1: there was a physiological cause... for at least some of

766
00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:29,980
Speaker 1: the symptoms experienced by the accusers. Some have posited that

767
00:34:30,020 --> 00:34:32,600
Speaker 1: it may have been ergot poisoning, remember, which we've talked

768
00:34:32,620 --> 00:34:34,460
Speaker 1: about before, which has come up in the case of

769
00:34:34,500 --> 00:34:38,450
Speaker 1: the dancing plague of 1518, as well as in another

770
00:34:38,489 --> 00:34:41,370
Speaker 1: Halloween episode when you covered the great famine of 1315.

771
00:34:41,370 --> 00:34:43,410
Speaker 1: Great job.

772
00:34:43,610 --> 00:34:43,930
Speaker 2: Thank you.

773
00:34:44,070 --> 00:34:46,770
Speaker 1: Ergot poisoning comes from a fungus that can grow on

774
00:34:46,850 --> 00:34:51,450
Speaker 1: grain and can cause muscle spasms, delusions, and hallucinations. And

775
00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:54,900
Speaker 1: this brings us to the My Favorite Murder Gmail account.

776
00:34:56,510 --> 00:34:58,430
Speaker 1: Everyone who listens to this is related to someone.

777
00:34:58,450 --> 00:35:04,000
Speaker 2: Dr. Maureen Urgot writing in from the Urgot Center.

778
00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:05,180
Speaker 1: Okay, this is a 2020 email.

779
00:35:05,580 --> 00:35:06,100
Speaker 2: Shit.

780
00:35:06,180 --> 00:35:08,719
Speaker 1: The title is Salem Historian here. And this is after

781
00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:11,980
Speaker 1: we've read the thing about Urgot poisoning or like it

782
00:35:12,020 --> 00:35:16,150
Speaker 1: being something causing it. Yeah. Salem Historian here. The magic

783
00:35:16,210 --> 00:35:19,250
Speaker 1: mushroom theory is false. Sorry to be this asshole.

784
00:35:19,270 --> 00:35:21,300
Speaker 2: Yeah. Never, never.

785
00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:23,020
Speaker 1: So I'm going to just read you this part of it.

786
00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:25,580
Speaker 2: Sorry to be this asshole.

787
00:35:26,020 --> 00:35:28,680
Speaker 1: Hi, ladies, Stephen and pets. I'm a huge fan of

788
00:35:28,700 --> 00:35:31,190
Speaker 1: the podcast and always look forward to the listener submissions.

789
00:35:31,630 --> 00:35:33,469
Speaker 1: I hate to be this person, but I just listened

790
00:35:33,489 --> 00:35:36,570
Speaker 1: to the story about the magic mushroom slash ergot poisoning

791
00:35:36,630 --> 00:35:39,270
Speaker 1: theory of the Salem witch trials. And as a Salem

792
00:35:39,310 --> 00:35:42,950
Speaker 1: witch trials historian in Massachusetts, I felt compelled and obligated

793
00:35:43,150 --> 00:35:44,160
Speaker 1: to write in about this.

794
00:35:44,180 --> 00:35:44,880
Speaker 2: Thank you.

795
00:35:45,140 --> 00:35:46,820
Speaker 1: This is a theory that we who work in Salem

796
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:49,160
Speaker 1: have not only been hearing for decades, but been trying

797
00:35:49,219 --> 00:35:53,150
Speaker 1: to squash since its inception. The most reputable Salem scholars

798
00:35:53,170 --> 00:35:56,509
Speaker 1: who have dedicated their life's work are all in strong,

799
00:35:56,570 --> 00:35:59,830
Speaker 1: all caps, agreement that this theory has no sound basis

800
00:35:59,890 --> 00:36:04,130
Speaker 1: in evidence whatsoever and has long since been debunked. There

801
00:36:04,170 --> 00:36:06,710
Speaker 1: are a multitude of reasons why it's not plausible, and

802
00:36:06,810 --> 00:36:08,380
Speaker 1: I will list some of them, but feel free to

803
00:36:08,489 --> 00:36:10,799
Speaker 1: cut the list portion out for time if you feel

804
00:36:10,820 --> 00:36:14,640
Speaker 1: that's necessary. I did. And instead, just take my word.

805
00:36:14,660 --> 00:36:16,020
Speaker 1: We do. Okay.

806
00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:19,560
Speaker 2: I want to hear that list, though, privately.

807
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:20,940
Speaker 1: In the fan cult or whatever. It's everything we know. Yeah, right.

808
00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:21,239
Speaker 2: Oh, okay.

809
00:36:21,610 --> 00:36:23,989
Speaker 1: And the word of everyone in Salem who studies and

810
00:36:24,090 --> 00:36:28,470
Speaker 1: educates about the witch trials, that it is a myth. Again,

811
00:36:28,510 --> 00:36:29,969
Speaker 1: so sorry to be the asshole. I just want to

812
00:36:29,989 --> 00:36:32,720
Speaker 1: make sure that facts are always being spread whenever possible.

813
00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:35,900
Speaker 1: Please forgive. Thank you for all you do. Stay sexy

814
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:41,160
Speaker 1: and read some great texts on the Salem witch trials. A. A,

815
00:36:41,239 --> 00:36:44,310
Speaker 1: you weren't an asshole until that last night. We don't

816
00:36:44,350 --> 00:36:45,130
Speaker 1: know how to read.

817
00:36:45,150 --> 00:36:49,270
Speaker 2: First of all, this is just a talking podcast. But

818
00:36:49,530 --> 00:36:51,819
Speaker 2: never apologize because thank you so much. Oh, yeah.

819
00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:54,160
Speaker 1: That's what this podcast, like, that's the legs of this podcast.

820
00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:54,890
Speaker 2: We need you.

821
00:36:54,910 --> 00:36:55,940
Speaker 1: Yeah.

822
00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:58,719
Speaker 2: The rest of all the other audience is like, don't

823
00:36:58,780 --> 00:36:59,959
Speaker 2: worry about it. Let them know.

824
00:37:00,020 --> 00:37:01,980
Speaker 1: I think it's okay that everyone tells us when we're

825
00:37:02,020 --> 00:37:04,100
Speaker 1: wrong because it's just women telling us when we're wrong.

826
00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:06,020
Speaker 1: That's right. Not men mansplaining us.

827
00:37:06,239 --> 00:37:06,660
Speaker 2: That's right.

828
00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:09,660
Speaker 1: Barstool sportsing us or whatever. OK, so other historians point

829
00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:12,899
Speaker 1: to known grudges between the families that accused each other.

830
00:37:13,260 --> 00:37:15,960
Speaker 1: This is what I believe. It is highly likely that

831
00:37:16,140 --> 00:37:18,620
Speaker 1: some of the accusers, many of whom were young women,

832
00:37:19,210 --> 00:37:23,450
Speaker 1: had been abused, perhaps some by the men whom they accused.

833
00:37:23,670 --> 00:37:26,489
Speaker 1: People especially wonder this about John Proctor, who said some

834
00:37:26,550 --> 00:37:29,989
Speaker 1: questionable things about his young servant who had accused him

835
00:37:30,050 --> 00:37:32,940
Speaker 1: and his wife. He had outwardly mentioned beating her, but

836
00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:35,979
Speaker 1: he made remarks that vaguely suggest sexual abuse as well.

837
00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:39,590
Speaker 1: Others say that, like the dancing plague, this was an

838
00:37:39,650 --> 00:37:44,410
Speaker 1: instance of mass psychogenetic illness when incredibly stressful life circumstances

839
00:37:44,469 --> 00:37:48,130
Speaker 1: manifest themselves in physical symptoms. This is the main working

840
00:37:48,170 --> 00:37:50,310
Speaker 1: theory behind the dancing plague as well. It seems like

841
00:37:50,510 --> 00:37:52,800
Speaker 1: for a lot of these people, there were land disputes

842
00:37:52,860 --> 00:37:54,819
Speaker 1: and money disputes, and the greatest way to get rid

843
00:37:54,860 --> 00:37:57,440
Speaker 1: of the next person in line to inherit something is

844
00:37:57,480 --> 00:38:00,339
Speaker 1: to accuse them of being a witch. Yeah. You know? Yeah.

845
00:38:00,600 --> 00:38:02,830
Speaker 2: Then they're just like, In a month or two, they'll

846
00:38:02,850 --> 00:38:05,109
Speaker 2: be hanged and get that land to ourselves.

847
00:38:05,140 --> 00:38:07,279
Speaker 1: Exactly. And if you don't do it first, they're going

848
00:38:07,300 --> 00:38:07,680
Speaker 1: to do it.

849
00:38:07,860 --> 00:38:08,260
Speaker 2: Yeah.

850
00:38:08,500 --> 00:38:10,580
Speaker 1: In the years following the trials, many of the families

851
00:38:10,719 --> 00:38:15,239
Speaker 1: of those found guilty pushed for exonerations. By 1694, most

852
00:38:15,260 --> 00:38:19,160
Speaker 1: people in Salem are horrified by what has happened. Oops.

853
00:38:19,900 --> 00:38:20,890
Speaker 2: I mean, too late.

854
00:38:22,060 --> 00:38:24,520
Speaker 1: Where were you? They all seemed to realize that a

855
00:38:24,540 --> 00:38:27,580
Speaker 1: paranoia had taken hold and that they had sacrificed the

856
00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:30,580
Speaker 1: rights and freedoms that were unique to Massachusetts for a

857
00:38:30,580 --> 00:38:33,759
Speaker 1: hysteria they no longer really believed in. Or if they

858
00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:36,080
Speaker 1: believe something, it's that the devil had been at work,

859
00:38:36,140 --> 00:38:39,600
Speaker 1: but this work. ironically, had been to turn the people

860
00:38:39,620 --> 00:38:43,640
Speaker 1: of Salem against each other. Samuel Parris, whose daughter and

861
00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:46,820
Speaker 1: niece were the first to complain of witchcraft. Complain of witchcraft.

862
00:38:47,020 --> 00:38:49,140
Speaker 1: I can't go to school today. I have witchcraft.

