1 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday, everybody, and more importantly, at least for me, 2 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:10,000 Speaker 1: Happy October. We have an October appropriate classic today. It 3 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: is the trial of Goody Garlic for witchcraft in Sight, 4 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:18,319 Speaker 1: which originally came out on March. This also seems like 5 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:21,120 Speaker 1: a good episode to share because how Stuff Works has 6 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,920 Speaker 1: launched a brand new podcast called Unobscured, and its first 7 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: season is all about a completely different witch trial, the 8 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: Salem Witch Trials. Unobscured pairs narrative storytelling from Aaron Mankey, 9 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 1: who's the host of Lore and Cabinet of Curiosities, with 10 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,519 Speaker 1: interviews with historians and you can get it wherever you 11 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: get this podcast, So stay tuned at the end of 12 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: today's episode and you will hear the trailer for Unobscured. 13 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,559 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in history class from how 14 00:00:48,640 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 15 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: My name is Holly Fry and I am Tracy V. Wilson. 16 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: And as Women's History Month it is, and we've talked 17 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 1: about some women already this month, but we're going to 18 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,680 Speaker 1: talk about some more. Uh. And one thing I think 19 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:14,960 Speaker 1: that always comes to mind for people when they are 20 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: thinking about women's history is or women in history is 21 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: the Salem witch Trials, which are fascinating in a very 22 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:24,680 Speaker 1: rich tapestry of things to explore. But we're actually going 23 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,039 Speaker 1: to turn back the clock a few decades to a 24 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 1: witch trial that happened before the really big onslaught of 25 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: um of the Salem witch trials. And it happened in 26 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: East Hampton, right, not in quite the New England area 27 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: that people associate with witch hunts and that sort of 28 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: vindictive implementation of things, but it was sort of the 29 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: at the early stage there were other witch trials happening then. 30 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 1: This is in the sixteen late sixteen fifties, but as 31 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: you'll see in this story, not as much of a 32 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 1: clear like how to handle it mentality as there was 33 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: by the time things really got rolling in the witch 34 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 1: trial arena, when when the witch trials really were underway 35 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 1: in Massachusetts, there was a lot of hanging going on. 36 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 1: And this, fortunately to spoil the ending, does not quite 37 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,800 Speaker 1: go in that direction exactly. There are somewhat surprising results 38 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: in this one. Uh. And what we're talking about is 39 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: Goody Garlic, who who is a woman that lived in 40 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 1: East Hampton. Uh. And this whole story starts in the 41 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:36,920 Speaker 1: spring of sixteen fifty seven or sixteen fifty eight, depending 42 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: on which calendar you're using. If you go by the 43 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 1: Julian calendar, it would have been fifty seven. The Gregorian 44 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:44,919 Speaker 1: calendar it would have been fifty eight, because the British 45 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: did not switch over to the Gregorian calendar until the 46 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: mid seventeen hundreds, and in the Julian calendar, March was 47 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 1: the new year, so these events happened prior to that, 48 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: so you'll sometimes see them listed as fifty seven and 49 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: sometimes fifty eight. It's just depending on where the source material, 50 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:07,960 Speaker 1: which calendar, which calendar they went by. So um. George 51 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 1: Dewan wrote a really great piece for the New York 52 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:15,359 Speaker 1: Archives uh talking about this particular incident, but also he 53 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:19,919 Speaker 1: characterizes the times, particularly in East Hampton, as it being 54 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: a very gossipy, whispery innuendo laid in society. Yes, it 55 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 1: hit into context. It was a tiny, tiny community. There 56 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,880 Speaker 1: were thirty four families living in East Hampton and the 57 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: time they were relatively isolated. The community was only about 58 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: ten years old, still trying to get a foothold really 59 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: and established themselves as a community, which had led to 60 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: the unfortunate side effect of it also being very back 61 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: bidy and gossipy and people being angry at their neighbors 62 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 1: for one thing or another exactly. And if you look 63 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: at the town records for this time one you can 64 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: get really lost because they just were so wonderfully meticulous 65 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:03,080 Speaker 1: about notating everything that was happening. But you'll see that 66 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: there was a lot of discord among the citizens and 67 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: they often played out in in the way of official complaints. 68 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: They had set up this sort of structure where you 69 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,920 Speaker 1: could go and complain that you were shafted and did 70 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: not get the right amount of corn that you had 71 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 1: been promised, or you know that this piece of land 72 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: that was in dispute um they would officially complain so 73 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: that that was all on record, and they really were 74 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: very detailed about, you know, including all of these arguments 75 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 1: over property, money, legal claims as part of the town history. Right, 76 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: I sort of imagined it is is like a a 77 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 1: long ago version of today's homeowner associations and all the 78 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:45,039 Speaker 1: squabbling that can go on there, with the difference being 79 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 1: that normally the homeowners association is not going to put 80 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:51,040 Speaker 1: you to death if you were found guilty of not 81 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: paying your door. The right color would hope. Uh. And 82 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: so Goody Garlic was the wife of Joshua Garlic. Her 83 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,719 Speaker 1: name was actually Elizabeth Goody. Is that really a term 84 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: similar to the way we would use mrs today. Uh. 85 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: It's short for good wife, and it kind of is 86 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: a way that was often used to refer to normally 87 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: married women, um, the wife of the good wife part 88 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: being the clue there who were a not particularly high status. 