Woo Woo with Rachel Dratch Rachel Christ-Doane: Salem Witch Panic - Pt I
Nov 5, 2025
Rachel Christ-Doane, Director of Education at the Salem Witch Museum and a historian specializing in the Salem Witch Trials, dives deep into the origins of the 1692 witch panic. She discusses how scapegoating in early modern Europe fueled fears of witchcraft, especially among marginalized women. The conversation reveals the mysterious illnesses that triggered the accusations and the personal grudges that escalated tensions. Rachel also shares stories of the first accused women, like Sarah Good and Tituba, offering a haunting glimpse into this dark chapter of history.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Origins Of Witchcraft Panic
- Witchcraft fears coalesced from long European scapegoating traditions and new ideas about pacts with the devil in the 1400s.
- That created a category of hidden enemies who could be anyone and justified persecution.
Unexplained Illness As Trigger
- Salem began when unexplained child illness was interpreted as witchcraft, mirroring common early-modern patterns.
- Such misdiagnoses often trigger accusations against socially marginal people.
Who Was Vulnerable
- Witchcraft accusations targeted social outsiders more than a single gender, though women disproportionately suffered.
- Men were accused when they challenged the panic, showing accusations punished dissent as well.