863
00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:51,330
Speaker 2: I've been a bitch about witchcraft all week.

864
00:38:51,370 --> 00:38:53,710
Speaker 1: That's right. My witchcraft is coming on real strong this month.

865
00:38:53,890 --> 00:38:57,070
Speaker 1: Formally apologizes for his role in the trials just a

866
00:38:57,090 --> 00:39:02,830
Speaker 1: year later. Bro. Saying Satan had deluded him. Can you

867
00:39:02,850 --> 00:39:03,810
Speaker 1: stop bringing.

868
00:39:04,750 --> 00:39:06,759
Speaker 2: If you feel so strongly about it.

869
00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:10,400
Speaker 1: It's possible he does this because of genuine contrition, but

870
00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:12,680
Speaker 1: it's also likely that he does this because his congregation

871
00:39:12,739 --> 00:39:15,489
Speaker 1: is deeply angry at him and he's in danger of

872
00:39:15,530 --> 00:39:19,089
Speaker 1: being fired. Ultimately, he is pressured to resign a few

873
00:39:19,110 --> 00:39:22,910
Speaker 1: years later. Today, Salem is home to a booming tourism industry.

874
00:39:22,930 --> 00:39:23,310
Speaker 1: Have you been?

875
00:39:24,010 --> 00:39:25,410
Speaker 2: I never have. I really want to.

876
00:39:25,430 --> 00:39:29,270
Speaker 1: Same. Including at least 10 different crystal shops and a

877
00:39:29,310 --> 00:39:32,569
Speaker 1: very moving monorail. to those who were killed. Right off

878
00:39:32,610 --> 00:39:34,790
Speaker 1: the main drag, there are a series of 20 granite

879
00:39:34,850 --> 00:39:38,870
Speaker 1: benches protruding from an old stone wall, each inscribed with

880
00:39:38,910 --> 00:39:42,230
Speaker 1: the name of a person who was executed. And that

881
00:39:42,270 --> 00:39:45,339
Speaker 1: is the story of the Salem Witch Trials, the deadliest

882
00:39:45,460 --> 00:39:49,520
Speaker 1: outbreak of witchcraft panic on American soil. And we never

883
00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:50,620
Speaker 1: have to talk about it again.

884
00:39:50,660 --> 00:39:54,370
Speaker 2: And now stop bringing it up. That was awesome.

885
00:39:54,610 --> 00:39:56,430
Speaker 1: I can't believe we haven't done that in 10 and

886
00:39:56,450 --> 00:39:58,030
Speaker 1: a half, 11 almost years.

887
00:39:58,050 --> 00:40:00,730
Speaker 2: I know. We were by ourselves for a long time.

888
00:40:01,090 --> 00:40:05,690
Speaker 2: We were very alone. That is crazy. And so the

889
00:40:05,730 --> 00:40:08,390
Speaker 2: TikTok I just saw that I really loved was this

890
00:40:08,469 --> 00:40:12,479
Speaker 2: guy talking about how there are these theories that kind

891
00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:16,920
Speaker 2: of like the overseers, leaders, royalty, whoever is in charge,

892
00:40:17,239 --> 00:40:20,609
Speaker 2: usually a lot of men. Mm-hmm. Understood that if you

893
00:40:20,630 --> 00:40:23,650
Speaker 2: go in and start killing women in a community, it

894
00:40:23,710 --> 00:40:26,400
Speaker 2: divides the community and then you can control them better.

895
00:40:26,420 --> 00:40:29,200
Speaker 2: You can keep, you know, people don't get together and

896
00:40:29,239 --> 00:40:32,480
Speaker 2: all say we won't work for your low rate, blah, blah, blah,

897
00:40:32,560 --> 00:40:35,220
Speaker 2: the different things, which I just thought was kind of interesting.

898
00:40:35,260 --> 00:40:38,279
Speaker 2: And often it's like, yeah, those women are the outsiders,

899
00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:40,900
Speaker 2: but they're the ones who know medicine. They're the ones

900
00:40:40,940 --> 00:40:44,030
Speaker 2: you go to when something happens and they have answers. Totally.

901
00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:48,040
Speaker 2: Like disempowering, you know, I'm sure there are enslaved people

902
00:40:48,180 --> 00:40:50,600
Speaker 2: who are like, oh, put this poultice on here and

903
00:40:50,620 --> 00:40:53,480
Speaker 2: it heals in a week because it's actually aloe vera,

904
00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:54,799
Speaker 2: a thing no one knows what it is.

905
00:40:55,060 --> 00:40:58,549
Speaker 1: Or the women who are like living outside of the

906
00:40:58,700 --> 00:41:02,310
Speaker 1: men's rules. Let's like set an example and show women

907
00:41:02,350 --> 00:41:03,410
Speaker 1: what happens when you do that.

908
00:41:03,450 --> 00:41:03,790
Speaker 2: That's right.

909
00:41:03,810 --> 00:41:05,620
Speaker 1: By punishing them. So don't even try it.

910
00:41:05,870 --> 00:41:08,710
Speaker 2: But you're filled with the devil if you somehow just

911
00:41:08,750 --> 00:41:12,759
Speaker 2: want an apartment. And a boyfriend. Just a studio apartment,

912
00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:13,379
Speaker 2: you know?

913
00:41:13,500 --> 00:41:16,000
Speaker 1: And a fuckboy. A fuckboy. Or two.

914
00:41:16,020 --> 00:41:18,489
Speaker 2: Or two, or a fuckgirl, or just to have people

915
00:41:18,610 --> 00:41:22,070
Speaker 2: out of your fucking business. All those things are not allowed.

916
00:41:22,150 --> 00:41:23,570
Speaker 2: Get back into the kitchen.

917
00:41:23,650 --> 00:41:24,629
Speaker 1: Yeah. All right.

918
00:41:24,790 --> 00:41:26,860
Speaker 2: Well, if you're from Salem and you have anything to

919
00:41:26,890 --> 00:41:29,440
Speaker 2: say about those theories, we'd love to discuss further.

920
00:41:29,600 --> 00:41:30,420
Speaker 1: Yes.

921
00:41:30,460 --> 00:41:30,939
Speaker 2: That was great.

922
00:41:30,980 --> 00:41:31,259
Speaker 1: Thank you.

923
00:41:34,920 --> 00:41:36,840
Speaker 2: Okay. Are you ready for my story?

924
00:41:36,860 --> 00:41:39,050
Speaker 1: I am absolutely ready for your Halloween story.

925
00:41:39,170 --> 00:41:43,509
Speaker 2: I now realize that our researchers, Maren and Allie, and

926
00:41:43,590 --> 00:41:46,830
Speaker 2: our producer, Molly, they get up to it when they

927
00:41:46,890 --> 00:41:47,569
Speaker 2: plan these out.

928
00:41:47,590 --> 00:41:47,830
Speaker 1: Yeah.

929
00:41:48,090 --> 00:41:50,370
Speaker 2: And I really appreciate it. Because as you were talking,

930
00:41:50,410 --> 00:41:50,910
Speaker 2: I was just like.

931
00:41:51,170 --> 00:41:53,630
Speaker 1: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Uh-oh. You're doing the Salem Witch Trials?

932
00:41:53,850 --> 00:41:56,069
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm going to redo it, and I'm going to

933
00:41:56,090 --> 00:41:58,790
Speaker 2: do it louder. No, today I'm going to tell you

934
00:41:59,010 --> 00:42:03,230
Speaker 2: about a legendary ghost story from the late 1810s. It

935
00:42:03,270 --> 00:42:05,950
Speaker 2: takes place in the rolling hills of north central Tennessee

936
00:42:05,989 --> 00:42:09,310
Speaker 2: at the Kentucky border. The small town of Adams is

937
00:42:09,380 --> 00:42:13,270
Speaker 2: about an hour drive from Nashville. Back in the 1810s,

938
00:42:13,660 --> 00:42:17,100
Speaker 2: there wasn't much there aside from one lone church and

939
00:42:17,140 --> 00:42:21,180
Speaker 2: a handful of family farms cut into the wilderness. So

940
00:42:21,500 --> 00:42:24,790
Speaker 2: it wasn't called Adams. It was just this area. But

941
00:42:24,850 --> 00:42:27,920
Speaker 2: it's where Adams is now. One of those farms is

942
00:42:27,980 --> 00:42:30,480
Speaker 2: owned by a man in his 60s named John Bell.

943
00:42:31,260 --> 00:42:34,420
Speaker 2: John is originally from North Carolina. He moves to Tennessee

944
00:42:34,460 --> 00:42:38,000
Speaker 2: about 10 years earlier after a series of bad harvests.

945
00:42:38,860 --> 00:42:41,260
Speaker 2: He and his wife, Lucy, and all of their children,

946
00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:44,520
Speaker 2: there will eventually be nine children, move to the area

947
00:42:44,600 --> 00:42:48,200
Speaker 2: to start over, and they bring several enslaved laborers, which

948
00:42:48,320 --> 00:42:49,880
Speaker 2: is what happened.

949
00:42:49,620 --> 00:42:50,100
Speaker 1: At the time.

950
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:53,560
Speaker 2: On the backs of those men and women, John's new

951
00:42:53,580 --> 00:42:59,379
Speaker 2: 320-acre Tennessee farm becomes prosperous. And so, of course, then

952
00:42:59,660 --> 00:43:02,240
Speaker 2: he becomes known to his neighbors and in this community,

953
00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:06,660
Speaker 2: and his success earns their respect. And then one afternoon

954
00:43:06,800 --> 00:43:10,560
Speaker 2: in 1817, while John is looking out over his farmland,

955
00:43:10,920 --> 00:43:13,219
Speaker 2: look at everything I built but didn't actually work on,

956
00:43:13,760 --> 00:43:17,420
Speaker 2: he sees a strange animal sitting in his cornfield. He

957
00:43:17,480 --> 00:43:20,600
Speaker 2: can't really tell. He thinks it must be some sort

958
00:43:20,620 --> 00:43:25,340
Speaker 2: of a dog, except that it's very large and The

959
00:43:25,390 --> 00:43:28,090
Speaker 2: more he looks at it, he sees that this creature

960
00:43:28,570 --> 00:43:31,330
Speaker 2: has the head of a rabbit. So he pulls out

961
00:43:31,370 --> 00:43:35,410
Speaker 2: his gun and fires. He's sure that he hit this animal,

962
00:43:36,090 --> 00:43:38,820
Speaker 2: but the creature doesn't seem fazed at all, and it

963
00:43:38,930 --> 00:43:42,300
Speaker 2: just gets up on its feet and then just scampers

964
00:43:42,380 --> 00:43:43,100
Speaker 2: out of the corn.

