April 15, 2025

Salem: House of No Mercy

Salem: House of No Mercy

The story of Mercy Lewis the Putnams, and the machinery of fear.

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The story of Mercy Lewis the Putnams, and the machinery of fear.

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good afternoon everyone.

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It is Tuesday, April fifteenth, twenty twenty five. It is

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currently five h five pm Central Time, and I'm coming

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to you live from the Theology Central studio located right

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here in Abilene, Texas. Now, I'm about to get in

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the car, so since you're here, you want to get

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in the car with me. We're going to take a drive. Now.

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It's gonna be a very very very very long drive

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since we're starting in Abilene, Texas, and we need to

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end up in Massachusetts. We need to end up in

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the Boston area, so we get a long long ways

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to go, so we'll just kind of have to fast

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forward this, all right. We get in the car, or

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we drive drive drive drive drive drive drive drive. Okay, Hey,

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hey look it's Boston all right. Now we're gonna leave Boston.

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Are you ready? Are you ready? Now? We can I

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know it was a long drive that took forever. I was.

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Are you okay? Are you awake now? Oh? Will stop? Okay,

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we'll get some snacks. Okay, are you refreshed or do

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you need a stretch. Okay, let's stretch man. That was

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from Abilene to Boston. That's a long drive. Okay, I'm

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ready to go. All right, all right, are you ready? Now?

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We're in the car. Right, you're there. We're in the car.

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We're driving north on Route one through Massachusetts. The GPS

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says Salem is twenty minutes away, and you're like, okay,

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that's where we're going. Salem. Fine, we're gonna We're gonna

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get He's taking us on a road trip to Salem.

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You're happy, You're excited because you've heard all of these

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episodes where I've been talking about what happened during in

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Salem and the Salem witch Trials sixteen ninety two to

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sixteen ninety three. You're like, yes, finally I'm going to

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see Salem. And all of a sudden, no, I don't.

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I don't keep driving towards Salem. Instead, I take an

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exit and you start looking at me like where are

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we going? Where are you taking me? And I look

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at you, I'm like, well, didn't your mom tell you

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not to get in a car with a stranger. You

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just the only thing you know about me is I'm

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a podcaster. You got in the car and drove all

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the way from Texas to Massachusetts with me. That was

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kind of suspicious behavior in your part, not my part.

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That was on you. You got in the car with me, Okay,

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But we take the detour. We take an exit to

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a town called Danvers. D A n V E R S. Danvers.

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Do you know anything about Danvers? It's kind of a

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when you talk about Salem, you talk about the Salem

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witch Trials, you talk about Massachusetts, you talk about Boston,

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you talk about that area Danvers. I mean it's kind

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of a quieter name, a quieter town. So we take

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the exit and we end up in Danvers and we

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kind of whind through neighborhoods, colonial style homes, old stone walls,

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clipped yards, and then we make a final turn. Danielle Drive,

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looks like just another suburban street. You're kind of getting worried.

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You're like, where are we going? Like, we're not even

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going into the center of town. We're in this street,

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Danielle drive. Oh, maybe maybe he knows someone here. You

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have no clue what's going or maybe you're like, let

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me out of the car, stop right here, where are

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we going? You don't have a clue. You got in

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the car with me. We've been in the car along

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time together, Okay, but we're Danielle drive. I'm not saying

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a word to anybody, because you know, why would I

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give it away? That would be that would be I mean,

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that's a that's a boring road trip when you know

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where you're going. So sh I'm not gonna tell you anything.

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And I keep looking and I'm driving, and tucked away

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there on the southwest side of Hawthorne Hill stands a

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small marker. Well, according to some, there's a small marker there.

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According to some, I don't know. Because now all of

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my trips to Salem, I drive right past the exit

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where it says Danvers. I go right past it. I

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go right to the town of Salem, the city of Salem,

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That's where I go right. I never take the exit

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into Danvers. I don't. The next time I go, which

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should be sometime this year, I'm going to do everything

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in my power to take the exit into Danvers. In fact,

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I was just on the phone with my daughter. I'm like, hey,

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when are you head to to Salem again? Because she lives,

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you know, in that area. She said in a few

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days and so I told her, when you go take

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the exit into Danvers, go to Danielle Drive and tell

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me if there's an actual marker there. The claim is

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there is a marker, but all the photographs I've ever seen,

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I've never seen a historical marker. So maybe it's somewhere

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near there, but it's but it's the street. My understanding

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is right there, on the southwest side of Hawthorne Hill,

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there's supposedly a marker, and it may be one that

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many drive right past without even noticing it. And I

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bet many people in the area have never even stopped

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to see the historical marker. I mean, think about where

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you live. How many historical markers do you drive past?

