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A dark period occurred in our colonial history, where illogical superstition was used to
explain events that were viewed as supernatural. A vague and generalized comment for an
introduction. ) Richard Godbeer’s book, Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692, details
the events surrounding Stamford, Connecticut. Godbeer, currently a History professor at the
University of Miami, specializes in early colonial America and religious culture and the author
of several books including; The Salem Witch Hunt: A Brief History with Documents. Godbeer
was originally motivated to write this book after having come across the Stamford case while
writing his doctoral dissertation as a short case study. Being a well respected professor, the book
is a medium in which he can educate young students about the true accounts of a fascinating time
period when whole communities were fearful of supernatural occurrences. Escaping Salem is a
book designed to recant the narrative of Stamford for the purpose of correcting the accepted
view, produced by the Salem witch trials, that early New Englanders accused and condemned
any woman, based on hearsay, of witchcraft.
The style that Godbeer writes is plain and factual. The events are well chronicled,
beginning with first chapter when the initial incident was of Katherine storming into the home of
the Wescots, her masters Abigail and Daniel, hysterical from being frightened while picking
herbs in the woods. The author presents the events in an omniscient point of view. Godbeer
cleverly writes these accounts of her “fits” with no opinion as to the veracity of the claims. What
adds interest to the story is that even skeptics attempting to disprove this claim of possession
become believers after witnessing supernatural events. At the conclusion of chapter one, when
Nathaniel Wyatt and Joseph Garnsey attempt to prove her to be a fake only to experience
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themselves a supernatural occurrence after watching a light dart into the house across the room.
Godbeer writes as from the perspective of Joseph, “If she was truly bewitched, were these
women the witches who were afflicting her? And if so what could be done to stop them? (This is
an example of the narrator’s clear omniscience as the reader peers into the thought process of
Joesph, setting the stage for the following chapter which deals with the accusations by Katherine
Branch. (Plagiarism detected)
Godbeer’s book is easy to follow at times especially when concerning the Branch case.
The first two chapters were fascinating, because as the story unfolds, the audience questions
whether this is a hoax or not. More interesting, were individuals experiencing unexplained
phenomenon, because all who spent the night to watch her claimed a supernatural event
occurred. The subsequent middle chapters are less exciting, because the author goes in depth into
the personal histories of the two women that are accused by Kate, Elizabeth Clawson and Mercy
Disborough. This section of the book becomes slightly overwhelming in terms of the back stories
presented. Obviously, background is essential of these two women because both previously have
been accused of witchcraft. The overwhelming part are the many different names of people
involved that do not directly connect to Katherine’s accusations, only the two accused. Although,
a couple of the stories recanted are interesting especially why Disborough was tried on three
separate occasions and set free.
The mob-like hysteria often portrayed when concerning witch trials did not exist in the
town of Stamford. Godbeer, after establishing the prior suspicions of the two accused, returns to
laying the groundwork of the main point of this story. According to Godbeer, “New England
courts insisted on judicial rigor in capital cases: they demanded clear proof of guilt and required
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two independent witnesses for each incriminating act. The author establishes with clarity
throughout the book that this incident happened after the infamous Salem witch trials.
(Plagiarism detected)
The individuals chosen to prosecute this case were aware of the horrors that occurred
were certain not to repeat that fiasco. Every bit of evidence introduced as the trial proceeds, is
aided by commentary from the author, in the form of questions from the thought processes of the
community, the magistrates or William Jones, the man tasked to oversee the trial. [Reference
needed here] Godbeer establishes that Jones wants to convict the two accused, but more
importantly, wants to abide by the guidelines created for him by the state of Massachusetts. In
spite of the testimony of the various townspeople claiming that Disborough and Clawson were
the sources of the various animal deaths in the community, Jones still found that such evidence
was circumstantial and not enough to convict either.
Escaping Salem is a book designed to recant the narrative of Stamford in correcting the
accepted view that early New Englanders accused and condemned any woman, based on
hearsay, of witchcraft. Godbeer concludes his book with the evidence presented before the
jurymen.. The reader ascribes that the community in the beginning of the novel believe that
young Katherine Branch is possessed by witches, when in fact, Godbeer demonstrates that the
community was skeptical of the “fits” Katherine endured unlike the hysteria that occurred in
Salem. Clawson was found innocent and Disborough guilty due to an “unnatural” growth on her
body. This is a clear display of impartiality by the jurymen. An illegal jury substitution was
eventually brought to light by Disborough’s supporters and subsequently released. The overall
importance of this event is informing the many people that chaos and lawlessness were not the
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norm when a woman was accused of witchcraft. Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692
is an important and highly recommended book in terms of its value to the reader to attain a sense
of what society was actually like in America’s early colonial period.
Joe Student:
Although your paper looks good, I did find a few occasions where the work was
suspected of plagiarizing. I have inserted those in red throughout the paper. While I am not
saying you did intentionally plagiarize, it causes a suspicion that other portions of the paper may
also be copied.
Also a word about your vocabulary—it is advanced for the common standard at this
level—do you have experience in writing papers with this higher level of word usage? It is just
that it underscores the difference in standard word usage at the Community College level.
–Mrs. S.