965
00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:45,560
Speaker 1: Easter bunny? No. Okay.

966
00:43:46,380 --> 00:43:49,500
Speaker 2: The devil bunny. Oh. Not long after, one of John's

967
00:43:49,580 --> 00:43:52,969
Speaker 2: teenage sons, Drew, is walking near the house on the farm.

968
00:43:53,739 --> 00:43:56,280
Speaker 2: When in the distance, he thinks he sees a wild

969
00:43:56,340 --> 00:43:59,020
Speaker 2: turkey sitting on a fence. It's hard to tell, though,

970
00:43:59,060 --> 00:44:01,840
Speaker 2: because it's far enough away that he's like not sure.

971
00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:04,350
Speaker 2: So he runs inside the house to grab his gun.

972
00:44:04,870 --> 00:44:07,330
Speaker 2: Why it wasn't strapped to Drew's back, I don't know.

973
00:44:07,590 --> 00:44:10,330
Speaker 2: But when he runs back out to shoot it, before

974
00:44:10,390 --> 00:44:14,370
Speaker 2: he can fire, the creature spreads an enormous set of

975
00:44:14,450 --> 00:44:17,830
Speaker 2: wings and its massive body rises into the sky and

976
00:44:17,890 --> 00:44:21,020
Speaker 2: flies off. It was way too big to be a turkey.

977
00:44:21,800 --> 00:44:25,320
Speaker 2: Drew has no idea what it actually was. Then John's

978
00:44:25,360 --> 00:44:29,259
Speaker 2: youngest daughter, Betsy, who's 12 years old, is walking around

979
00:44:29,300 --> 00:44:32,779
Speaker 2: on the farm when she sees something green dangling from

980
00:44:32,820 --> 00:44:36,300
Speaker 2: the limb of a nearby oak tree. She walks toward

981
00:44:36,340 --> 00:44:38,640
Speaker 2: it to get a closer look what could be green

982
00:44:38,700 --> 00:44:41,620
Speaker 2: and hanging from this tree. When she gets close enough,

983
00:44:41,660 --> 00:44:44,110
Speaker 2: she sees it's a little girl in a green dress

984
00:44:44,210 --> 00:44:47,310
Speaker 2: hanging from a noose. Betsy runs into the house to

985
00:44:47,350 --> 00:44:50,380
Speaker 2: get help. But when she brings everybody else from her

986
00:44:50,440 --> 00:44:54,739
Speaker 2: family back outside, there is nothing in the tree and

987
00:44:54,780 --> 00:44:57,120
Speaker 2: the limb looks untouched like nothing.

988
00:44:56,860 --> 00:44:58,580
Speaker 1: Was ever there. Okay, creepy.

989
00:44:58,940 --> 00:45:02,160
Speaker 2: After this, the weird encounters stop. So the family just

990
00:45:02,239 --> 00:45:05,030
Speaker 2: writes it all off as a series of strange coincidences.

991
00:45:05,590 --> 00:45:08,069
Speaker 2: But it turns out this is just a lull because

992
00:45:08,110 --> 00:45:10,049
Speaker 2: what happens next is known as one of the most

993
00:45:10,130 --> 00:45:14,049
Speaker 2: famous hauntings in American history. This is the story of

994
00:45:14,090 --> 00:45:16,190
Speaker 2: the legend of Tennessee's Bell Witch.

995
00:45:16,969 --> 00:45:19,009
Speaker 1: Okay, I don't know this at all. You don't? No.

996
00:45:19,410 --> 00:45:23,489
Speaker 2: Okay, there is a movie starring Donald Sutherland, and I

997
00:45:23,530 --> 00:45:27,160
Speaker 2: can't remember who else, about this. And the part where

998
00:45:27,219 --> 00:45:29,720
Speaker 2: Donald Sutherland looks off his porch and sees the fucking

999
00:45:29,760 --> 00:45:32,940
Speaker 2: rabbit scared me in a way where I was like, oh,

1000
00:45:32,960 --> 00:45:35,760
Speaker 2: that was some sort of psychological thing that I don't

1001
00:45:35,800 --> 00:45:39,129
Speaker 2: know what. It's like a giant hair, but it's just

1002
00:45:39,270 --> 00:45:42,870
Speaker 2: looking at him, and it's the creepiest thing ever. What's

1003
00:45:42,890 --> 00:45:43,190
Speaker 2: the movie?

1004
00:45:43,230 --> 00:45:44,149
Speaker 1: It's called The Bell Witch.

1005
00:45:44,750 --> 00:45:47,530
Speaker 2: The movie is called An American... Haunting.

1006
00:45:47,730 --> 00:45:48,090
Speaker 1: Haunting.

1007
00:45:48,110 --> 00:45:48,390
Speaker 2: Oh, okay.

1008
00:45:48,410 --> 00:45:49,350
Speaker 1: I've heard that. Yeah, yeah.

1009
00:45:49,950 --> 00:45:53,819
Speaker 2: It's great. Okay, so the sources for today's story, and

1010
00:45:53,840 --> 00:45:57,040
Speaker 2: the first and main source, is the authenticated history of

1011
00:45:57,080 --> 00:46:01,140
Speaker 2: the famous Bell Witch by Martin Van Buren Ingram. And

1012
00:46:01,380 --> 00:46:04,100
Speaker 2: Bell Witch heads, this is what Marin wrote, Bell Witch

1013
00:46:04,140 --> 00:46:06,700
Speaker 2: heads know it as, quote, the Red Book because it

1014
00:46:06,739 --> 00:46:08,830
Speaker 2: has a bright red cover. It was published in 1894,

1015
00:46:08,820 --> 00:46:13,700
Speaker 2: and it's basically the backbone for the modern Bell Witch story. Mm-hmm.

1016
00:46:14,120 --> 00:46:17,779
Speaker 2: Maren also references 2023's The Bell Witch in Myth and

1017
00:46:17,900 --> 00:46:22,130
Speaker 2: Memory by Rick Gregory. That author is decidedly skeptical of

1018
00:46:22,170 --> 00:46:25,520
Speaker 2: the Red Book's version of events. Then there's a PBS

1019
00:46:25,719 --> 00:46:29,560
Speaker 2: series called Monstrum, which now I want to watch. PBS's

1020
00:46:29,620 --> 00:46:32,520
Speaker 2: take on this kind of strikes a happy medium between

1021
00:46:32,540 --> 00:46:34,700
Speaker 2: the two. And the rest of the sources are in

1022
00:46:34,719 --> 00:46:37,259
Speaker 2: the show notes. So first we can just take a

1023
00:46:37,280 --> 00:46:39,950
Speaker 2: look at where in Tennessee this is taking place.

1024
00:46:39,969 --> 00:46:40,770
Speaker 1: Yeah, I've got to know.

1025
00:46:41,350 --> 00:46:42,049
Speaker 2: You love maps.

1026
00:46:42,710 --> 00:46:43,230
Speaker 1: Oh, I see.

1027
00:46:43,290 --> 00:46:44,310
Speaker 2: See, so we're up there.

1028
00:46:44,330 --> 00:46:44,969
Speaker 1: Okay.

1029
00:46:45,230 --> 00:46:45,569
Speaker 2: Get it?

1030
00:46:45,989 --> 00:46:50,140
Speaker 1: I see. Tennessee looks like a puzzle piece. Yeah.

1031
00:46:50,160 --> 00:46:53,700
Speaker 2: Tennessee. Let's take a look at the cabin where they lived.

1032
00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:55,419
Speaker 2: Just give you another sense, of course.

1033
00:46:55,460 --> 00:46:57,660
Speaker 1: Of a drawing. Oh, it's kind of fancy.

1034
00:46:58,020 --> 00:46:58,280
Speaker 2: Right?

1035
00:46:58,340 --> 00:46:58,890
Speaker 1: It's big.

1036
00:46:59,340 --> 00:47:01,230
Speaker 2: Eleven people in there, ultimately.

1037
00:47:01,350 --> 00:47:01,770
Speaker 1: It's a lot.

1038
00:47:02,050 --> 00:47:05,290
Speaker 2: And, of course, because the farm is successful, they could

1039
00:47:05,310 --> 00:47:08,390
Speaker 2: afford to get all those extra logs for the second story. So,

1040
00:47:09,050 --> 00:47:11,820
Speaker 2: just when the Bells think that all of those creepy

1041
00:47:11,860 --> 00:47:14,420
Speaker 2: encounters are behind them, the knocks begin.

1042
00:47:14,440 --> 00:47:14,570
Speaker 1: No way.

1043
00:47:15,890 --> 00:47:18,040
Speaker 2: They start getting knocks on the front door at night.

1044
00:47:18,340 --> 00:47:20,440
Speaker 2: But when they go to answer it, no one's there.

1045
00:47:20,460 --> 00:47:20,960
Speaker 1: I don't like this.

1046
00:47:21,239 --> 00:47:24,819
Speaker 2: Basically, it's like John would rush outside to see who

1047
00:47:24,840 --> 00:47:27,980
Speaker 2: was there. No one's there. Then the knocks start coming

1048
00:47:28,020 --> 00:47:31,560
Speaker 2: from the outside. So it sounds like people are running

1049
00:47:31,600 --> 00:47:34,760
Speaker 2: around the house, knocking around the house on the outside.

1050
00:47:34,780 --> 00:47:35,219
Speaker 1: I don't like it.

