The Salem Wizard Trial

In 1854, a gruesome murder rocked the Oregon Territory. Charity Lamb stood accused of killing her husband, Nathaniel, with an axe. Newspapers called Charity a monster and speculated on her marriage. But there was more to the story. Would Nathaniel's history of physically abusing ...  Show more

It's 1932, and Thalia Massie's husband, Tommie, and mother, Grace, are getting frustrated with what they see as the failings of the Hawaiian justice system. Soon they decide to take matters into their own hands. When events take a deadly turn, will Tommie and Grace's connections ...  Show more

More than 200 accused, 20 executed and a village plagued with hysteria. Were the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and 1693 the work of superstition, a power struggle, fungus or actual witchcraft? What makes them stand out in the history of witch trials?

In this episode, Do ...

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the outbreak of witch trials in Massachusetts in 1692-3, centred on Salem, which led to the execution of twenty people, with more dying in prison before or after trial. Some were men, including Giles Corey who died after being pressed with heavy ro ...  Show more

It was the summer of 1692, and a woman named Bridget Bishop was the first woman to face the hangman’s rope while neighbors and old friends looked on and cheered - but this execution would certainly not be the last in the town of Salem, Masschussets, and over the next few months, ...  Show more

Bubble, bubble, toil and lots of trouble. The Puritanical witch hunt of Salem, Massachusetts took the lives of 19 innocent people as one of the most dramatic instances of scapegoating in American history. Was there something in the rye? Evil in the water? Sexism in the air? Well, ...  Show more