"I Am No More a Witch Than You Are a Wizard"

Why was Salem Village the epicenter of New England's witch craze, and what role did Reverend Parris play in the community's unraveling?

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Rebecca Nurse’s family home in Salem Village (what is now Danvers, Massachusetts). Nurse was among the first group to be executed for witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. Via the Salem Witch Museum.

William Phips was in over his head.

He had barely been made the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony when the residents of Salem Village discovered a satanic plot against their community. They claimed that the town was riddled with witches.

This wasn’t so surprising. Salem Village was a notorious place in the Bay colony—God knew, they couldn’t keep a minister if their lives depended on it. Not to mention, its residents had long been at odds with the more affluent Salem Town. Perhaps the Devil was trying to tear the Village apart.

But how to address the crisis? Now that the colony had received its royal charter, it would have to write new legislation that aligned with English law. In the meantime, Massachusetts Bay existed in legal limbo with no formal court. Phips decided to create a Court of Oyer and Terminer (“to hear and determine”) with jurisdiction limited to Suffolk, Essex, and Middlesex counties. The Court could address the witch craze, and with any luck, Phips would quickly sweep this under the rug—ideally, without having to inform the Crown.