89 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 1: It's not necessarily a derogative term, but it was just 90 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,800 Speaker 1: a very common way to refer to any woman. So 91 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: as we go through this story, you'll hear a lot 92 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: of people being referred to as Goody and that is 93 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 1: what that means. And she was about fifty when this 94 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 1: whole event took place, right, And it all sort of 95 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: was catalyzed by one tragic event. And it's interesting and 96 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: we'll talk about it a little bit more later that 97 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: this event actually doesn't always show up in the tellings 98 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 1: of the Goody Garlic story. One of the historians in 99 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: particular that I read a lot of her work around it, 100 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,440 Speaker 1: mentions that she got interested because she had gone on 101 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 1: a tour and and heard sort of the really glossy 102 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: version of it, and then she knew it seemed like 103 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:10,160 Speaker 1: two sort of easy and packaged, and so she started 104 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 1: looking at various historians accounts of this entire episode and 105 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: how it played out, and they there's really a lot 106 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 1: of variety to it. And she draws some interesting conclusions 107 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: and will link to her research in the show notes 108 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,960 Speaker 1: about why this particular event that really catalyzed it kind 109 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: of gets lost. But so it starts out with a 110 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,479 Speaker 1: young girl by the name of Elizabeth Gardner Howell. She 111 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: was married to Arthur Howell, and she was only sixteen, 112 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 1: and she had recently become a mother. She had had 113 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 1: a daughter, and in the days following the child's birth, 114 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 1: she became quite ill um She in fact had a 115 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: fevered episode in which she cried out, a witch, a witch. 116 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:00,719 Speaker 1: Now you are come to torture me because I spoke 117 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: two or three words against you. In the morning, you 118 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:05,839 Speaker 1: will come fawning. And that all sounds very odd and 119 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 1: sort of awkward to the modern ear, but that's actually recorded. 120 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 1: It's part of the That quote is part of the 121 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 1: transcripts from the hearings that eventually happened. So a neighbor 122 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 1: saw this happened. Yes, he had come to check on 123 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: her she was home alone with the child. He had 124 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: actually come to speak to her husband, Arthur, but who 125 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 1: was out and happened to witness this episode. Yes, so 126 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: his name was Samuel Parson. He saw it has happened 127 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: and became worried that she was bewitched. Yes. Uh. And 128 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 1: in the meantime, Elizabeth's mother, Mary Gardner, who lived very nearby. Again, 129 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 1: tiny community, so everyone kind of lives very close. It 130 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: was basically a street with a row of houses on 131 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,160 Speaker 1: either side. So when it boils down to yes, and 132 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: most accounts will sort of mention the elder Gardener's home 133 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 1: as being just across the street, so she was very close. 134 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:56,840 Speaker 1: So Mary Gardener was ill at the time. And Elizabeth's father, 135 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: Lion Gardner, who was very prominent man in town, and 136 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: he factors in a lot as the story develops, left 137 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,960 Speaker 1: his wife's bedside to go to his daughter's house because 138 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:09,720 Speaker 1: he had been sent for and he was so worried 139 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: about her the behavior that was being described, and he 140 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 1: witnessed the frantic behavior and her claims of witchcraft. And 141 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Gardner Howell actually claimed to have seen Goody Garlic, 142 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:26,240 Speaker 1: her neighbor, and a black figure in her room, which 143 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: if you were to hear somebody say that that would 144 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:31,040 Speaker 1: be troubling, that they are seeing these visions of a 145 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:33,839 Speaker 1: person and a specter, that the person has brought with 146 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: them to torment you in a room, that would be troubling. Yes. 147 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:42,199 Speaker 1: So eventually her mother Mary was well enough to visit. 148 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: She crossed the street and started trying to comfort her daughter, 149 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 1: saying that she was having bad dreams. But Elizabeth really 150 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 1: insisted that Goody Garlic had bewitched her. She was quite 151 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 1: sincere on this point. Yes, that was what was going on. 152 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: She was adamant, completely believed that was happening. Uh. And 153 00:09:02,559 --> 00:09:06,000 Speaker 1: that evening or an evening related to that, three women 154 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 1: of the town were watching over Elizabeth, and Elizabeth started 155 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:13,719 Speaker 1: to address Goody Garlic, who was not with them physically, 156 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:17,040 Speaker 1: as though she were in the room. Yes, and she says, Ah, Garlic, 157 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 1: you jeered me when I came to your house to 158 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: call my husband home. You laughed and jeered me, and 159 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: I went crying away. Oh you are a pretty one 160 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: send for Garlic and his wife. I would tear her 161 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:30,640 Speaker 1: in pieces and leave the birds to pick her bones. Uh. 162 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: And she went on because the women that were there 163 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:37,200 Speaker 1: with her watching over her, uh questioned this outburst and 164 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:39,560 Speaker 1: asked her, you know, why is she saying these things? 165 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,200 Speaker 1: And she replied to them, did you not see her 166 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:44,440 Speaker 1: last night stand by my bedside, ready to pull me 167 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:47,319 Speaker 1: to pieces? She pricked me with pins, and she brought 168 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:49,640 Speaker 1: a black thing to the foot of my bed. So 169 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:51,880 Speaker 1: she thought not only was she bringing a black specter 170 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: into the room that no one else was seeing, but 171 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:57,559 Speaker 1: that the she in the specter were actually pricking her 172 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:04,040 Speaker 1: with pins. Said so slightly troubling again and very adamant. 173 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,080 Speaker 1: I mean, she really felt strongly that this was actually 174 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:10,240 Speaker 1: happening to her, right she She later had a coughing fit, 175 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 1: which the women who were looking after her tried to 176 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:18,360 Speaker 1: calm using oil and sugar, which was an alleged treatment 177 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:22,240 Speaker 1: for witchcraft, and at that point Elizabeth allegedly coughed up 178 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 1: a pin. Two different women witnessed that a pin fell 179 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 1: out of her mouth after she had this coughing fit. Yes, 180 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:32,199 Speaker 1: and that does come up later on again they testified 181 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: that they saw this happen. There is no clear, definitive 182 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:41,280 Speaker 1: account of how that actually happened, if it happened for real, 183 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: if it was slight of hand if the women were 184 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 1: fibbing later on, but there is testimony on the record 185 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:48,440 Speaker 1: that they saw this pin come out of her mouth. 