BRIDGET BISHOP
Bridget Bishop is one of the most famous people from the Salem Witch Trials. She was an older woman in the village. She was married to her third husband, Edward Bishop, during the time of the Trials. Unlike most of the accused, Bishop had been accused by many of the adults (not just the young girls) of witchcraft. Even her husband accused her of being a witch (Hansen,64). Many of the accusations stemmed from her outrageous way of dressing and her not-so-nice attitude. To make matters worse, her home had been turned into a tavern, and many of the young people would spend time there drinking and playing the forbidden shuffle-board (Boyer, 192-193).
There are many different accusations against Bishop. There were two men working for Bishop. They were tearing down a wall and found puppets hidden in the walls. The puppets were made out of rags and hog bristles, and they had pins stuck in them. The puppets with pins in them are a common charm in black magic (Hansen, 65). Another incident was with Samuel Shattuck and his family. Shattuck was the local dyer, and Bishop had brought cloth to him to dye. The problem he found with the cloth was that it was too small to be for wearing. It is possible that Shattuck believed these pieces of cloth were for dressing a witch's doll (Hansen, 65-66). This was not the last encounter that Shattuck would have with Bridget Bishop. His son had been sick with fits for some time. He believed that the child was being tormented by witchcraft. A plan was made to take the child to Bishop's home and scratch her face (supposedly, drawing blood from a witch's face will break her spells). In the end, not only did she avoid having her face scratched, she scratched the face of Shattuck's son. Supposedly, his fits became worse from that point on (Hansen, 66). Lastly, there is a story that says as Bishop was led into the courthouse, she looked upon the place of worship (across the square) and at that moment a heavy roof timber fell (Boyer, 15). All of these accusations sealed the deal for Bishop.
The amount of evidence against Bishop is overwhelming. Most historians believe, as I do, that all the accused were innocent. However, one historian, Chadwick Hansen, believes that Bishop may have actually been practicing witchcraft. If she were, that does not mean it was black magic. Through all the reading, it has come to my attention that Bridget Bishop was considered an outsider. She was old and grumpy, she ran a tavern (which thrived off rambunctious behavior), she dressed more lavishly than most, and she did not keep her arguments private. Even though the trials happened over three hundred years ago, the treatment towards outsiders has not changed much. It makes it easy to see why the people would target Bishop as a witch.
Bridget Bishop was the first "witch" to be executed. She was tried on June 2, and executed on June 10.
There are many different accusations against Bishop. There were two men working for Bishop. They were tearing down a wall and found puppets hidden in the walls. The puppets were made out of rags and hog bristles, and they had pins stuck in them. The puppets with pins in them are a common charm in black magic (Hansen, 65). Another incident was with Samuel Shattuck and his family. Shattuck was the local dyer, and Bishop had brought cloth to him to dye. The problem he found with the cloth was that it was too small to be for wearing. It is possible that Shattuck believed these pieces of cloth were for dressing a witch's doll (Hansen, 65-66). This was not the last encounter that Shattuck would have with Bridget Bishop. His son had been sick with fits for some time. He believed that the child was being tormented by witchcraft. A plan was made to take the child to Bishop's home and scratch her face (supposedly, drawing blood from a witch's face will break her spells). In the end, not only did she avoid having her face scratched, she scratched the face of Shattuck's son. Supposedly, his fits became worse from that point on (Hansen, 66). Lastly, there is a story that says as Bishop was led into the courthouse, she looked upon the place of worship (across the square) and at that moment a heavy roof timber fell (Boyer, 15). All of these accusations sealed the deal for Bishop.
The amount of evidence against Bishop is overwhelming. Most historians believe, as I do, that all the accused were innocent. However, one historian, Chadwick Hansen, believes that Bishop may have actually been practicing witchcraft. If she were, that does not mean it was black magic. Through all the reading, it has come to my attention that Bridget Bishop was considered an outsider. She was old and grumpy, she ran a tavern (which thrived off rambunctious behavior), she dressed more lavishly than most, and she did not keep her arguments private. Even though the trials happened over three hundred years ago, the treatment towards outsiders has not changed much. It makes it easy to see why the people would target Bishop as a witch.
Bridget Bishop was the first "witch" to be executed. She was tried on June 2, and executed on June 10.