1051
00:47:35,700 --> 00:47:39,819
Speaker 2: Again, John runs outside. No one's there. Then strange things

1052
00:47:39,860 --> 00:47:43,940
Speaker 2: start happening inside the house. One of John's sons, Richard Bell...

1053
00:47:44,610 --> 00:47:50,030
Speaker 2: Documents these so-called disturbances, and basically his recollections are written

1054
00:47:50,190 --> 00:47:54,250
Speaker 2: into the Red Book. It's firsthand, but it becomes like

1055
00:47:54,680 --> 00:47:57,670
Speaker 2: a little bit telephone. But Richard started writing about it,

1056
00:47:58,040 --> 00:48:02,020
Speaker 2: and he describes a specific night where the Bell sons,

1057
00:48:02,260 --> 00:48:04,719
Speaker 2: they all share one bedroom, and they wake up to

1058
00:48:04,840 --> 00:48:06,720
Speaker 2: loud gnawing sounds.

1059
00:48:07,219 --> 00:48:07,709
Speaker 1: Gnawing?

1060
00:48:07,989 --> 00:48:11,609
Speaker 2: Yeah, like chewing, gnawing sounds. Gross. They light a candle

1061
00:48:11,950 --> 00:48:15,270
Speaker 2: thinking it's a rat like chewing at one of the bedposts.

1062
00:48:15,730 --> 00:48:18,450
Speaker 2: But the second that the candles lit, the noise stops.

1063
00:48:19,070 --> 00:48:21,690
Speaker 2: Richard was around six or seven years old at the time.

1064
00:48:22,370 --> 00:48:24,910
Speaker 2: And he remembers that, quote, when we would search for

1065
00:48:24,930 --> 00:48:27,310
Speaker 2: the rat in our room, the same noise would appear

1066
00:48:27,370 --> 00:48:31,530
Speaker 2: in Sister Betsy's chamber, disturbing her and arousing all the family.

1067
00:48:32,170 --> 00:48:35,330
Speaker 2: And so it continued going from room to room, stopping

1068
00:48:35,370 --> 00:48:38,169
Speaker 2: when we are all up and commencing again as soon

1069
00:48:38,210 --> 00:48:40,930
Speaker 2: as we return to bed again. and was so exceedingly

1070
00:48:40,989 --> 00:48:42,570
Speaker 2: annoying that no one could sleep.

1071
00:48:42,590 --> 00:48:44,350
Speaker 1: Okay, that could be a rat in the wall.

1072
00:48:44,810 --> 00:48:47,110
Speaker 2: Could be a rat. In the coming days, weeks, and months,

1073
00:48:47,370 --> 00:48:50,690
Speaker 2: the Bell family experiences escalating harassment at the hands of

1074
00:48:50,770 --> 00:48:55,230
Speaker 2: something they cannot explain, understand, or see. And it's not

1075
00:48:55,290 --> 00:49:00,879
Speaker 2: just noises. The children are pinched and pushed over. They

1076
00:49:00,890 --> 00:49:03,220
Speaker 2: have their hair pulled at the scalp, and their bedding

1077
00:49:03,280 --> 00:49:04,620
Speaker 2: is yanked off in the night.

1078
00:49:05,090 --> 00:49:05,489
Speaker 1: Which is a.

1079
00:49:05,510 --> 00:49:09,350
Speaker 2: Classic horror movie like haunting thing where it's like ghosts

1080
00:49:09,370 --> 00:49:12,819
Speaker 2: have always been doing this since the 1800s. They love

1081
00:49:12,840 --> 00:49:15,440
Speaker 2: to yank your sheets. And then John suddenly develops a

1082
00:49:15,520 --> 00:49:19,970
Speaker 2: strange throat problem, which the Red Book describes as, quote, phlegm.

1083
00:49:20,300 --> 00:49:23,400
Speaker 2: like a small stick of wood was crosswise in his mouth,

1084
00:49:23,820 --> 00:49:25,489
Speaker 2: pressing out both cheeks.

1085
00:49:25,610 --> 00:49:26,090
Speaker 1: God.

1086
00:49:26,410 --> 00:49:28,770
Speaker 2: This feeling comes and goes at random. Oh, sorry, that's

1087
00:49:28,790 --> 00:49:31,310
Speaker 2: the end of the quote, both cheeks. This feeling comes

1088
00:49:31,370 --> 00:49:34,190
Speaker 2: and goes at random, and it's so painful that John

1089
00:49:34,250 --> 00:49:35,890
Speaker 2: struggles to eat or speak.

1090
00:49:36,489 --> 00:49:36,739
Speaker 1: Fuck.

1091
00:49:37,250 --> 00:49:39,630
Speaker 2: So that goes on for about a year. And no

1092
00:49:39,690 --> 00:49:42,549
Speaker 2: one outside the Bell household knows about it because John

1093
00:49:42,570 --> 00:49:45,820
Speaker 2: has told them all, stay quiet. I've got a new reputation.

1094
00:49:45,930 --> 00:49:49,620
Speaker 2: I'm upstanding in this community. He knows going public would

1095
00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:53,839
Speaker 2: be lose-lose because they either think he's crazy or they

1096
00:49:53,860 --> 00:49:56,420
Speaker 2: would actually believe him. And that's the scariest of all.

1097
00:49:56,880 --> 00:50:01,100
Speaker 2: So it's the early 1800s in America. And that's a

1098
00:50:01,120 --> 00:50:05,560
Speaker 2: time when evangelical Christianity dominates American life even more so

1099
00:50:05,600 --> 00:50:09,130
Speaker 2: than today. John Bell is an elder at his church.

1100
00:50:09,450 --> 00:50:12,450
Speaker 2: Many preachers of this time talk openly about ghosts and

1101
00:50:12,510 --> 00:50:15,879
Speaker 2: demons in their weekly sermons. And even though it's been

1102
00:50:15,930 --> 00:50:19,860
Speaker 2: about 125 years since the Salem witch trials, there are

1103
00:50:19,880 --> 00:50:23,560
Speaker 2: still plenty of people who believe in folk magic and witchcraft,

1104
00:50:23,719 --> 00:50:26,799
Speaker 2: especially in the rural South. Some might suspect that the

1105
00:50:26,880 --> 00:50:32,300
Speaker 2: family is cursed. So whatever people think, insanity, a ghost, demon,

1106
00:50:32,360 --> 00:50:34,700
Speaker 2: or a witch, this is the kind of juicy gossip

1107
00:50:34,719 --> 00:50:38,930
Speaker 2: that's that can fuel a small-town rumor mill in perpetuity.

1108
00:50:38,950 --> 00:50:42,800
Speaker 2: That's Maren's writing. Sometimes she'll put a sentence like that together,

1109
00:50:42,820 --> 00:50:44,140
Speaker 2: and I'm just like... Yes.

1110
00:50:44,450 --> 00:50:46,589
Speaker 1: I've never heard you say perpetuity in all my life.

1111
00:50:46,690 --> 00:50:49,589
Speaker 2: I just simply in perpetuity will never say it. So

1112
00:50:49,930 --> 00:50:53,610
Speaker 2: John doesn't want his family being gossiped about, obviously. But

1113
00:50:53,670 --> 00:50:56,610
Speaker 2: he reaches a breaking point with the stick in the

1114
00:50:56,670 --> 00:50:59,620
Speaker 2: mouth issue. It's making his life hell. And then not

1115
00:50:59,660 --> 00:51:01,980
Speaker 2: only is he under attack that way, his daughter Betsy

1116
00:51:02,219 --> 00:51:05,820
Speaker 2: is also under constant attack. Richard writes of Betsy, quote,

1117
00:51:05,960 --> 00:51:09,280
Speaker 2: her cheeks were frequently crimsoned as by a hard blow

1118
00:51:09,340 --> 00:51:12,360
Speaker 2: from an open hand. and her hair pulled until she

1119
00:51:12,390 --> 00:51:15,450
Speaker 2: would scream with pain. So about a year into this haunting,

1120
00:51:15,530 --> 00:51:19,610
Speaker 2: John finally confides in his reverend and close friend, James Johnston.

1121
00:51:19,870 --> 00:51:22,210
Speaker 2: Reverend Johnston agrees to spend the night at the bell

1122
00:51:22,250 --> 00:51:25,430
Speaker 2: house to see for himself what's going on. Richard writes

1123
00:51:25,489 --> 00:51:29,430
Speaker 2: that before bed, the reverend, quote, prayed fervently and very

1124
00:51:29,570 --> 00:51:33,390
Speaker 2: earnestly for our deliverance from the frightful disturbance or that

1125
00:51:33,430 --> 00:51:37,910
Speaker 2: its origin, cause, and purpose might be revealed. And amen,

1126
00:51:38,210 --> 00:51:42,140
Speaker 2: everyone goes to bed. Mm-hmm. Richard writes, quote, the disturbance

1127
00:51:42,219 --> 00:51:43,400
Speaker 2: commenced as usual.

1128
00:51:43,700 --> 00:51:46,120
Speaker 1: Good, because, like, if someone came and stayed and nothing happened,

1129
00:51:46,140 --> 00:51:47,799
Speaker 1: it would be so fucking annoying. Yeah, I know.

1130
00:51:48,440 --> 00:51:50,960
Speaker 2: This demon's like, oh, the priest is here? It's wonderful.

1131
00:51:50,980 --> 00:51:54,160
Speaker 2: Let me put on a little bit of lipstick. So, quote,

1132
00:51:54,280 --> 00:51:58,150
Speaker 2: the disturbance commenced as usual, gnawing, scratching, knocking on the wall,

1133
00:51:58,590 --> 00:52:01,989
Speaker 2: overturning chairs, pulling the cover off beds, et cetera. Every

1134
00:52:02,150 --> 00:52:05,310
Speaker 2: act behind exhibited as if on purpose to show Mr.

1135
00:52:05,350 --> 00:52:07,050
Speaker 2: Johnston what could be done.

1136
00:52:07,170 --> 00:52:08,300
Speaker 1: Great. End quote.

