We often think of the population of seventeenth-century New England as homogenous—made up entirely of Anglo-Puritans and the natives who had been living in America for centuries. Yet there were others in New England as well, including a very small, yet significant minority of enslaved Black residents. In this episode, we tell the story of two of them, Mary and Candy, who got caught up in the witch crisis. We are grateful to Jonah Hoffmann and the Salem Witch Museum for this blog post, which proved valuable for producing this episode.

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• Learn about Greg Houle's forthcoming book, The Putnams of Salem: A Novel of Power and Betrayal During the Salem Witch Trials

We explore the enigmatic figure of Reverend Samuel Parris, the man who sat at the spiritual head of Salem Village during the witch crisis. We trace Reverend Parris' journey to Salem, which is set against a backdrop of privilege, adventure, and numerous setbacks.

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• Learn about Greg Houle's forthcoming book, The Putnams of Salem: A Novel of Power and Betrayal During the Salem Witch Trials

New governor, William Phips, under the guidance of a new charter for Massachusetts, faces a crisis as the accusations of witchcraft spread and the suspects pile up jails. With no judicial system to handle the chaos, he establishes a new court, led by William Stoughton, and we set the stage for the epic tragedy to come.

• Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter. and TikTok
• Learn about Greg Houle's forthcoming book, The Putnams of Salem: A Novel of Power and Betrayal During the Salem Witch Trials