186 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,440 Speaker 1: So that night, Goody Simon's stayed the night with Elizabeth. 187 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:55,240 Speaker 1: They they she slept there in the bed with her 188 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:57,600 Speaker 1: to watch over her, and at the same time, Arthur Howell, 189 00:10:57,679 --> 00:11:01,680 Speaker 1: the husband of Elizabeth, another neighbor, William Russell, and the 190 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 1: gardener's slave her parents slave watched over the sleeping women. 191 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:08,600 Speaker 1: And they kept hearing weird sounds throughout the night that 192 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: we're not explained. There was one in a fireplace, there 193 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: was one that was under the bed, but they could 194 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:16,600 Speaker 1: never locate the source of the noise. And Elizabeth would 195 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 1: wake up periodically and claim that she was being pricked 196 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: with pins. Uh. And unfortunately Elizabeth did not recover. Ever, 197 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:25,200 Speaker 1: she got worse and worse, her fever horse and and 198 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:29,600 Speaker 1: she passed away on February sixteen fifty seven. Again, if 199 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:33,920 Speaker 1: we're going by the Julian calendar. Yes, her baby, though, survived, 200 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:38,320 Speaker 1: even without her mother there to breastfeed her. Which, uh 201 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 1: did you find whether they were able to find a 202 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 1: wet nurse or I never saw any account of how 203 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 1: the baby was taken care of in that regard. I 204 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,880 Speaker 1: know she did legally, the documents were quickly drawn up 205 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 1: to say that she was staying with her father. Uh. 206 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:55,640 Speaker 1: It would be unusual for a baby without a mother 207 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:57,800 Speaker 1: to survive at the time, but she did, and she 208 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,320 Speaker 1: went on to lead by all accounts, at pretty standard 209 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:03,840 Speaker 1: normal life. Uh. But yeah, I wondered too, and I 210 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:08,360 Speaker 1: didn't find any any hard evidence or accounts one way 211 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:10,319 Speaker 1: or the other of how the baby was nourished from 212 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:13,440 Speaker 1: that point on, right, it seems most likely that probably 213 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:17,600 Speaker 1: they found someone else in the community who also either 214 00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 1: had a child or had had a child, which was 215 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 1: very common, and that will actually come up later in 216 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:25,720 Speaker 1: the story regarding someone else. Yes, Uh so a hearing 217 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 1: was underway pretty much immediately, and by some accounts, the 218 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:32,760 Speaker 1: calendar gets a little weird because I did see some 219 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:36,560 Speaker 1: that suggests the hearing had actually started even before Elizabeth 220 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,680 Speaker 1: had passed, but verifying that was a little bit tricky. 221 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: The dates don't always match up, but it was within 222 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:45,080 Speaker 1: a couple of days, so it is conceivable that they 223 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:49,640 Speaker 1: could have started investigating these allegations since um claims were 224 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:52,800 Speaker 1: already being made about Goody Yarlic being implicated in the 225 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:57,280 Speaker 1: illness of Elizabeth, But so the investigation had already begun 226 00:12:57,320 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 1: by the time Elizabeth had passed and really kicked into 227 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:03,160 Speaker 1: high gear, and they wanted to determine at that point 228 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:06,120 Speaker 1: if she had been murdered, and if so, if witchcraft 229 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 1: had been involved, because both of those things were punishable 230 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,360 Speaker 1: by death. And I feel like we should do a 231 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:14,760 Speaker 1: quick side note and mentioned again, in modern times we 232 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:17,320 Speaker 1: talk about witchcraft and we look at it as a 233 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 1: quaint belief of times past. But it was a very 234 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: real fear for this community at this time. And it 235 00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:26,200 Speaker 1: was not uncommon for people in general to be afraid 236 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:29,800 Speaker 1: of the dark arts, so to use the dark arts 237 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:35,319 Speaker 1: to explain otherwise unexplainable things correct, So it it really 238 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 1: was something that was taken very very seriously. When someone 239 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:42,200 Speaker 1: was accused of something like that, it was investigated just 240 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:46,880 Speaker 1: as we would investigate any allegation today of a criminal nature. 241 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:57,679 Speaker 1: This hearing, though, was interesting because it was the first 242 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:00,240 Speaker 1: witchcraft hearing in East Hampton. There had been there's in 243 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:02,440 Speaker 1: New England already, but East Hampton had never dealt with 244 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: this subject before on a legal level. Uh. And the 245 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 1: hearing began and three village justices presided over it. They 246 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:13,839 Speaker 1: were John Wolford, John Hand, and Thomas Baker. And there 247 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:17,200 Speaker 1: is also some discrepancy about how many witnesses actually testified. 248 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: Most sources cite eleven, but the New York Archives telling 249 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:25,760 Speaker 1: of the story does mention thirteen witnesses, So just keep 250 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:29,040 Speaker 1: that in mind. I just in terms of volume, it 251 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:33,120 Speaker 1: seems like eleven is the more accurate, but the archivists 252 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:36,640 Speaker 1: are usually very careful with their numbers, so it could 253 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 1: just be a matter of someone accounting differently in historical records. 254 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: And that's a pretty significant portion of the population of 255 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 1: the town at that time. Yeah, either way, you're close 256 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: to a third, whichever number happens. Uh And according to 257 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:57,000 Speaker 1: UH one text, like I said, there were eleven. But 258 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:00,120 Speaker 1: most interesting are that three people that never test to 259 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: find that we're very very involved. One is Lying Gardner, 260 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 1: the deceased's father. One is Goody Garlic. She never came 261 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:10,840 Speaker 1: forward to defend herself. She didn't speak up to do so. 262 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:13,040 Speaker 1: I wonder if she was given the options to do so. 263 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:16,720 Speaker 1: It seemed like she was, and she just wasn't interested 264 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:20,760 Speaker 1: in addressing any of these accusations. Uh. And the other 265 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: is a woman named Goody Davis, who will come up 266 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:27,120 Speaker 1: again as we go forward. The only person who wanted 267 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: to defend Goody Garlic was her husband, which is interesting 268 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:34,000 Speaker 1: you know that no one would come forward to speak 269 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 1: on her behalf because there are some accounts also that 270 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 1: say that she had friends in very high places, which 271 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:42,680 Speaker 1: will figure into the lore as we go forward and 272 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:46,880 Speaker 1: how this kind of gets absolved later on. But if 273 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: that were the case, you would think more people would 274 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:51,360 Speaker 1: come forward to defend her. But again, dealing with a 275 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: very fearful subject that was not always easily explainable. So 276 00:15:55,960 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 1: going into this hearing, they used said then point system 277 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:04,720 Speaker 1: of criteria for determining the presence of witchcraft. And this 278 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:09,200 Speaker 1: list is so intriguing to me because so many of 279 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:11,000 Speaker 1: them are are really what we've sort of mentioned a 280 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,040 Speaker 1: couple of times. Is something tragic happens that you can't 281 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:19,080 Speaker 1: really explain witchcraft? Yeah, it's like, is it unexplainable witchcraft? 