Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts

The next victim of the witch hunt was 71-year-old Rebecca Nurse, a respected member of the community whose husband clashed with Reverend Parris. Her accuser was from the Putnam family, with whom the Nurses had a longstanding property dispute. Her trial gained particular significance, as “a conviction will prove everyone is in jeopardy, even the most faithful. But an acquittal will cast doubt on those who deliver ‘spectral’ testimony” (74). Stoughton declared that if the image of a person appeared, it was because the person was communing with the devil. The odds were against Rebecca, but even the father of her accuser, Nathaniel Putnam, testified on behalf of her good reputation. The jury returned and, to the shock of the assembly, delivered a not-guilty verdict. However, Stoughton asked the jury to consider that “Nurse had referred to a confessed witch as ‘one of us.’ Is that not a confession [?]” (78). Nurse had only meant that they were in jail together, but it was too late. On July 19, Nurse and four others were hanged, one by one. Later that day, more accusations were made.