1137
00:52:08,410 --> 00:52:11,120
Speaker 2: So, and this is my line, the reverend is yea

1138
00:52:11,180 --> 00:52:15,160
Speaker 2: and verily freaked out. So the next morning... What?

1139
00:52:15,200 --> 00:52:16,060
Speaker 1: Do you know those words?

1140
00:52:16,680 --> 00:52:19,340
Speaker 2: Yea and verily is like a Bible thing that a

1141
00:52:19,400 --> 00:52:20,819
Speaker 2: reverend is always saying in like a play.

1142
00:52:20,840 --> 00:52:24,529
Speaker 1: Never heard it. I love it. Yea and verily we go.

1143
00:52:26,110 --> 00:52:26,610
Speaker 1: And verily.

1144
00:52:26,930 --> 00:52:29,470
Speaker 2: So the next morning, he tells John that they need

1145
00:52:29,930 --> 00:52:32,370
Speaker 2: to tell the rest of the community about this. So

1146
00:52:32,410 --> 00:52:36,230
Speaker 2: later at church, Johnston announces that the devil and his demons...

1147
00:52:36,130 --> 00:52:39,509
Speaker 2: have descended upon the bell farm. This is kind of

1148
00:52:39,570 --> 00:52:43,320
Speaker 2: like of that time where it's just everything is ripe

1149
00:52:43,380 --> 00:52:45,920
Speaker 2: for the picking. Everything is like, get the community together

1150
00:52:46,020 --> 00:52:49,819
Speaker 2: so we can talk about this. He was tick-tocking with

1151
00:52:49,920 --> 00:52:53,640
Speaker 2: that poor, poor community. But basically, like, ladies and gentlemen,

1152
00:52:53,660 --> 00:52:56,839
Speaker 2: the devil's here. It's everything we've been thinking about all

1153
00:52:56,880 --> 00:53:00,480
Speaker 2: this time. Richard will write, quote, all of our neighbors

1154
00:53:00,520 --> 00:53:05,390
Speaker 2: were invited and committees formed. Experiments tried. and a close

1155
00:53:05,489 --> 00:53:08,310
Speaker 2: watch kept in and out every night. But all of

1156
00:53:08,370 --> 00:53:13,330
Speaker 2: their wits were stifled, the demonstrations all while increasing in force,

1157
00:53:13,610 --> 00:53:17,709
Speaker 2: end quote. So getting everybody involved wasn't like that thing

1158
00:53:17,750 --> 00:53:19,910
Speaker 2: of like, no, it's not happening or only when certain people,

1159
00:53:20,310 --> 00:53:23,610
Speaker 2: it's like full display every time, no matter who's around.

1160
00:53:23,910 --> 00:53:27,110
Speaker 2: So word begins to spread across Tennessee. And among the

1161
00:53:27,230 --> 00:53:30,010
Speaker 2: many people who are said to experience the paranormal activity

1162
00:53:30,050 --> 00:53:32,890
Speaker 2: at the Bell Farm, one of those people, is future

1163
00:53:32,950 --> 00:53:34,310
Speaker 2: President Andrew Jackson.

1164
00:53:34,410 --> 00:53:37,529
Speaker 1: No way. Andy. Andy. Love it.

1165
00:53:37,630 --> 00:53:40,529
Speaker 2: In the house. Bloody, bloody Andrew Jackson is here. AJ.

1166
00:53:40,790 --> 00:53:43,650
Speaker 2: Not the best. Not the best guy. At the time,

1167
00:53:43,710 --> 00:53:47,270
Speaker 2: he's around 50. He's a respected general, and he's familiar

1168
00:53:47,290 --> 00:53:49,930
Speaker 2: with the Bell family because one of their older sons

1169
00:53:49,969 --> 00:53:53,509
Speaker 2: had served under his command in the 1815 Battle of

1170
00:53:53,590 --> 00:53:57,770
Speaker 2: New Orleans just a couple years before. Jackson lives in Nashville,

1171
00:53:57,930 --> 00:54:00,819
Speaker 2: so when he hears about this haunting... He decides to

1172
00:54:00,860 --> 00:54:03,160
Speaker 2: hitch up the wagon with some friends and go to

1173
00:54:03,180 --> 00:54:05,060
Speaker 2: the Bell Farm and see what all the fuss is about.

1174
00:54:05,239 --> 00:54:07,719
Speaker 2: When he arrives at the Bell Farm, his wagon comes

1175
00:54:07,760 --> 00:54:10,560
Speaker 2: to a strange and sudden stop as it rolls onto

1176
00:54:10,580 --> 00:54:11,200
Speaker 2: the property.

1177
00:54:11,780 --> 00:54:13,630
Speaker 1: Like a grocery cart that you're trying to get out

1178
00:54:13,670 --> 00:54:16,029
Speaker 1: of the parking lot? Yes, exactly.

1179
00:54:16,430 --> 00:54:20,370
Speaker 2: It's just stopping, but the wheels are horses. Jackson's horses

1180
00:54:20,489 --> 00:54:23,990
Speaker 2: pull with all their might, but the cart will not move.

1181
00:54:24,850 --> 00:54:27,850
Speaker 2: Jackson and his men inspect the carriage's wheels for any problems.

1182
00:54:27,910 --> 00:54:31,610
Speaker 2: There are none. Then Andrew Jackson and his group hear

1183
00:54:31,810 --> 00:54:36,390
Speaker 2: a disembodied voice mockingly call out, quote, all right, General,

1184
00:54:36,550 --> 00:54:39,240
Speaker 2: let the wagon move on. I will see you again tonight.

1185
00:54:39,950 --> 00:54:43,180
Speaker 1: End quote. No, no disembodied voices, please. Yeah.

1186
00:54:43,320 --> 00:54:46,739
Speaker 2: And I guess witnessed now, but this is the telephone

1187
00:54:46,760 --> 00:54:48,360
Speaker 2: of history. So who knows?

1188
00:54:48,640 --> 00:54:49,780
Speaker 1: Were telephones invented?

1189
00:54:50,219 --> 00:54:53,970
Speaker 2: Yeah, they were made of corn cobs and they didn't

1190
00:54:54,010 --> 00:54:56,469
Speaker 2: work at all. Yeah. But essentially, this is the kind

1191
00:54:56,489 --> 00:54:59,270
Speaker 2: of thing where like a disembodied voice speaks and people

1192
00:54:59,330 --> 00:55:01,230
Speaker 2: talk about the disembodied voice speaking.

1193
00:55:01,710 --> 00:55:01,890
Speaker 1: Yeah.

1194
00:55:02,170 --> 00:55:02,470
Speaker 2: Often.

1195
00:55:02,489 --> 00:55:03,189
Speaker 1: Okay.

1196
00:55:03,210 --> 00:55:06,100
Speaker 2: Which is next level for hauntings, you know, that we've

1197
00:55:06,140 --> 00:55:09,520
Speaker 2: heard of. So that night, Jackson and his party attempt

1198
00:55:09,560 --> 00:55:12,000
Speaker 2: to sleep in the bell home, but they are subjected

1199
00:55:12,160 --> 00:55:16,950
Speaker 2: to the same poltergeist-like activity. It leaves Jackson so disturbed

1200
00:55:17,180 --> 00:55:19,850
Speaker 2: that the next morning he says, quote, I would rather

1201
00:55:19,930 --> 00:55:22,629
Speaker 2: fight the British again than have any more dealings with

1202
00:55:22,710 --> 00:55:23,330
Speaker 2: that torment.

1203
00:55:23,860 --> 00:55:27,120
Speaker 1: End quote. Damn. So. Huge diss.

1204
00:55:27,620 --> 00:55:30,160
Speaker 2: He's like, literal war is better than this.

1205
00:55:30,239 --> 00:55:30,700
Speaker 1: Bye.

1206
00:55:31,450 --> 00:55:34,530
Speaker 2: Now, two big things that start happening as more people

1207
00:55:34,570 --> 00:55:37,270
Speaker 2: hear about the haunting at Bell Farm. One is other

1208
00:55:37,330 --> 00:55:40,319
Speaker 2: residents of the area begin to report their own experiences

1209
00:55:40,380 --> 00:55:43,840
Speaker 2: of paranormal activity, not only in their homes, but in town,

1210
00:55:44,100 --> 00:55:46,940
Speaker 2: even at church. And then the second thing is that

1211
00:55:46,960 --> 00:55:51,859
Speaker 2: the entity starts talking all the time to anyone in town.

1212
00:55:51,880 --> 00:55:52,500
Speaker 1: So it's a woman.

1213
00:55:54,840 --> 00:55:57,450
Speaker 2: Shut her up. It mocks people. Well, it kind of is.

1214
00:55:57,690 --> 00:56:02,150
Speaker 2: It's the bell witch. It mocks people indiscriminately. If it's

1215
00:56:02,190 --> 00:56:06,170
Speaker 2: feeling nice, it'll sing songs or recite scripture or repeat

1216
00:56:06,370 --> 00:56:10,839
Speaker 2: other pastors' sermons word for word from, like, adjoining or

1217
00:56:10,880 --> 00:56:12,339
Speaker 2: like surrounding does it.

1218
00:56:12,280 --> 00:56:14,040
Speaker 1: Too i'm not hitting you why are you hitting yourself

1219
00:56:14,060 --> 00:56:15,680
Speaker 1: why are you hitting yourself why are you hitting yourself

1220
00:56:15,719 --> 00:56:18,760
Speaker 1: really annoying so fucking annoying so the entity has become

1221
00:56:18,800 --> 00:56:21,239
Speaker 1: the entire community's problem at this point but at the

1222
00:56:21,280 --> 00:56:22,960
Speaker 1: bell farm john and his.