282 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 1: It must be witchcraft. So point one, for example, when 283 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 1: a healthful body shall be suddenly taken without probable reason 284 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:30,960 Speaker 1: or apparent natural cause. So basically, when someone dies with 285 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:35,280 Speaker 1: an obvious cause, it was previously healthy, right, and Samuel 286 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 1: Parsons testimony of Elizabeth. The sudden onset of Elizabeth's illness 287 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:42,800 Speaker 1: easily met this requirement. The next one is when the 288 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:46,000 Speaker 1: afflicted party in his fit tells truly what the witch 289 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,880 Speaker 1: or other absent parties are doing or saying or the like. 290 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:55,760 Speaker 1: So again, kind of odd because it's basically at that 291 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:58,320 Speaker 1: point there's no way to verify right there, just saying 292 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:02,120 Speaker 1: it's what someone said, right, You're taking someone's word for it, 293 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:04,199 Speaker 1: who may or may not be ill from fever at 294 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:07,480 Speaker 1: that point or some other affliction. And several witnesses had 295 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:10,879 Speaker 1: heard Elizabeth mentioned the black specters being pricked with pins, 296 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:13,640 Speaker 1: goody garlic being in the room when she wasn't actually 297 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:16,600 Speaker 1: there physically for other people to see, so that was 298 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:19,960 Speaker 1: met very easily. The third was when there was a 299 00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:23,520 Speaker 1: supernatural strength such that a strong man or two shall 300 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:25,439 Speaker 1: not be able to keep down a child or a 301 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:30,720 Speaker 1: weak person upon a bed. Arthur Howell described the ways 302 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:33,040 Speaker 1: that Elizabeth would try to strike out at the black 303 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:36,240 Speaker 1: figures and how he couldn't hold her in his grasp 304 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:37,840 Speaker 1: when she tried to do this, so even though she 305 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:39,680 Speaker 1: was very ill, when she was trying to fight back, 306 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:44,080 Speaker 1: against the inspecters that she saw her strength appeared to 307 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:46,840 Speaker 1: be more than it should have been considering her physical 308 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:50,199 Speaker 1: condition at that point. The fourth one is when the 309 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:53,520 Speaker 1: parties shall do strange things or say strange things, and yet, 310 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 1: when out of their fits, know nothing of what they 311 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 1: did or said. So there was plenty of strange behavior 312 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:03,120 Speaker 1: in all of the witness accounts. But according to one scholar, 313 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:06,560 Speaker 1: she makes an interesting point that nevertheless, and I'm quoting 314 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 1: at this point, nevertheless, none of the testimony clarifies whether 315 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:12,520 Speaker 1: her delirium was punctuated by moments of clarity in which 316 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:14,400 Speaker 1: she was unaware of what she had said or done. 317 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:20,119 Speaker 1: So we're not sure if that part of the criteria 318 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:24,840 Speaker 1: was actually really focused on at that point, um, but 319 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:29,040 Speaker 1: we do know that she definitely had fits. The fifth 320 00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:35,680 Speaker 1: point when a party doth found it up crooked pins, needles, nails, coal, lead, straw, 321 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:39,920 Speaker 1: hair or the like. Lots of foreign objects in that list, 322 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:42,120 Speaker 1: And we had the two women who we spoke about 323 00:18:42,119 --> 00:18:44,760 Speaker 1: previously testifying that they saw a pin fall out of 324 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:48,479 Speaker 1: Elizabeth's mouth after she had a coughing fit. The sixth 325 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:51,439 Speaker 1: is when the party shall see visibly some apparition and 326 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:56,440 Speaker 1: shortly after some mischief shall befall him. Goody Simon's testified 327 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 1: about Elizabeth's visions of black things in the room and 328 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,920 Speaker 1: her rapid decline in health was already well established since 329 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,159 Speaker 1: many people had witnessed her going from fairly okay to 330 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:08,240 Speaker 1: really really ill in a very brief period of time. 331 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:11,919 Speaker 1: The seventh point was when two or more are similarly 332 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:15,400 Speaker 1: taken in strange fits, so basically, when more than one 333 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:19,479 Speaker 1: person in the community is having the same experience. There 334 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:22,480 Speaker 1: were two witnesses who backed Goody Simon's claimed that she 335 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:26,639 Speaker 1: had had fits after seeing specters, and the Garlics black 336 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,359 Speaker 1: cat was implicated as a specter figure. Yes, so Goody 337 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:32,639 Speaker 1: Simons had said she had seen the black cat and 338 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:35,280 Speaker 1: it shortly after either had fits or her fits had 339 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:38,840 Speaker 1: gotten worse after seeing the animal. So all seven of 340 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:44,040 Speaker 1: those criteria were met easily during testimony, and then in 341 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:45,840 Speaker 1: the in the midst of all of that testimony, there 342 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:50,440 Speaker 1: were additional accusations made against Goodye Garlic. So in addition 343 00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:54,360 Speaker 1: to those seven criteria having been met by witness testimony easily, 344 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 1: additional accusations were made as part of that testimony, and 345 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:00,880 Speaker 1: they sort of formed a bigger dos c a of 346 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 1: what people perceived to be witchcraft behavior around Goody Garlic. Uh. 347 00:20:07,359 --> 00:20:09,840 Speaker 1: It was claimed that she caused four other deaths, one 348 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:14,440 Speaker 1: an unidentified man, one a black child, and two infants. 349 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:17,800 Speaker 1: They said that at one point she poisoned an infant 350 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:22,159 Speaker 1: with cursed milk. Uh. As we had just mentioned, Goody 351 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:24,639 Speaker 1: Simon's claimed that she had fits because of Goody Garlic. 