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The Salem Witch questioning begins with John Hathorne grilling Sarah Good, in hopes that she will confess to witchcraft. Her own husband gives the damning statements.
The first of the accused Salem witches to be questioned were Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne. After being led into the packed meetinghouse, including the bewitched girls, in manacles the questioning began. Sarah Good Denies WitchcraftJohn Hathorne, ancestor of Nathaniel Hawthorne who altered his last name from that of his great-great-grandfather, began questioning Sarah Good. That he had already judged her guilty of witchcraft was made plain with his opening question when he demanded to know what evil spirits she was familiar with? As Hathorne continued his harassment with demands of why she hurt the bewitched girls and what creatures she used, normally referred to as familiars, Sarah continued to deny any knowledge of witchcraft or the cause of the girls' torments. When all avenues of questioning failed to get a confession out of Good, Hathorne instructed the bewitched girls to look at the old woman to see if this was, indeed, the person who had bewitched them. Upon gazing at Good the girls went into their usual tormented performance, thus assuring Hathorne that his assumption of guild was correct. Even after the girls' performance, real or put-on, Sarah Good denied being a witch and bewitching the girls. But this did not stop Hathorne's endeavor to get what he was certain was the truth. Good Accuses Osborne of WitchcraftSarah Good, in an attempt to defend her self since no defense council was allowed or provided, and possibly totally confused by this point, volunteered that it was Sarah Osborne that had bewitched the girls. Good may have temporarily diverted the attention away from her self, but the dark pendulum of doom was soon to swing back again in her own direction. Good's Husband Gives Damning StatementNot only did Sarah Good have no one to defend her, the next person called up for questioning was her very own husband. Mr. Good stated that: "he was afraid that she [Sarah Good] either was a witch or would be one very quickly." However, he would not admit to having ever seen his wife perform any witchcraft. Then he added that: "She is an enemy to all good." This was evidently sufficient evidence because Sarah Good was then led away to the dungeon. But she would not be left in that dank place alone for very long. Soon, there would be others to keep her miserable company---many others. The Salem Inquisition Begins: Sarah Good Denies Guilt, continues with: More Salem Witch Denials: A Dark Ingredient Added to the Witch's Brew. Recommended ReadingCotton Mather: A Believer in Witchcraft. Sources:Hill, Frances. A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials. De Capo Press, 1995. Hill, Frances. The Salem Witch Trials Reader. De Capo Press, 1995.
The copyright of the article The Salem Inquisition Begins in American History is owned by Mary Trotter Kion. Permission to republish The Salem Inquisition Begins in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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