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How many of the historical markers and the area which

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you lived you have literally stopped the car and went

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up and read everything on them. I mean, if you

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won't give me the end, I'll ask your kids. Your

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kids probably never even stopped at one of these historical markers.

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If you see a historical marker, you should always stop,

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because if you don't know history, we're doomed to repeat

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history the only way. I mean, historical markers are free.

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They don't cost you any money. You don't have to

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pay to get in, and in fact, you can just

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take a picture of it of your phone and then

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you can read it whenever you want. Okay, stop at

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historical markers. But if there's a historical marker there in

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Danvers on Danielle Street on the southwest side of Hawthorn Hill,

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if there is one there, I bet you many people

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drive past. And when people are there, oh it's October.

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We're going to go to Salem, the Salem Witch Trials.

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We're going to go to the Salem Which Museum. Many

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who go there, bro they don't even take an exit

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into Danvers. They just go straight to Salem. I made

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the same mistake all the times I've been to Salem.

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I did not take the exit into Danvers. I've done

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the same thing countless times. Next time, Noe, Danvers is

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where we're going. Now, what is this on this historical marker.

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It's one that many may drive past without even noticing.

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And it is a sign that tells you something very

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few truly understand when it comes to the Salem Witch Trials.

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Because this area right here on the southwest side of

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Thorn Hill, Danielle Street, this is where it happened, not

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in the courtrooms, not in the jails, but right here. Now,

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Just imagine I pulled the car over, I tell everyone

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to get out. I'm like, right here, it's right here,

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and you and from the pictures I've seen, it's just trees.

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There's nothing there what I have seen. Again, I'll be

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able to tell you for sure. But can you imagine

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we just get out and you're like, we're like in

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the middle of nowhere and you're just having me point

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to the woods. You're like, I'm getting in the car.

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You start screaming for help. No, calm down, this is

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where it happened. And you're like, what happened? And I'm

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like the Salem witch trials. You're like, no, the Salem

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witch trials happened in a courtroom. They happened in jails.

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They happened where people were being hung. No no, no, no, no, no, no,

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no no no. Because right here, southwest side of Hawthorn Hill,

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Danielle Street, a house used to sit right here, and

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it was inside of that house where the whispers of

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accusations grew louder and louder and louder, Because in that house,

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it was a house where theology and fear and grief

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fed each other. It was a house that produced more accusations,

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more imprisonments, more deaths than anything anywhere else, any other place.

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That house. It's not standing there today. It's gone now.

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It's just trees. From what I know, from what I

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can tell, I'll be again when next time i'm there.

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But if we were standing there, looking all all those trees,

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and I was like, this is where it happened you again,

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and of course I wouldn't explain anything, because I would

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want to be as mysterious an as you know, scary

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as possible. You'd be like, what is he's lost his mind?

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Everybody would think you're looking at something. But in my mind,

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I would be looking at something. I won't be looking

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at the trees. I won't be looking at Danielle Street.

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I'll be looking at a house and a house that

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was right there in sixteen ninety two, in sixteen ninety three,

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because it was in that house where theology and fear

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and grief fed one another. It was the house. Inside

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that house was produced more accusations, and because of what

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was done in that house, more in prisonments, more in deaths,

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more deaths came from what was said in that house,

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because if I stood there, I would then just be

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all dramatic and say, I present to you, ladies and gentlemen,

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the home of Thomas Anne and Anne Putnam Junior and

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the home of Mercy Lewis. Now you'd be looking around,

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going I don't see anything. I would be like, really

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see it. Right here is the home of Thomas Anne

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and Anne Putnam Junior and the home of Mercy Lewis. Now.

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They didn't light the first match when it came to

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the Salem witch trials, but what burned in that house,

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in this house, I would be pointing to it lit

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up all of Salem, and in some ways the light

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still shines bright if anyone really wants to study the story,

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because in a reality and in a real way, this

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is the story of the House of No Mercy, the

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House of no Mercy. There's a little play on words there,

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because Mercy Lewis lived in that house, so there was

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a mercy there, but there wasn't mercy in the meaningful way.