352 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:28,399 Speaker 1: There was a litter of piglets that died after the 353 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:33,080 Speaker 1: sow had a very unusual birth which was attributed to her. 354 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:36,200 Speaker 1: And at one point an ox had broken its legs 355 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,560 Speaker 1: suddenly and her husband. Goody Garlic's husband, Joshua, is also 356 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,960 Speaker 1: implicated here because he had apparently uttered some threats in 357 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 1: a disagreement with Lyon Gardner, who owned the ox and 358 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,959 Speaker 1: was the father of Elizabeth, who had just died shortly 359 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,919 Speaker 1: before it happened, So they had had a verbal dispute 360 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:56,920 Speaker 1: and then suddenly the ox's leg was broken. So once 361 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:01,680 Speaker 1: witchcraft was established to have been involved, the next section 362 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: of the hearing is um meeting the criteria to prove 363 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:09,679 Speaker 1: that the accused was the perpetrator of that witchcraft. So 364 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:14,439 Speaker 1: there are three rules three criteria that the accused had 365 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:16,879 Speaker 1: appeared to the sick party and his or her fits, 366 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:20,600 Speaker 1: that the afflicted was able to name the suspected witch, 367 00:21:21,359 --> 00:21:24,680 Speaker 1: and that the afflicted could describe the witch's actions, all 368 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:28,200 Speaker 1: of which has happened in what we've described so far. Right, 369 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:31,199 Speaker 1: So the existing testimony that met the first seven criteria 370 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: also pretty cleanly wrap up this portion of it as well. 371 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:38,800 Speaker 1: So at that point, uh, things are not looking great 372 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:42,760 Speaker 1: for Goody Garlic. Um. So one thing that's interesting is 373 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,640 Speaker 1: historian Loretta Orian, who I've mentioned some of her work 374 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:50,040 Speaker 1: previously in this in this episode is that many of 375 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:53,399 Speaker 1: the histories of the East Hampton area mentioned the trial 376 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 1: of Goody Garlic, but Elizabeth Gardner Howell's death is really 377 00:21:57,119 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: not part of it. The charges tend to be pretty 378 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:04,719 Speaker 1: general about Goody bewitching neighbors with herbs, ruining crops, sending 379 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:08,200 Speaker 1: her spector cat after people. They're kind of more what 380 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:12,119 Speaker 1: we would think of today is pretty standard witchy behaviors 381 00:22:12,119 --> 00:22:14,800 Speaker 1: of the time, you know, the things that we think 382 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:18,399 Speaker 1: of historically is what people were accused of, And somehow 383 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 1: Elizabeth's death is really not is focused on as the 384 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:27,720 Speaker 1: catalyst for this trial as it was, and orian postulates 385 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:29,919 Speaker 1: that part of that is because the Gardener family was 386 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:34,840 Speaker 1: very very important in the area and they really laid 387 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:38,439 Speaker 1: down a lot of the groundwork for the community, and 388 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:43,399 Speaker 1: that they maybe didn't want their family name associated with 389 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:45,880 Speaker 1: all of this, and that some because there are still 390 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:49,680 Speaker 1: members that Gardener family descendants there that you know, give 391 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:52,160 Speaker 1: tours that are part of this and so o Ryan 392 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:54,000 Speaker 1: is postulating that they just kind of want to keep 393 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,159 Speaker 1: the family name out of it. Well. And it was 394 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,679 Speaker 1: one of those tours where as we talked about earlier 395 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:02,080 Speaker 1: about you know, hearing the story while on a tour 396 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:04,080 Speaker 1: like that was one of those tours of of one 397 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:08,640 Speaker 1: of the old family properties that uh, that she heard 398 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:10,520 Speaker 1: about this story for the first time. Yeah, that really 399 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,600 Speaker 1: catalyzed her interest in it and really sussing out the 400 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:16,679 Speaker 1: truth in all of the various histories. And because the 401 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:20,960 Speaker 1: community was very, very small, the Garlics had dealings with everyone, 402 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:25,560 Speaker 1: and some of them you know, involved disagreements, but all 403 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:27,639 Speaker 1: of them of course came into focus at this time. 404 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:30,200 Speaker 1: And because there is at that point so much information 405 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,080 Speaker 1: about it, that's kind of what informs a lot of 406 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:36,479 Speaker 1: the historical writings about it that that give Goody Garlic 407 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 1: more of a general witchcraft accusation rather than the specificity 408 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:44,000 Speaker 1: of a murder. One thing that comes out that's very 409 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:48,040 Speaker 1: interesting as you read this is there is an alternate 410 00:23:48,119 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 1: villain in this story as we look at it kind 411 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:53,199 Speaker 1: of from our perspective, and that's Goody Davis. Who is 412 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:57,959 Speaker 1: this woman who clearly did not like Goody Garlic and 413 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:00,680 Speaker 1: she felt that she had been personally owned by her, 414 00:24:01,119 --> 00:24:03,719 Speaker 1: and much of the testimony against Goody Garlic, even though 415 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:07,720 Speaker 1: Goodie Davis never testified, it kind of came to light 416 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,159 Speaker 1: that it could all be tracked back to stories that 417 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 1: Goody Davis had told people. So Goody Davis had lost 418 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 1: her own baby after what she claimed was Goody Garlic 419 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:21,639 Speaker 1: casting the evil eye on it. Uh. The story is 420 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:24,520 Speaker 1: that Goody Garlic had noted that the baby was ill, 421 00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: saying the child is not well for it grown is 422 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,000 Speaker 1: And later after she said those words, the baby didn't 423 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,520 Speaker 1: open its eyes or make noise ever again, and it 424 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:37,640 Speaker 1: died five days later. Uh. And Goody Davis her point 425 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,199 Speaker 1: of view was that this was an active of witchcraft 426 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:51,240 Speaker 1: or the evil I from Goody Garlic. So an interesting 427 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,080 Speaker 1: element comes into the story here regarding the Gardener family, 428 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 1: because allegedly the day that this testimony came up in 429 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:01,119 Speaker 1: the East Hampton hearing involving Goody Davis believing that her 430 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:06,600 Speaker 1: child had been cursed by Goody Garlic, servants of Lyon Gardner, 431 00:25:07,119 --> 00:25:09,399 Speaker 1: a good Man veil and his spouse claimed to have 432 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:12,160 Speaker 1: heard Lyon Gardner say and remember this is the father 433 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,320 Speaker 1: of the girl who has just died. And I quote 434 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:18,480 Speaker 1: Goody Davis had taken an Indian child to nurse for 435 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:21,200 Speaker 1: a little wampum and had starved her own child to death. 436 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 1: So someone with a pretty serious stake in seeing justice 437 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:29,800 Speaker 1: done or vengeance, if he really believed this woman had 438 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:34,240 Speaker 1: killed his daughter, was actually speaking out against the women 439 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:38,000 Speaker 1: that were accusing Goody Garlic and saying, oh, no, you 440 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:40,960 Speaker 1: brought that on yourself. Although again he did not officially 441 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:43,320 Speaker 1: testify in the trial, these are things that his servants 442 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:46,200 Speaker 1: overheard him saying, and they reported back to other people. 