A Delusion of SatanA Delusion of Satan
the Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials
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Book, 1995
Current format, Book, 1995, 1st ed, Available .Book, 1995
Current format, Book, 1995, 1st ed, Available . Offered in 0 more formatsA study of the Salem witch trials applies contemporary psychology to the hysteria of the late 1600s, analyzing the Puritan mind and linking the trials to the "witch hunts" of the twentieth century
The first in-depth study of the witch trials in decades applies contemporary psychology to the hysteria of the late 1600s, analyzing the Puritan mind and linking the trials to the "witch hunts" of the twentieth century.
The Salem witch-hunt and trials have captured the attention and imagination of young and old for centuries. Now Frances Hill guides us through the thickets of history and explains in clear and factual terms exactly what went on during that horrifying period between 1691 and 1693 when over one hundred men, women, and children were shackled in the dank prisons of Salem, charged with witchcraft. Ultimately, nineteen were hanged at Gallows Hill, one was pressed to death under a pile of stones, and many others simply languished in prison for months on end, helplessly losing their families, homes, and possessions.
Many lost their lives, not a few their sanity. But what really happened? Were the accused truly evil in some way? And if not, how could a group of teenagers work such a cruel and convincing outcome?
Drawing on the insights of modern psychology and feminism, A Delusion of Satan answers these questions and more, and forces us to recognize hints of "witch-hunts" in the McCarthyism of the recent past and in current events like alleged child-abuse cases.
This compelling study of the horrific Salem Witch Trials--the first of its kind in over forty-five years--draws strength from new psychological insights into the roots of the hysteria that spurred the witch hunts of the late 1600s, and links them to the contemporary "witch hunts" of the twentieth century.
For more than three hundred years, the hysteria that gripped Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials of the late 1600s has fascinated readers worldwide. Now acclaimed British writer Frances Hill has applied contemporary psychology to the Salem phenomenon and come up with startling results. Why were nearly all of the "afflicted" people women? What kind of mentality did the Puritans possess to place a four-year-old child in prison? What were the politics behind the witch hunts and trials, and what similarities exist in the witch hunts of the twentieth century (for example, the "witch hunts" of the McCarthy era)? In A Delusion Of Satan, Frances Hill answers these questions and many more in a conversational and frighteningly realistic narrative as she maps out details of the witch trials and subsequent hangings-information never revealed before. Discipline, morality, and intellectual rigor-these are all attributes that Puritanism bequeathed to the New World. Unfortunately, along with them came a tendency to regard an enemy as beneath empathy and deserving destruction. A Delusion Of Satan reminds the reader that these impulses, lurking in all people, can only be countered by constant reminders of common humanity.
The first in-depth study of the witch trials in decades applies contemporary psychology to the hysteria of the late 1600s, analyzing the Puritan mind and linking the trials to the "witch hunts" of the twentieth century.
The Salem witch-hunt and trials have captured the attention and imagination of young and old for centuries. Now Frances Hill guides us through the thickets of history and explains in clear and factual terms exactly what went on during that horrifying period between 1691 and 1693 when over one hundred men, women, and children were shackled in the dank prisons of Salem, charged with witchcraft. Ultimately, nineteen were hanged at Gallows Hill, one was pressed to death under a pile of stones, and many others simply languished in prison for months on end, helplessly losing their families, homes, and possessions.
Many lost their lives, not a few their sanity. But what really happened? Were the accused truly evil in some way? And if not, how could a group of teenagers work such a cruel and convincing outcome?
Drawing on the insights of modern psychology and feminism, A Delusion of Satan answers these questions and more, and forces us to recognize hints of "witch-hunts" in the McCarthyism of the recent past and in current events like alleged child-abuse cases.
This compelling study of the horrific Salem Witch Trials--the first of its kind in over forty-five years--draws strength from new psychological insights into the roots of the hysteria that spurred the witch hunts of the late 1600s, and links them to the contemporary "witch hunts" of the twentieth century.
For more than three hundred years, the hysteria that gripped Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials of the late 1600s has fascinated readers worldwide. Now acclaimed British writer Frances Hill has applied contemporary psychology to the Salem phenomenon and come up with startling results. Why were nearly all of the "afflicted" people women? What kind of mentality did the Puritans possess to place a four-year-old child in prison? What were the politics behind the witch hunts and trials, and what similarities exist in the witch hunts of the twentieth century (for example, the "witch hunts" of the McCarthy era)? In A Delusion Of Satan, Frances Hill answers these questions and many more in a conversational and frighteningly realistic narrative as she maps out details of the witch trials and subsequent hangings-information never revealed before. Discipline, morality, and intellectual rigor-these are all attributes that Puritanism bequeathed to the New World. Unfortunately, along with them came a tendency to regard an enemy as beneath empathy and deserving destruction. A Delusion Of Satan reminds the reader that these impulses, lurking in all people, can only be countered by constant reminders of common humanity.
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- New York : Doubleday, 1995.
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