this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2025
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I had on a documentary about the Salem Witch Trials. A book or movie about a witch witnessing all this in secret would be interesting, I thought. But searching isn't turning up anything, which surprises me. So I turn to you, Lemmy. Do you have the story I seek?

Pictures, or no pictures, or moving pictures are all cool.

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[–] impudentmortal@lemmy.world 3 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

If you're looking for fictional accounts that would be easy. Witch Child by Celia Rees was a book I liked a lot when I was in middle scool. Another one we had to read for school was The Crucible by Arthur Miller. What's cool about this play is they use some actual historical figures as characters.

But as for true, first hand accounts from the accused's perspective I think you may be out of luck. Primarily because you assume there were actually witches in the Salem Witch hunt to begin with. Though there were many factors leading to the witch hunts, one of the primary causes seems to be that witches were scapegoats for the Puritan leaders to maintain control. In fact, many who were killed were just the most vulnerable of society, hence why nearly 80% of the convicted were women. The link also states that the definition of a witch has changed since then. Today most witchcraft is associated with Wiccan and Pagan beliefs but back during the Trials, a witch was someone who served the devil. Basically all of the convicted were just normal people.

This blog by a historian/journalist has some really interesting examples of first hand accounts of the Salem Witch trials. I didn't go through the whole thing but it's a good starting point if you want to learn more about primary sources.