443 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:49,480 Speaker 1: So it establishes Lion is very even tempered and being 444 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,600 Speaker 1: a voice of reason, even in you know, the depths 445 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 1: of grief, grief over losing his daughter. And in some 446 00:25:56,760 --> 00:25:59,880 Speaker 1: versions of the history it's even suggested that Lyon Gardeners 447 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:02,360 Speaker 1: I actually a friend of Goody Garlic, and that they 448 00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:04,439 Speaker 1: have a pretty good relationship and he actually wants to 449 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:07,399 Speaker 1: protect her. We do know that Goody Garlic worked for 450 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:12,960 Speaker 1: him at one point, but there's no real clear documentation 451 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,439 Speaker 1: that they were really any more than that, you know, 452 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,240 Speaker 1: neighbors and friends. I mean, there are even disputes in 453 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:20,960 Speaker 1: that long public record that I mentioned earlier between the 454 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:24,479 Speaker 1: Garlics and the Gardeners. But really there are disputes amongst 455 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:26,560 Speaker 1: almost every single family, like you could do all of 456 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 1: the possible permutations of family to family amongst the thirty 457 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:32,120 Speaker 1: four that lived there, and each of them have had 458 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,240 Speaker 1: some argument at some point in time that was documented. 459 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:37,520 Speaker 1: So right, and I still keep imagining it as as 460 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:42,280 Speaker 1: a seventeenth century condo association and everyone squabbling with everyone 461 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:44,320 Speaker 1: all the time. It did appear to have a lot 462 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:48,840 Speaker 1: of squabbles. And at this point there is an another 463 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:52,040 Speaker 1: interesting development, which is that the case moves on it 464 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,080 Speaker 1: The judgment is not handed down there in east Hampton. 465 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:58,000 Speaker 1: Now they decided to send it to Hartford, which had 466 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:02,600 Speaker 1: more experience and dealing with charges like this. There was 467 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:05,439 Speaker 1: some trepidation on the parts of the magistrates about ruling 468 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:09,359 Speaker 1: in a case that had such serious consequences for the accused, which, 469 00:27:09,359 --> 00:27:14,200 Speaker 1: considering the lore of witch hunts, is pretty level headed. 470 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:18,160 Speaker 1: Like when you read transcripts of witch trials and sort 471 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:21,680 Speaker 1: of read accounts of UH towns in which a big 472 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:24,119 Speaker 1: witch trial became the central focus, there tended to be 473 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,439 Speaker 1: a lot of hysteria and a lot of rush to judgment, 474 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:29,600 Speaker 1: And this is really like, we need to give this 475 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:35,160 Speaker 1: case to someone else who has more experience considering the 476 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:39,120 Speaker 1: ramifications that might come down. Yes, and it it does 477 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:41,440 Speaker 1: make me wonder if some of that is just based 478 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 1: on the fact that it is such a small community 479 00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:45,520 Speaker 1: and they do all know each other, like if they 480 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:47,800 Speaker 1: have a sense of the level of import of each 481 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:51,119 Speaker 1: person in that community, or if they just were that 482 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:55,960 Speaker 1: level headed generally, we don't know. So UH Baker in 483 00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:58,399 Speaker 1: hand were then dispatched to Connecticut. They were two of 484 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:02,119 Speaker 1: the magistrates that had heard the hearing there in East Hampton, 485 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:05,679 Speaker 1: and they were bringing goody garlic to her trial there 486 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:09,440 Speaker 1: in Hampton or in the Hartford Rather, they were also 487 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:12,600 Speaker 1: finishing up negotiations to make East Hampton part of the 488 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:16,320 Speaker 1: Connecticut Colony. So there was a double intent there in 489 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:20,320 Speaker 1: their travels and Lyon Gardner was actually part of the party, 490 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 1: but records indicate he did not have any involvement in 491 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 1: the Garlic case at that point. He was just there 492 00:28:25,359 --> 00:28:29,280 Speaker 1: to assist with the Connecticut negotiations. So there's some haziness 493 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:32,720 Speaker 1: and some inconsistency at this point. There are accounts that 494 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: claimed there was no Hartford trial at all, and that 495 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:40,360 Speaker 1: Gardner used his influence to spare the Garlics from what 496 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:42,840 Speaker 1: was likely to happen, which was that Goody Garlic would 497 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,600 Speaker 1: be executed. But there are also records of the case 498 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:49,280 Speaker 1: being heard by Governor John Winthrop Jr. And his six 499 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:53,080 Speaker 1: other magistrates, as well as a twelve manajury. So we 500 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:55,720 Speaker 1: mentioned that mostly because there, I mean, there really are 501 00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:59,840 Speaker 1: government documents, government records that indicate that this trial did happen. 502 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:02,400 Speaker 1: But again it goes back to that sort of desire 503 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:05,080 Speaker 1: to do very glossy versions of history. There are many 504 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:07,920 Speaker 1: accounts that really seem to firmly believe that that trial 505 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:12,080 Speaker 1: never happened, which kind of interesting. And so the indictment 506 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: against Goody Garlic that accompanied her to Hartford reads Elizabeth 507 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,600 Speaker 1: Garlic thou Art indicated by the name of Elizabeth Garlic. 508 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:22,400 Speaker 1: The wife of Joshua Garlic of East Hampton, that not 509 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:24,960 Speaker 1: having the fear of God before thine eyes, thou hast 510 00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:28,840 Speaker 1: entertained Satan, the great enemy of God and mankind, and 511 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:31,720 Speaker 1: by his help, since the year sixteen fifty hath done 512 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:33,840 Speaker 1: works above the course of nature, to the loss of 513 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:37,440 Speaker 1: lives of several persons, with several other sorceries, and in 514 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:40,720 Speaker 1: particular the wife of Arthur Howell, for which, according to 515 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:43,080 Speaker 1: the laws of God and the established law of the Commonwealth, 516 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:46,320 Speaker 1: thou deservest to die. Yeah, so we we don't really 517 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:49,320 Speaker 1: have a lot of records of what actually transpired in 518 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:53,200 Speaker 1: this court, so we don't know what really happened in 519 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:57,000 Speaker 1: the courtroom. We don't really know if Goody Garlic testified. 520 00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:01,440 Speaker 1: We just know that an event happened at which there 521 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,360 Speaker 1: was a trial. Yes, there has also never been any 522 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:06,680 Speaker 1: record of whether a witch is mark was ever found 523 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:10,120 Speaker 1: on her, which was pretty common for women who were 524 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:12,959 Speaker 1: jailed as witches to have their bodies searched pretty thoroughly 525 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:17,120 Speaker 1: for such a thing. Uh, And there's never any record 526 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:19,560 Speaker 1: of one of those having been found. We don't know 527 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:22,120 Speaker 1: if that ever happened to her, but it is it 528 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:23,840 Speaker 1: was such a common practice that it would have been 529 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:26,800 Speaker 1: more unusual if it had not happened, for her to 530 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:34,040 Speaker 1: have been pretty thoroughly examined. But here's the interesting thing. 