The Capital Crime of Witchcraft: What Primary Sources Tell Us
Schedule
Tue, 24 Mar, 2026 at 06:00 pm
UTC-04:00Location
405 Pine Street, Manchester, NH, United States, New Hampshire 03104 | Manchester, NH
Advertisement
The Manchester City Library invites you to an informative presentation on the Salem Witch Trials on Tuesday, March 24th at 6pm in the auditorium. Join us for a deep dive into the primary sources of this notorious time in New England history.On first impression, the witchcraft trials of the Colonial era may seem to have been nothing but a free-for-all, fraught with hysterics. Margo Burns explores an array of prosecutions in seventeenth century New England, using facsimiles of primary source manuscripts, from first formal complaints to arrest warrants, indictments of formal charges to death warrants, and the reversals of attainder and rescinding of excommunications years after the fact; demonstrating how methodically and logically the Salem Court worked. This program focuses on the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692-1693, when nineteen people were hanged and one crushed to death, but also examines a variety of other cases against women in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
Margo Burns is a historian specializing in the Salem Witch Trials and North Andover, MA history. Burns is the 10th-generation great-granddaughter of Rebecca Nurse, who was hanged in Salem in 1692 on the charge of witchcraft. She is the project manager and an associate editor of Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt, published in 2009 by Cambridge University Press. This work is the definitive collection of transcriptions of the legal records of the episode. Burns is also a lifelong fan of cartoons, cutting her teeth on Popeye and Yogi Bear on Saturday mornings as a child, then formally studying animation for two years in the Rhode Island School of Design's continuing education program as an adult.
For questions, call Caitlin at 603-624-6550 x7620 or email [email protected]
Advertisement
Where is it happening?
405 Pine Street, Manchester, NH, United States, New Hampshire 03104Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