1223
00:56:22,900 --> 00:56:27,680
Speaker 2: Daughter betsy are particularly abused by it betsy wakes up

1224
00:56:27,719 --> 00:56:29,640
Speaker 2: in the night feeling like she's been punched in the

1225
00:56:29,700 --> 00:56:33,590
Speaker 2: chest or she finds burrs matted in her long hair

1226
00:56:34,290 --> 00:56:37,690
Speaker 2: a piece of writing attributed to betsy and shared by

1227
00:56:37,730 --> 00:56:40,750
Speaker 2: the Bell's descendants years after the haunting, says, quote, so

1228
00:56:40,790 --> 00:56:44,360
Speaker 2: this is supposedly what Betsy wrote, quote, when the spirit

1229
00:56:44,410 --> 00:56:48,360
Speaker 2: became so tantalizing, filling my mind with horror and causing

1230
00:56:48,380 --> 00:56:51,259
Speaker 2: me to become so nervous, my parents often sent me

1231
00:56:51,360 --> 00:56:54,359
Speaker 2: to a neighbor's to rest for a night. My first

1232
00:56:54,420 --> 00:56:57,799
Speaker 2: night away from home was spent with Feeny Thorne. That's

1233
00:56:57,820 --> 00:56:59,279
Speaker 2: her best friend, Feeny Thorne.

1234
00:56:59,450 --> 00:57:00,129
Speaker 1: Cute.

1235
00:57:00,230 --> 00:57:02,070
Speaker 2: Feeny Thorne and Betsy Bell.

1236
00:57:02,390 --> 00:57:04,750
Speaker 1: Betsy Bell and Feeny Thorne? Mm-hmm. That's adorable.

1237
00:57:05,120 --> 00:57:06,600
Speaker 2: Called the devil into them.

1238
00:57:06,719 --> 00:57:08,279
Speaker 1: Called the devil into them.

1239
00:57:08,940 --> 00:57:11,280
Speaker 2: Okay, so my first night away from home was spent

1240
00:57:11,300 --> 00:57:14,150
Speaker 2: with Theney Thorne. When we retired, there came a loud

1241
00:57:14,270 --> 00:57:18,070
Speaker 2: knocking on our outside door, which seemed to fly open

1242
00:57:18,190 --> 00:57:21,530
Speaker 2: and a great gust of wind was felt. Theney sprang

1243
00:57:21,610 --> 00:57:24,230
Speaker 2: up at once and lit a candle. To our surprise,

1244
00:57:24,290 --> 00:57:28,010
Speaker 2: the door was not open. Then a voice spoke softly,

1245
00:57:28,390 --> 00:57:31,230
Speaker 2: quote within the quote, Betsy, you should have not come

1246
00:57:31,310 --> 00:57:34,740
Speaker 2: over here. You know I can follow you anywhere. Now

1247
00:57:34,780 --> 00:57:35,860
Speaker 2: get a good night's sleep.

1248
00:57:36,080 --> 00:57:37,460
Speaker 1: Then he's like, we're not friends anymore.

1249
00:57:37,580 --> 00:57:39,720
Speaker 2: Then he's like, I don't know you. I'm so sorry

1250
00:57:39,760 --> 00:57:41,400
Speaker 2: to this man. I do not know this man.

1251
00:57:41,460 --> 00:57:42,450
Speaker 1: That is so creepy.

1252
00:57:42,780 --> 00:57:45,350
Speaker 2: A soft hand patted my cheek. We're still in the quote.

1253
00:57:45,470 --> 00:57:47,930
Speaker 2: A soft hand patted my cheek and the voice again

1254
00:57:47,990 --> 00:57:51,430
Speaker 2: assured us that we would not be disturbed anymore that night.

1255
00:57:51,510 --> 00:57:52,290
Speaker 1: That's nice.

1256
00:57:53,230 --> 00:57:55,070
Speaker 2: So we have a drawing of Betsy Bell.

1257
00:57:55,090 --> 00:57:57,650
Speaker 1: Oh, she looks fucking hairy like she has not had

1258
00:57:57,670 --> 00:57:58,650
Speaker 1: a good night's sleep in a long time.

1259
00:57:58,810 --> 00:58:03,060
Speaker 2: Betsy Bell is like, will you please help me? Listen. Listen.

1260
00:58:04,210 --> 00:58:06,050
Speaker 2: But also, I would wear that and I would have

1261
00:58:06,090 --> 00:58:06,490
Speaker 2: that hair.

1262
00:58:07,750 --> 00:58:08,350
Speaker 1: It would be fun.

1263
00:58:08,590 --> 00:58:11,040
Speaker 2: The entity is so intrusive in Betsy's life that it

1264
00:58:11,140 --> 00:58:14,720
Speaker 2: even influences who she decides to marry. So before the

1265
00:58:14,760 --> 00:58:18,480
Speaker 2: haunting started, she was engaged to her childhood sweetheart and

1266
00:58:18,500 --> 00:58:21,620
Speaker 2: the boy next door, Joshua Gardner. But the entity seems

1267
00:58:21,700 --> 00:58:25,410
Speaker 2: dead set on ruining this relationship. It follows them around,

1268
00:58:25,510 --> 00:58:29,330
Speaker 2: harassing them, and that leads Betsy to break off the engagement.

1269
00:58:29,950 --> 00:58:33,950
Speaker 2: And then when she's 15... She marries her much older

1270
00:58:34,070 --> 00:58:36,970
Speaker 2: former school teacher, Richard Powell, instead.

1271
00:58:37,350 --> 00:58:38,090
Speaker 1: Richard's the ghost.

1272
00:58:39,160 --> 00:58:39,450
Speaker 2: I mean.

1273
00:58:39,760 --> 00:58:43,400
Speaker 1: Okay, that's a weird matchmaking trend.

1274
00:58:43,540 --> 00:58:47,280
Speaker 2: It's interesting and, yes, it's that kind of, I wonder

1275
00:58:47,320 --> 00:58:49,380
Speaker 2: if there's a piece of it that's like, Betsy's like,

1276
00:58:49,560 --> 00:58:52,800
Speaker 2: I don't want my one true love, Joshua Gardner, to

1277
00:58:52,820 --> 00:58:53,840
Speaker 2: be subjected to this.

1278
00:58:54,200 --> 00:58:55,360
Speaker 1: So I'm going to marry an old dude.

1279
00:58:55,500 --> 00:59:00,300
Speaker 2: So creepy old Richard Powell. You're next. Okay, so all

1280
00:59:00,320 --> 00:59:04,340
Speaker 2: of this reaches its apex essentially in December of 1820

1281
00:59:04,340 --> 00:59:06,730
Speaker 2: when John Bell, who is now around 70 years old,

1282
00:59:07,190 --> 00:59:10,720
Speaker 2: becomes bedridden and then dies in his sleep. At first,

1283
00:59:10,740 --> 00:59:14,320
Speaker 2: the family attributes John's death to the entity's unending torment,

1284
00:59:14,410 --> 00:59:16,750
Speaker 2: all the stress and pain it's caused him over the

1285
00:59:16,790 --> 00:59:19,890
Speaker 2: last three years. But then the family finds a strange

1286
00:59:19,990 --> 00:59:23,470
Speaker 2: vial near his bed. No one knows where it came from.

1287
00:59:24,050 --> 00:59:27,390
Speaker 2: So the Bells call out to the entity asking if

1288
00:59:27,830 --> 00:59:31,510
Speaker 2: it knows. The disembodied voice tells them, quote, I put

1289
00:59:31,550 --> 00:59:34,410
Speaker 2: it there and gave old Jack a big dose of

1290
00:59:34,450 --> 00:59:38,470
Speaker 2: it last night while he was asleep, end quote. So

1291
00:59:38,570 --> 00:59:41,790
Speaker 2: then the Bell sons decide they're going to test out

1292
00:59:41,850 --> 00:59:45,490
Speaker 2: what this liquid is. You're not going to like this part. Yeah.

1293
00:59:45,820 --> 00:59:48,280
Speaker 2: Warning to our audience. They give a few drops to

1294
00:59:48,320 --> 00:59:48,860
Speaker 2: a stray cat.

1295
00:59:49,320 --> 00:59:50,440
Speaker 1: Oh, come on.

1296
00:59:50,500 --> 00:59:53,920
Speaker 2: You knew. That cat dies, sadly. So they throw the

1297
00:59:53,960 --> 00:59:58,470
Speaker 2: vial into the fireplace. And per Richard, quote, Instantly, a

1298
00:59:58,530 --> 01:00:01,870
Speaker 2: blue blaze shot up the chimney like a flash of powder,

1299
01:00:02,270 --> 01:00:06,250
Speaker 2: end quote. So one very famous poison that turns blue

1300
01:00:06,270 --> 01:00:10,630
Speaker 2: when it's burned is arsenic. Here's John Bell's deathbed. And

1301
01:00:11,850 --> 01:00:13,590
Speaker 2: this is kind of like all the stuff that was

1302
01:00:13,630 --> 01:00:14,690
Speaker 2: going on around it.

1303
01:00:14,750 --> 01:00:15,630
Speaker 1: That poor cat.

1304
01:00:16,050 --> 01:00:18,180
Speaker 2: I know. There's a human being back there, though.

1305
01:00:18,300 --> 01:00:19,060
Speaker 1: Sorry. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1306
01:00:20,880 --> 01:00:27,780
Speaker 2: So reportedly, the entity attends John's funeral. It is... in

1307
01:00:27,820 --> 01:00:31,750
Speaker 2: the crowd of mourners, singing jolly drinking songs. What?

1308
01:00:31,790 --> 01:00:34,430
Speaker 1: Yeah. This is getting, like, comical, kind of, except for

1309
01:00:34,470 --> 01:00:34,740
Speaker 1: the dead guy.

1310
01:00:34,750 --> 01:00:38,190
Speaker 2: It's crazy. Like, the idea that everybody in, like, this

1311
01:00:38,250 --> 01:00:41,660
Speaker 2: little town has to deal with, like, a haunting. Yeah.

1312
01:00:42,300 --> 01:00:45,340
Speaker 2: It's very, it breaks the, like, horror movie genre.

1313
01:00:45,360 --> 01:00:47,280
Speaker 1: The subtlety of a haunting.

1314
01:00:47,340 --> 01:00:50,860
Speaker 2: Yeah. It's not surprising where you're just like, no one's going, oh! Right.

