The Witches of Cambridge

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft that took place in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. Beginning in the village of Salem (now Danvers), the accusations spread through Essex County and resulted in the deaths of 20 people. Nineteen were hanged at Proctor’s Ledge and 1, Giles Corey, was crushed to death by heavy stones or iron weights for refusing to enter a plea. At least 5 more accused individuals perished in jail while awaiting trial. More than 200 people were accused before Governor William Phips dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer and ended the executions (Blumberg, Jess. “A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials.” Smithsonian, 24 Oct. 2022). Historians have attributed the outbreak to a combination of Puritan religious extremism, factional disputes between Salem Village and Salem Town, anxieties about King William’s War, and possibly poisoning of the local rye crop by a fungus known as ergot, which can produce hallucinogenic effects similar to those of LSD (“Salem Witch Trials.” History.com, 20 Aug. 2026). Hoffman references the ergot phenomenon in the novel, though most scholars now dismiss this theory as unlikely.