E X T E N S I O N SUPERSTITION AND WITCHCRAFT IN PURITAN NEW ENGLAND Witchcraft, magic, and superstition played a unique role in 17th century New England. Keith Thomas, an Oxford historian and expert on religion and magic in England, wrote that Luther s Reformation greatly influenced belief in the reality of the Devil and his power over the human world. The Puritan view of the world accepted the active role of the devil. New England Puritans were well aware of the European witch-obsession that lasted from the 15th to the 17th century and caused over half a million victims (mostly women). Their views of witchcraft and evil were based on a literal interpretation of the Bible, which recommended not letting a witch live. A closer look at this era reveals that, from the very beginning, fear of witchcraft was a basic part of New England society and served many complex functions. Although belief in witchcraft was prevalent in all the American colonies, formal trials1 and executions took place mainly in the Puritan communities of New England. The reason was that the Puritans of New England had a unique sense of their religious mission in America. The first recorded execution for witchcraft took place in 1647 when Alice Young was arrested. Between 1662 and 1663, a minor witch panic caused more executions. Natural wonders also contributed to support New England s beliefs in witches. Three successive eclipses in 1680, 1682, and 1686 were interpreted as a warning2 to New England that the devil was preparing a final blow3 to destroy the Puritan community. What followed instead was a mad period of persecutions against witches, an episode still remembered today as a tragic chapter in American history: the witch hunts and trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. In 1691, this notorious4 episode in the history of early New England 1. trial: a legal process in a court of law. 2. warning: words or events telling you that something bad, annoying or dangerous might happen. 3. blow: a hard hit. 4. notorious: famous for something bad. 104