Salem Witch Trials

Selling witchcraft is a business where historical tragedy, the spectacle of Halloween, and modern magic all coexist. And nowhere is that more true than in Salem, Massachusetts.

This is the third and final installment of the Real Witches of New Hampshire, a collaboration between NHPR and New Hampshire Humanities on the Second Greatest Show on Earth.

You've heard of the Salem Witches, but New Hampshire has its own history of witch trials, and NHPR's Second Greatest Show On Earth looks at these witch trials, as well as the portrayal of witches throughout history and what a modern witch looks like today, as part of their 3-part series with New Hampshire Humanities. We talk about the witches of New Hampshire, past and present. 

Listen to part 1 of Second Greatest Show's series, "The Real Witches of New Hampshire." Part 2 airs on Wednesday, October 30th. Find a reading list for the series here. 

Original air date: Tuesday, October 29, 2019.

Decades before the Salem witch trials, two women were accused of witchcraft in New Hampshire. Jane Walford and Eunice Cole stood trial in the same year, within just a few miles of each other, but their lives ended quite differently. The fates of these women might provide insight into what a historical witch actually was, and why some survived their trials while others did not. 

This is first episode of "The Real Witches of New Hampshire," a three-part series and collaboration between New Hampshire Public Radio and New Hampshire Humanities.