The witchcraft delusion of 1692

The author offers a detailed examination of the witchcraft accusations that swept a New England community in the late seventeenth century, compiling case narratives, judicial records, and legislative actions. He attributes much of the panic to deliberate fraud and deception by the alleged afflicted youths, while noting that some contemporaries perceived inexplicable psychological or spiritual influences. The edition presents both an earlier manuscript draft and a later printed version, and includes editorial annotations that clarify sources, procedural developments, and the sequence of events surrounding the trials.