1315
01:00:50,880 --> 01:00:53,360
Speaker 1: You think you're going crazy. It's like, everyone's like, no,

1316
01:00:53,430 --> 01:00:54,690
Speaker 1: it's totally true.

1317
01:00:55,090 --> 01:00:58,950
Speaker 2: Just let it finish the song. So later, Richard will

1318
01:00:58,990 --> 01:01:02,350
Speaker 2: write that the entity, quote, remained with us after father's

1319
01:01:02,390 --> 01:01:05,920
Speaker 2: death through the winter and spring of 1821, all the

1320
01:01:05,960 --> 01:01:10,460
Speaker 2: while diminishing or becoming less demonstrative. Finally, it took leave

1321
01:01:10,520 --> 01:01:14,760
Speaker 2: of the family, end quote. Almost immediately, the story of

1322
01:01:14,820 --> 01:01:17,580
Speaker 2: the haunting at the Bell Farm, it becomes entrenched in

1323
01:01:17,640 --> 01:01:21,530
Speaker 2: Tennessee lore, and then it spreads to neighboring states. In

1324
01:01:21,680 --> 01:01:24,030
Speaker 2: the 1860s, it's even said to have factored into a

1325
01:01:24,090 --> 01:01:27,440
Speaker 2: murder case in Tennessee in as two defendants claim that

1326
01:01:27,500 --> 01:01:30,660
Speaker 2: they killed their victim because he claimed to have powers

1327
01:01:30,720 --> 01:01:33,560
Speaker 2: given to him by the same entity that haunted the

1328
01:01:33,580 --> 01:01:37,520
Speaker 2: Bell Farm. Both of these defendants are acquitted.

1329
01:01:38,100 --> 01:01:38,440
Speaker 1: No.

1330
01:01:38,780 --> 01:01:39,900
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. It works.

1331
01:01:39,920 --> 01:01:40,080
Speaker 1: Okay.

1332
01:01:40,980 --> 01:01:44,720
Speaker 2: Over the years, this story has become nationally famous, documented,

1333
01:01:44,840 --> 01:01:49,050
Speaker 2: or dramatized in papers, on the radio, in books, in movies.

1334
01:01:49,590 --> 01:01:52,090
Speaker 2: It's said to be one of the inspirations behind the

1335
01:01:52,130 --> 01:01:53,150
Speaker 2: Blair Witch Project.

1336
01:01:53,170 --> 01:01:53,470
Speaker 1: Oh, okay.

1337
01:01:53,700 --> 01:01:56,600
Speaker 2: And there are several supernatural theories trying to explain what

1338
01:01:56,640 --> 01:01:59,500
Speaker 2: exactly happened at the Bell Farm. They are recorded in

1339
01:01:59,520 --> 01:02:03,030
Speaker 2: the Red Book. Some theorize that the haunting was instigated

1340
01:02:03,110 --> 01:02:06,210
Speaker 2: by a burial site that was disturbed. Classic.

1341
01:02:06,230 --> 01:02:06,810
Speaker 1: Classic.

1342
01:02:06,910 --> 01:02:11,130
Speaker 2: Poltergeist. Perhaps unknowingly when the Bells started their farm in Tennessee.

1343
01:02:11,750 --> 01:02:14,410
Speaker 2: Another involves a neighbor woman named Kate Batts.

1344
01:02:15,540 --> 01:02:15,700
Speaker 1: Okay.

1345
01:02:15,980 --> 01:02:19,320
Speaker 2: This is where I was like, oh, a little reality.

1346
01:02:18,820 --> 01:02:20,220
Speaker 1: Injected in here. Yeah, that's what I want.

1347
01:02:20,860 --> 01:02:24,830
Speaker 2: So Kate Batts was the Bell's neighbor, and John and

1348
01:02:24,870 --> 01:02:27,790
Speaker 2: Kate had been fighting over a property dispute for years

1349
01:02:27,890 --> 01:02:29,110
Speaker 2: before the hauntings began.

1350
01:02:29,210 --> 01:02:29,930
Speaker 1: Come on.

1351
01:02:30,470 --> 01:02:34,270
Speaker 2: The idea that Kate created this situation with witchcraft just

1352
01:02:34,290 --> 01:02:37,820
Speaker 2: to ruin John's life is so pervasive that in the

1353
01:02:37,880 --> 01:02:41,939
Speaker 2: Red Book, the entity is called Kate, and that's why

1354
01:02:42,000 --> 01:02:46,050
Speaker 2: it's called the Bell Witch, is that it's her. Wow. Yes.

1355
01:02:46,320 --> 01:02:46,540
Speaker 1: Yes.

1356
01:02:47,030 --> 01:02:48,990
Speaker 2: So that's how it's just like so.

1357
01:02:49,030 --> 01:02:51,470
Speaker 1: Could she just have done it without anything supernatural?

1358
01:02:51,770 --> 01:02:54,050
Speaker 2: Yeah. Just somehow she's like, if I get this tube,

1359
01:02:54,170 --> 01:02:56,190
Speaker 2: it goes into their house and they think it's a

1360
01:02:56,230 --> 01:02:56,910
Speaker 2: disembodied thing.

1361
01:02:56,950 --> 01:03:00,150
Speaker 1: Because there's something on his bedside like that she forgot

1362
01:03:00,210 --> 01:03:03,160
Speaker 1: to take with her after she killed him. And she's like, oh, yeah, it's.

1363
01:03:03,490 --> 01:03:04,410
Speaker 2: The vial of arsenic.

1364
01:03:04,450 --> 01:03:04,660
Speaker 1: Yeah.

1365
01:03:04,800 --> 01:03:06,960
Speaker 2: And it has to run back to the tube to

1366
01:03:06,980 --> 01:03:08,980
Speaker 2: the corn cob and be like, I left that there

1367
01:03:09,000 --> 01:03:09,460
Speaker 2: on purpose.

1368
01:03:09,480 --> 01:03:10,720
Speaker 1: Don't kill cats, though, please.

1369
01:03:11,020 --> 01:03:11,320
Speaker 2: Stop.

1370
01:03:11,440 --> 01:03:11,960
Speaker 1: Not that one.

1371
01:03:12,140 --> 01:03:15,790
Speaker 2: Don't just hand it out to cats. Okay, so this

1372
01:03:15,870 --> 01:03:18,250
Speaker 2: is more than a century since the Salem witch trials,

1373
01:03:18,310 --> 01:03:22,550
Speaker 2: but the habit of labeling unorthodox women as witches is

1374
01:03:22,610 --> 01:03:23,510
Speaker 2: an American trend.

1375
01:03:23,590 --> 01:03:24,110
Speaker 1: Classic.

1376
01:03:24,390 --> 01:03:28,030
Speaker 2: Kate is a transplant from the North. So she's an

1377
01:03:28,170 --> 01:03:34,420
Speaker 2: outsider in Tennessee. She's not stereotypically ladylike. She's large. She's strong.

1378
01:03:34,620 --> 01:03:37,540
Speaker 2: She's stubborn. And she's a shrewd business owner. Amen.

1379
01:03:37,560 --> 01:03:37,880
Speaker 1: Kill her.

1380
01:03:38,060 --> 01:03:42,600
Speaker 2: Kill her. After her husband dies, she has to manage

1381
01:03:42,660 --> 01:03:45,720
Speaker 2: the family farm while raising three kids alone. She does

1382
01:03:45,860 --> 01:03:49,690
Speaker 2: all of it and retains the family wealth. An amazing

1383
01:03:49,730 --> 01:03:51,770
Speaker 2: feat for a woman with the odds stacked against her.

1384
01:03:52,070 --> 01:03:53,990
Speaker 2: And so, of course, she's a fucking witch.

1385
01:03:54,010 --> 01:03:54,650
Speaker 1: She's a fucking witch.

1386
01:03:54,850 --> 01:03:56,630
Speaker 2: She's a witch. And then who's going to get the

1387
01:03:56,670 --> 01:04:00,850
Speaker 2: money in the farmland once she's the witch? But some

1388
01:04:00,890 --> 01:04:04,790
Speaker 2: people wonder if John Bell was poisoned, not by an entity,

1389
01:04:04,890 --> 01:04:08,630
Speaker 2: not by an angry neighbor, but by someone in the family.

1390
01:04:08,650 --> 01:04:08,730
Speaker 1: Sure.

1391
01:04:09,890 --> 01:04:13,090
Speaker 2: Or a so-called friend, or one of the many enslaved

1392
01:04:13,150 --> 01:04:16,370
Speaker 2: men or women that he kept enslaved.

1393
01:04:16,430 --> 01:04:19,010
Speaker 1: When it could be multiple people that did that to you,

1394
01:04:20,110 --> 01:04:21,230
Speaker 1: you got to check yourself.

1395
01:04:21,430 --> 01:04:25,390
Speaker 2: People also theorize whether or not Betsy, the daughter herself,

1396
01:04:25,670 --> 01:04:29,430
Speaker 2: was behind the most notorious disturbances, faking her own abuse.

1397
01:04:30,200 --> 01:04:34,860
Speaker 2: And speaking as the disembodied voice through acting, stunt work, ventriloquism,

1398
01:04:34,900 --> 01:04:37,170
Speaker 2: whatever she figured out. There's also a theory it was

1399
01:04:37,250 --> 01:04:40,430
Speaker 2: the former teacher, Richard Powell, hoping to drive a wedge

1400
01:04:40,470 --> 01:04:43,530
Speaker 2: between Betsy and her true love so he could marry her.

1401
01:04:43,550 --> 01:04:47,860
Speaker 2: A more modern theory is the domestic violence theory. Yeah.

1402
01:04:48,140 --> 01:04:51,620
Speaker 2: Because no one could confront the monster directly. They created

1403
01:04:51,680 --> 01:04:53,340
Speaker 2: and then scapegoated a boogeyman.

1404
01:04:53,560 --> 01:04:53,780
Speaker 1: Yeah.