531 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:40,120 Speaker 1: The findings of the court are as such. This was 532 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:43,800 Speaker 1: actually the judgment that they sent to the town of 533 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:47,160 Speaker 1: East Hampton, along with some other documents which we will 534 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:49,640 Speaker 1: talk about in just a moment, and it reads, the 535 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:52,760 Speaker 1: jury doth not find Elizabeth, the wife of Joshua Garlic 536 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:56,640 Speaker 1: guilty according to the indictment Joshua Garlic of East Hampton, 537 00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:00,160 Speaker 1: for himself and wife Elizabeth doth acknowledge himself bound this 538 00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:04,480 Speaker 1: Commonwealth in a recognization of thirty eleven. We'll come back 539 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:06,840 Speaker 1: to what that is. Uh that he and his wife 540 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:09,080 Speaker 1: shall carry good behavior to all the members of this 541 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:11,920 Speaker 1: jurisdiction until the Court at East Hampton in September or 542 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:14,800 Speaker 1: October next, and that they will then and there personally 543 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:18,440 Speaker 1: appear if he till that time continues his habitation upon 544 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 1: the island, but if he shall remove his dwelling to 545 00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:24,160 Speaker 1: the main within this jurisdiction, then they here shall personally 546 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:26,720 Speaker 1: appear at the Quarter Court in Hartford on the first 547 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:30,719 Speaker 1: Thursday of September next. So What that actually means is 548 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:34,680 Speaker 1: that um Joshua actually had to pay a bond to 549 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:37,880 Speaker 1: ensure that his wife would behave going forward. Like, they 550 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:41,040 Speaker 1: didn't find her guilty, but they also found her still suspicious, 551 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:45,120 Speaker 1: So not guilty but still suspicious kind of like they 552 00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:48,200 Speaker 1: have to do parole hearings even though she was never 553 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:54,560 Speaker 1: in prison she found great uh and that they had 554 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:57,400 Speaker 1: to check in with the court either in East Hampton 555 00:31:57,560 --> 00:31:59,840 Speaker 1: or if they moved off of that island to the mainland, 556 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:04,280 Speaker 1: they would have to go to Hartford from time to time. Uh. So, Yeah, 557 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:07,120 Speaker 1: they didn't find her guilty but also not quite not guilty. 558 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:11,360 Speaker 1: But this was a surprisingly conservative approach. There had already 559 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:16,480 Speaker 1: been which is tried in Hartford that had been found 560 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:19,280 Speaker 1: guilty and had been put to death. So it's very 561 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:22,880 Speaker 1: very interesting that this happened, and the absence of testimony 562 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 1: and the accounts of what actually happened at the trial 563 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:29,600 Speaker 1: has kind of created this nice little hot bed for speculation. Right. 564 00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:32,400 Speaker 1: I really wish that we had those because many people 565 00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:34,800 Speaker 1: really wish that we had Like when you look at 566 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:39,040 Speaker 1: the criteria and what went on in UH in East Hampton, 567 00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:43,120 Speaker 1: it seems like from the point of view of witchcraft 568 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:45,440 Speaker 1: trials at the time to be almost an open and 569 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,480 Speaker 1: chet case. Yeah, but done the way those generally went down, 570 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:50,840 Speaker 1: the deck was definitely stacked against her at that point. 571 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:56,240 Speaker 1: So that's one of the reasons kind of this mythology 572 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:58,840 Speaker 1: around Lyon Gardner has grown up through the years, is 573 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:03,400 Speaker 1: that people have filled in those blanks with him, you know, 574 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:05,840 Speaker 1: kind of swooping in almost d a sex Makina like 575 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:10,840 Speaker 1: and doing some wonderful thing that spared her at that point. 576 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:14,040 Speaker 1: But we don't know. What we do know is that 577 00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:17,400 Speaker 1: Governor John Winthrop sent a letter to East Hampton along 578 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:21,120 Speaker 1: with that verdict, commending the community for their Christian care 579 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:24,040 Speaker 1: and prudence. And that's a quote in examining and handling 580 00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:27,080 Speaker 1: the case. And he also included in that letter the 581 00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:30,760 Speaker 1: declaration of acceptance of the town into the Connecticut government, 582 00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:32,800 Speaker 1: So the two things that were happening at the same 583 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:36,520 Speaker 1: time got lumped in one letter together. He also included 584 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:38,680 Speaker 1: a bill for the cost of jailing and trying goody Garlic, 585 00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:41,480 Speaker 1: which is kind of funny. Uh if you read the letter, 586 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:44,040 Speaker 1: he's kind of like and by the way, find attached 587 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:47,640 Speaker 1: us a little bit of money. Uh. Now in the meantime, 588 00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:52,240 Speaker 1: Joshua Garlic actually filed a suit for defamation against Giddy Davis, who, 589 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:54,320 Speaker 1: as we mentioned, a lot of the testimony that came 590 00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:57,479 Speaker 1: up was tracked back to gossip and rumors she may 591 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:01,440 Speaker 1: have started. It is worth no day that defamation suits 592 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:04,160 Speaker 1: were pretty common when it came to settling differences at 593 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:07,719 Speaker 1: the time. Like I mentioned, all possible permutations of family 594 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:10,440 Speaker 1: to family had at some point in time had some 595 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:15,600 Speaker 1: disagreement or argument that is recorded in the the the 596 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:20,439 Speaker 1: town records, so it's not completely uncommon. But with sort 597 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:23,960 Speaker 1: of an interesting coda is that Goodie Davis actually died 598 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:27,440 Speaker 1: shortly after this, like within a couple of weeks. Uh, 599 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:30,920 Speaker 1: so she was never really brought to any sort of 600 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:34,400 Speaker 1: accountability for any of her actions. And I you know, 601 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:38,000 Speaker 1: don't think the defamation suit really went anywhere. And it's 602 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,080 Speaker 1: sort of become a legend now, as many things do, 603 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:44,680 Speaker 1: a local legend in which the story that people tell 604 00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:47,360 Speaker 1: sort of has a kind of glossy finish of what 605 00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:52,120 Speaker 1: originally happened, but skips over a lot of pertinent details. 