Salem Witch Trials - good books?

OP

Thanks! I need to read the book. I have got it out of the library, but have yet to get far into it!

Reply 3

girlgerms

I have to say that is an amazing topic!

The only book I have on the topic is 'Witch Hunt: A History of Persecution' but Nigel Cawthorne which I enjoyed, but obviously it also talks about Britain and Europe too... I thought it was a good introduction.

Other books I can think of...

Hunting for Witches: A Visitor's Guide to the Salem Witch Trials by Frances Hill - This is a good overview of the events.

The Salem Witch Trials Reader by Frances Hill - This has first hand accounts (primary sources!) and has historians views and this, especially on how they have been represented and distorted through time...

Hope that helps to start with!

Reply 4

OP

Thanks so much! The problem is just getting them. I am trying to via the inter library loan service, but otherwise will have to get them shipped from America and I need them asap!

I'll check out that second book by Frances Hill tonight, I think I have ordered one from the loan service by her but not actually that book.

Reply 5

i'm doing this topic too.
i've got a book by marc aronson.whish is really helpful called the Witch hunt.
this book is brilliant.
what is your question for the personal study?
there are sooo many angles to cover.. do you find that?
xx

Reply 6

OP

I have no idea what my question will be yet. :smile:

Yes, there is so much. I have about 5 books I need to read and getting more na dmore info. Do you think it'll work this topic?

Reply 7

Nikolas

1

I think you're onto a winner with this topic, but the scope of your question seems really too refined - presuming it's for history coursework, have you thought hard about how are you going to be able to write 3,000 words and use lots of different sources on just the Salem Witch Trials alone? :poke:

When I did my history coursework my topic was something like To what extent was The European Witch Craze of the 16th and 17th Centuries a result of social instability, which gave me heaploads to talk about and was really interesting too.

For a shorter read and a really good starting point which puts the Salem Witch Trials in context try H. Trevor-Roper's The European Witch Craze of the 16th and 17th Centuries :smile:

Reply 8

Eskimo Melon

2

You're so lucky to be doing a topic like that! We get stuck with Hitler, and then some more Hitler, etc..

Reply 9

i think that the salem witch topic will work because there are so many different factors to ocnsider which should make it easy to write alot about.
there are many sources of historians with different interpretations.
my question is
to what extent was ergot posioning the cause of the salem witch trials of 1692?
so i consider this aswell as...
the role of tituaba
puritan religion
the divisons suich as women v men, and the putmans and the porters
fraud

for each one i will argue for and against coming to a conclusion at the end based on the sources and books i read.
what other factors is everyone looking at?
x

Reply 10

OP

Nikolas - Thanks. I was going to do European Witch-hunting but got told that it was too wide a scope.

Eskimo Melon - We can choose whatever we want to do

Tripulet 2 - Sounds good. Where are you getting your sources from? I found a brilliant website and some books, is that like yours? I might do a causal one, might do something else.

Reply 11

i'm getting them from websites and books.
i need to get it sorted abit more though.
i dont really know where i'm going with it at the momment! :confused:

how is your going?
do you have a question yet?
x

Reply 12

OP

At the moment I am just making notes from books. Don't know where I am going either, I was going to swap to something else, but going to carry on with it. Haven't got a question yet, but need one before I go back :redface:

Reply 13

Nikolas

1

NickiM

I was going to do European Witch-hunting but got told that it was too wide a scope.

lol my teacher convinced me of the absolute opposite - the wider the better.

I guess it depends on your question, but as I found out the hard way there really isn't that much in the way of useful sources for Witchcraft in history. The majority of recorded documents are just details of witch trials which are interesting, yet pretty useless coursework-wise. Try and find parts of The Hammer of Witches online because that's pretty useful for anything :yy:

Basically the main thing which makes any study of the European Witch Craze (The Salem trials in America were a really isolated, almost erroneous, incident) problematic is that it arose during the Renaissance - a time when Europe was moving out of the Middle Ages and, according to most historians, Modern History began. So the most obvious question regarding your topic would be something related to that. Eg:

If there was a Witch Craze, then did it arise at this time?
-Social Reasons?
-Religious Reasons?
-Was the Witch Craze an example of a Cultural Change Phenomenon?

Was there even a Witch Craze?
-It could have just been isolated incidents such as Salem and Mathew Hopkins' trials
-or is it concievable that there was undocumented persecution of 'witches' before historians says the Witch Craze began, and therefore there was no 'Craze' per se?

hope that helps you narrow down the field of questions - if I were you I'd spend the Summer trying to work out whether, in your opinion, there was a Craze or not. Some historians say yes, others say no.

...but hey, what do I know? :getmecoat

Reply 14

OP

Thanks! I've found a website which has all the original Salem court transcripts and books from other people at the time. So, I hope it'll work out! *Goes to look for The Hammer of the Witches*

Did you end up doing European Witch hunting?

Reply 15

Nikolas

1

NickiM

Thanks! I've found a website which has all the original Salem court transcripts and books from other people at the time. So, I hope it'll work out! *Goes to look for The Hammer of the Witches*

Did you end up doing European Witch hunting?

oh right, ignore me then lol, it sounds like you've got plenty there to go on as long as you come up with a decent question :smile:

I questioned why there was a European Witch Craze and concluded that it was a mixture of Religious and Social change and that several Popes used it to their advantage so that they could whip up a widespread religious fervor across Europe of the type which there hadn't been since the time of Crusades and re-affirm the Christian beliefs of the general populous during an Age when the likes of Galileo and people were questioning the Church's teachings :biggrin:

only got a B for my coursework though, I feel aggrieved :frown:

Reply 16

OP

Thanks! I just hope I can do it, otherwise there goes my plans for university (doing History)

Reply 17

nicki: what question have you decided on?
i found some good websites too, with all court transcripts and stuff, but a bit confused about how to use that in my answer???
good luck with it. :biggrin:

xx

Reply 18

OP

Yes, I found that site - it could be very useful.
What books have you read?
I still don't know what question, and it is stressing me out!

Reply 19