1405
01:04:54,330 --> 01:04:56,750
Speaker 2: These days, an important part of the Bell Witch lore

1406
01:04:56,930 --> 01:04:59,970
Speaker 2: is the Red Book itself, which was published 70 years

1407
01:05:00,170 --> 01:05:03,830
Speaker 2: after The Haunting, so relatively soon after. Its author was

1408
01:05:03,870 --> 01:05:07,090
Speaker 2: a newspaper man named Martin Van Buren Ingram. He was

1409
01:05:07,130 --> 01:05:10,290
Speaker 2: from Tennessee. He knew the Bell Witch story, and he

1410
01:05:10,350 --> 01:05:14,070
Speaker 2: decided to investigate its authenticity himself. In the early 1890s,

1411
01:05:14,220 --> 01:05:18,380
Speaker 2: he interviewed the living descendants of all the people involved

1412
01:05:18,580 --> 01:05:21,160
Speaker 2: because no one who had experienced The Haunting firsthand was

1413
01:05:21,180 --> 01:05:24,620
Speaker 2: still alive. Mm-hmm. So details shift depending on the storyteller

1414
01:05:24,700 --> 01:05:28,209
Speaker 2: and their proximity to the action. Over time, the facts

1415
01:05:28,250 --> 01:05:31,010
Speaker 2: get distorted. They get added to. They get embellished. So

1416
01:05:31,050 --> 01:05:33,610
Speaker 2: the Red Book is like as factual as they could

1417
01:05:33,650 --> 01:05:38,670
Speaker 2: have been 70 years out, essentially. But Martin Ingram maintained

1418
01:05:38,710 --> 01:05:41,760
Speaker 2: that the son of Richard Bell, a Tennessee state representative

1419
01:05:41,800 --> 01:05:46,380
Speaker 2: named James Allen Bell, gave him Richard's manuscript detailing the haunting.

1420
01:05:46,440 --> 01:05:50,060
Speaker 2: So as first person as possible. Yeah. But the manuscript

1421
01:05:50,120 --> 01:05:53,760
Speaker 2: itself has never publicly surfaced. What we do have is

1422
01:05:53,840 --> 01:05:58,300
Speaker 2: a signed letter from James acknowledging its existence. In the

1423
01:05:58,340 --> 01:06:00,660
Speaker 2: same letter, which is included in the Red Book, James

1424
01:06:00,720 --> 01:06:04,520
Speaker 2: says he suspect his father wrote the manuscript decades after

1425
01:06:04,560 --> 01:06:08,820
Speaker 2: the haunting, wishing to document everything for posterity, and that

1426
01:06:08,890 --> 01:06:12,030
Speaker 2: when his father handed it over, he urged James not

1427
01:06:12,070 --> 01:06:14,350
Speaker 2: to make it public until every member of the family

1428
01:06:14,770 --> 01:06:18,290
Speaker 2: who had been there for the haunting firsthand died. Mm-hmm.

1429
01:06:18,610 --> 01:06:23,290
Speaker 2: So the last bell child died in 1890, and in 1891,

1430
01:06:23,290 --> 01:06:25,250
Speaker 2: Ingram said he received a manuscript.

1431
01:06:25,430 --> 01:06:26,400
Speaker 1: So that tracks. Got it.

1432
01:06:26,810 --> 01:06:29,510
Speaker 2: The takeaway here is probably less about proving whether or

1433
01:06:29,590 --> 01:06:32,400
Speaker 2: not this story is true. Right. And more that it's

1434
01:06:32,440 --> 01:06:36,080
Speaker 2: what historian Rick Gregory describes as a, quote, jigsaw puzzle

1435
01:06:36,520 --> 01:06:40,320
Speaker 2: formed by memory, gossip, folklore, and that somewhere in there,

1436
01:06:40,820 --> 01:06:44,890
Speaker 2: the truth is hiding. This month in Adams, Tennessee, now

1437
01:06:44,930 --> 01:06:48,320
Speaker 2: that it's a real town— They celebrate the Bell Witch

1438
01:06:48,420 --> 01:06:53,610
Speaker 2: Fall Festival all month long. Fun. Where paranormal enthusiasts descend

1439
01:06:53,690 --> 01:06:56,570
Speaker 2: upon a small town to visit a replica of the house,

1440
01:06:56,850 --> 01:06:58,930
Speaker 2: which they built. Looky. No way.

1441
01:06:59,010 --> 01:06:59,230
Speaker 1: Yes.

1442
01:06:59,490 --> 01:07:01,270
Speaker 2: So you can go there and you can look at

1443
01:07:01,310 --> 01:07:03,890
Speaker 2: the replica. And then they also go to a nearby

1444
01:07:03,970 --> 01:07:08,070
Speaker 2: cave because there's a cave near the house where the

1445
01:07:08,190 --> 01:07:11,760
Speaker 2: entity was supposed to have originated from and where it

1446
01:07:11,860 --> 01:07:16,370
Speaker 2: returned to once the hauntings ended. Okay. There... People have

1447
01:07:16,390 --> 01:07:22,230
Speaker 2: reported hearing voices and knocks, feeling temperature drops, and having

1448
01:07:22,250 --> 01:07:27,130
Speaker 2: the unsettling feeling of being watched by something. In a cave.

1449
01:07:27,150 --> 01:07:27,830
Speaker 1: Security camera.

1450
01:07:28,030 --> 01:07:32,510
Speaker 2: Oh. They're like, oh, they put these flock cameras up

1451
01:07:32,550 --> 01:07:36,470
Speaker 2: a while ago. Don't worry about those. Anyway, that's the

1452
01:07:36,510 --> 01:07:39,490
Speaker 2: legend of Tennessee's Bell Witch.

1453
01:07:39,630 --> 01:07:41,130
Speaker 1: I don't know anything about that.

1454
01:07:41,310 --> 01:07:41,770
Speaker 2: Really?

1455
01:07:41,930 --> 01:07:42,090
Speaker 1: Yeah.

1456
01:07:42,470 --> 01:07:44,790
Speaker 2: Can we just really quick see Betsy Bell again? Just

1457
01:07:44,830 --> 01:07:47,550
Speaker 2: real quick. Imagine this is the only picture of you

1458
01:07:48,010 --> 01:07:51,240
Speaker 2: left in history. It's just like, so on the day

1459
01:07:51,460 --> 01:07:53,200
Speaker 2: I got married and I looked real pretty and I

1460
01:07:53,200 --> 01:07:55,140
Speaker 2: had like cherry juice on my cheeks.

1461
01:07:55,180 --> 01:07:56,750
Speaker 1: Yeah. No one. Couldn't have snapped a.

1462
01:07:57,180 --> 01:07:58,480
Speaker 2: After year three.

1463
01:07:58,500 --> 01:07:59,620
Speaker 1: Snapped a portrait. What?

1464
01:08:01,020 --> 01:08:02,320
Speaker 2: Snapped a quick illustration.

1465
01:08:02,340 --> 01:08:05,570
Speaker 1: But no. Her shoes on the ground and her combs

1466
01:08:05,650 --> 01:08:06,210
Speaker 1: on the ground.

1467
01:08:06,550 --> 01:08:08,250
Speaker 2: She's just like throwing shit down.

1468
01:08:08,530 --> 01:08:13,090
Speaker 1: Amazing. All right. You've done it. We did it. That

1469
01:08:13,130 --> 01:08:15,550
Speaker 1: was a fucking solid Halloween special.

1470
01:08:15,650 --> 01:08:18,250
Speaker 2: I don't know what people want from us if that

1471
01:08:18,330 --> 01:08:19,550
Speaker 2: wasn't what they want from us.

1472
01:08:19,910 --> 01:08:22,809
Speaker 1: We do so much all year round, and this one

1473
01:08:23,210 --> 01:08:24,350
Speaker 1: special day, we can't.

1474
01:08:24,400 --> 01:08:26,420
Speaker 2: We just asked for your approval in one day, and

1475
01:08:26,439 --> 01:08:29,560
Speaker 2: the answer's no? Wait, you're saying it is yes?

1476
01:08:29,800 --> 01:08:31,400
Speaker 1: Okay, we're going to haunt you then.

1477
01:08:32,360 --> 01:08:32,860
Speaker 2: On Netflix.

1478
01:08:32,900 --> 01:08:35,560
Speaker 1: Congratulations. Stay sexy. And don't get murdered.

1479
01:08:36,280 --> 01:08:37,200
Speaker 2: Goodbye.

1480
01:08:39,960 --> 01:08:40,930
Speaker 1: Elvis, do you want a cookie?

1481
01:08:48,820 --> 01:08:50,639
Speaker 2: This has been an Exactly Right production.

1482
01:08:50,840 --> 01:08:52,570
Speaker 1: Our managing producer is Molly Smith.

1483
01:08:52,770 --> 01:08:54,730
Speaker 2: Our consulting producer is Kate Schellenbach.

1484
01:08:54,830 --> 01:08:56,570
Speaker 1: Our creative lead is Allison Agosti.

1485
01:08:56,870 --> 01:08:59,610
Speaker 2: Our associate producer is Tessa Hughes and our editor is

1486
01:08:59,729 --> 01:09:00,920
Speaker 2: Eris Acevedo.

1487
01:09:01,120 --> 01:09:03,240
Speaker 1: This episode was mixed by Liana Squalacci.

1488
01:09:03,450 --> 01:09:06,050
Speaker 2: Our researchers are Maren McGlashan and Allie Elkin.

1489
01:09:06,250 --> 01:09:09,830
Speaker 1: Email your hometowns to myfavoritemurder at gmail.com and follow the

1490
01:09:09,850 --> 01:09:11,760
Speaker 1: show on Instagram at myfavoritemurder.

1491
01:09:11,990 --> 01:09:15,300
Speaker 2: Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

1492
01:09:15,400 --> 01:09:16,780
Speaker 2: or wherever you get your podcasts.

1493
01:09:16,920 --> 01:09:19,960
Speaker 1: Or watch new episodes every week on Netflix. Search for

1494
01:09:20,000 --> 01:09:22,439
Speaker 1: My Favorite Murder, add us to your list, and hit

1495
01:09:22,460 --> 01:09:26,220
Speaker 1: the double thumbs up button. Goodbye.