606 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:56,360 Speaker 1: In the legend based tellings of the storyline, Gardner gives 607 00:34:56,400 --> 00:34:58,879 Speaker 1: the Garlics a cottage on his own land for them 608 00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:01,400 Speaker 1: to live the rest of their lives in. And we 609 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:03,759 Speaker 1: know that the Garlics did return to East Hampton and 610 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:07,239 Speaker 1: they did live out their lives there, But there's a 611 00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:10,400 Speaker 1: record of one cottage on Gardner's Island where Goody Simon 612 00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:13,040 Speaker 1: actually lived, but there is no such record of a 613 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:17,520 Speaker 1: Garlic house. Uh. However, they did live there in East Hampton, 614 00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:22,359 Speaker 1: Goody and Joshua into their nineties, which is so old 615 00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:26,439 Speaker 1: for the time. There is a record of Joshua's death, 616 00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:29,640 Speaker 1: but there's no written account of his wife's passing, so 617 00:35:29,719 --> 00:35:32,080 Speaker 1: we're not sure exactly when she died. I have seen 618 00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:34,839 Speaker 1: written that one died at ninety two and one died 619 00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:37,800 Speaker 1: at ninety four, but I wasn't able to verify that. 620 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:41,839 Speaker 1: But most historians agree that they did live into Ripe 621 00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:45,960 Speaker 1: old Age and presumably died of natural causes there. So 622 00:35:47,080 --> 00:35:48,960 Speaker 1: that's the story of Goody Garlic. She's one of the 623 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:51,319 Speaker 1: few people who was tried as a witch and sort 624 00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:53,319 Speaker 1: of lived to tell the tale, although she didn't seem 625 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:56,320 Speaker 1: to say much about it, but she did survive it 626 00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:58,479 Speaker 1: and go on to lead more or less a normal 627 00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:01,239 Speaker 1: life for the rest of her days. Yeah, which is 628 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:06,120 Speaker 1: so unusual, really extremely unusual. But part of that again, 629 00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:10,960 Speaker 1: she probably benefited from having been on the early part 630 00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:14,000 Speaker 1: of the wave of witchcraft fear and having been in 631 00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:17,000 Speaker 1: a small enough community that they really were trying to 632 00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:20,720 Speaker 1: take their time with the hearing and and the decision 633 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:23,759 Speaker 1: of it right well. And a lot of the sort 634 00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:28,280 Speaker 1: of big name witchcraft trials in the United States happened 635 00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:31,200 Speaker 1: a little further about thirty five years later, and a 636 00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:34,520 Speaker 1: little bit north north of there, and a little bit later. Hi, 637 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,520 Speaker 1: you went down a rabbit hole of of like archival 638 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:39,799 Speaker 1: records with this episode, I went down a rabbit hole 639 00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:43,280 Speaker 1: of trying to find out for sure whether Goody Garlic 640 00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:46,799 Speaker 1: is the namesake of Magrat Garlic in the Discworld books 641 00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:51,000 Speaker 1: by Terry Pratchett. She is a witch who uh factors 642 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:54,560 Speaker 1: heavily into many of the books that they're known as 643 00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:57,759 Speaker 1: the Witch Books. There's sort of several plotlines that the 644 00:36:57,840 --> 00:36:59,800 Speaker 1: disc World books follows, and one of them is a 645 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:03,400 Speaker 1: out a trio of witches, and Magrat Garlic is one 646 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:06,360 Speaker 1: of them. I love her. I would not be surprised 647 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:09,400 Speaker 1: if there were some inspiration. And he definitely names a 648 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:12,399 Speaker 1: lot of his characters after either historical figures or sort 649 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:15,959 Speaker 1: of a lampooning way of coming up with neat names 650 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,360 Speaker 1: for somebody cut me own throat. Dibbler is the like 651 00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:22,440 Speaker 1: a shuckster who sells bad stuff, for example. So I 652 00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:25,960 Speaker 1: went hunting for whether Goodye Garlic is the source of 653 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:30,120 Speaker 1: Magrat Garlics name and did not find a clear authoritative 654 00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:32,600 Speaker 1: source on that. But I'm going to now believe that 655 00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:37,040 Speaker 1: she is, and she's a fascinating story. So that is 656 00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:39,040 Speaker 1: the tale of Getty Garlic in her trial that went 657 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:47,600 Speaker 1: much better than most it. Thank you so much for 658 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:51,080 Speaker 1: joining us for this Saturday classic. Since this is out 659 00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:53,600 Speaker 1: of the archive, if you heard an email address or 660 00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:56,200 Speaker 1: a Facebook U r L or something similar during the 661 00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:58,920 Speaker 1: course of the show, that may be obsolete. Now, so 662 00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:02,920 Speaker 1: here's our current contact information. We are at History Podcast 663 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:04,920 Speaker 1: at how stuff works dot com, and then we're at 664 00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:08,440 Speaker 1: Missed in the History. All over social media. That is 665 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:13,000 Speaker 1: our name on Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks 666 00:38:13,040 --> 00:38:18,239 Speaker 1: again for listening. For more on this and thousands of 667 00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:26,600 Speaker 1: other topics, visit how stuff works dot com. Over three 668 00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:31,120 Speaker 1: years ago, the community of Salem, Massachusetts, was rocked by 669 00:38:31,239 --> 00:38:35,360 Speaker 1: something that few ever thought possible. It's been called an outbreak, 670 00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:39,000 Speaker 1: a wave of hysteria, or the perfect storm at the 671 00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:44,239 Speaker 1: confluence of seemingly unrelated ideas, events, and beliefs. Whatever we 672 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:47,040 Speaker 1: try to call it, though we always seem to miss 673 00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:52,520 Speaker 1: the mark. The Salem Which Trials is equal parts universally 674 00:38:52,640 --> 00:38:56,600 Speaker 1: known and barely understood by most people. It's one of 675 00:38:56,640 --> 00:39:00,560 Speaker 1: those subjects we quickly dismiss because of its deceptives implicity. 676 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:05,040 Speaker 1: Beneath that Veneer, however, is a dark and complex tale 677 00:39:05,080 --> 00:39:10,640 Speaker 1: of fear. It's easy to lose perspective on history. The 678 00:39:10,719 --> 00:39:14,560 Speaker 1: events of Salem took place over three centuries ago. That's 679 00:39:14,640 --> 00:39:18,799 Speaker 1: three hundred years of looking back, three hundred years of storytelling, 680 00:39:19,239 --> 00:39:22,800 Speaker 1: and three hundred years of preconceived notions about what we 681 00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:27,080 Speaker 1: think happened. From where we stand today, we've forgotten more 682 00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:31,560 Speaker 1: about Salem than we ever remember. Time has taken it 683 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:38,040 Speaker 1: away from us. That's why this series exists. Over the centuries. 684 00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:42,160 Speaker 1: The Salem Which Trials have become obscured by time and distance. 685 00:39:42,600 --> 00:39:46,840 Speaker 1: It's mysterious and misunderstood by most people. I want to 686 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:50,600 Speaker 1: clean that foggy window, to leave it clear and understandable, 687 00:39:51,440 --> 00:39:57,360 Speaker 1: unobscured by digging deep and shedding light on its darkest moments. 688 00:39:57,719 --> 00:40:00,640 Speaker 1: By cutting through the confusion, by let ing the people 689 00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:03,960 Speaker 1: and their stories move us forward. That's how we can 690 00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:08,399 Speaker 1: truly learn from such a dark moment in history. Each 691 00:40:08,520 --> 00:40:13,480 Speaker 1: episode of Unobscured blends my narrative approach to complex historical events, 692 00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:18,680 Speaker 1: interviews with renowned historians, and a new, hauntingly beautiful soundtrack 693 00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:22,400 Speaker 1: by Chad Lawson. So join me on October three as 694 00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:25,239 Speaker 1: we crack open the dark pages of history for the 695 00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:29,600 Speaker 1: inaugural season of Unobscured. Learn more and find links to 696 00:40:29,680 --> 00:40:33,000 Speaker 1: subscribe over at History unobscured dot com.