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Today and this episode, we're going to enter the house

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that shaped the crisis more than any other, a house

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where fear overtook reason and where grief, faith, and power

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all collided. Some called it the epicenter of the accusations.

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Others saw it as a righteous household defending God's people.

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History may call it many things, but I'm going to

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refer to it again not only as the House of

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No Mercy this entire episode. I'm going to call this

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the story of the House of No Mercy. In our

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recent episodes, we've walked through some of the darkest corners

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of Salem. We watched Mary Sibley's witch Cake open the

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door to fear. We listened to Mary Walcott's steady voice

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and rise in the courtroom. We stood with George Burrows

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as he spoke the Lord's Prayer on the gallows and

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was still murdered. But there was another voice in that courtroom,

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a voice that cried out not just against neighbors, but

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against a former minister. A voice that describes Satan's book,

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Black Sabbaths and ghostly torment. A voice that helped bury

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the last hope of mercy for George Burrows. Yeah, now,

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voice buried the last hope of mercy for George Burrows.

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He's the former minister who's killed. He was the one

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who stated the Lord's prayer, which they said a witch

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couldn't do, didn't matter, because well, someone's voice buried the

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last hope of Mercy, and that voice belonged to Mercy Lewis.

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But her story doesn't begin in Salem, and it doesn't

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end there either. This is not just the story of

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an accuser. It's the story of a survivor of war,

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of trauma, and of hysteria. And it's the story of

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a girl who vanished when the fires died down and

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somewhat scandalous as well. Now we've mentioned Mercy Lewis many

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times so far in this journey through the Salem witch Trials.

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I've talked about her. I've even told a little bit

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of her story. So I'm going to repeat some things,

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but I'm repeating it to build this narrative so you

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know the full story of Mercy Lewis, but mainly so

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that we can get to that house. I mean, we

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just drove from Abilene, Texas to Danvers and we got

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out of the car. This house, this home of the Putnams.

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That's this is what you need to know. So we're

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gonna build this and as I've I been, as I'm

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all doing, and as I have been doing. I try

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to do these episodes in a narrative way, but as

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you can tell, I come in and out of the narrative.

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Some people like that I come in and out. Some

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people hate it. If I had money, I would do

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a full production. I would dramatize this. I would have

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voice actors and music and sound effects. But it's just

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me in an empty room. But hopefully I'm still telling

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the story of Salem in an interesting way, in a

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way that shows you we need to learn these lessons.

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Stop at historical markers. Now, let's talk about Mercy Lewis.

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She was born around sixteen seventy five, not in Massachusetts,

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but on the northern frontier and a small coastal town. Now,

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if I saw the name of this town, I would

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say foul Mouth, but it's foul meth, foul Mouth, foul

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meth Maine. It's spelled fa lmo ut h, but it's

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foul meth. The way now, I don't know how they

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would look when you get up to Boston in that area.

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The way they say things look, I don't know what's

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going on up there. They pronounced that. Some of the

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names of towns they say I'm like, how do you

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get that from that? Like, so, who knows how they

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say things up there? I don't know. Okay, I could.

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I could probably call my daughter and ask her and say,

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how does how do you see this exactly? But you

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know what your tour guide is from West Texas, Okay.

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So Foulmouth, Maine. Now at the time, again, she's born

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around sixteen seventy five. She at the time, the region

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was violent and unstable. It was a borderland between English

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settlers and some of the French aligned tribes at that time.

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And I think the one of the tribes is is

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it's like wab A n Aki Wabanaki tribe believe. I

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think it's how it said. And I think there were

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one of the tribes that were aligned with the fringe.

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Now in sixteen eighty nine, again, she's born in sixteen

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seventy five. In sixteen eighty nine, she's now around the

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age of fourteen. And this is when the nightmare shows up.

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This is when her life is about to be tragedy.

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I mean, she's about to encounter some tragedy in her life,

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right because it's it's sixteen eighty nine, and this is

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one of those cases where you don't go to sleep

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and have a nightmare. This is where you wake up

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and experience a nightmare. Now King William's war ignited and

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a brutal series of attacks occurred. One of the deadliest

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rays fell on Falmouth. The town was burned. Mercy's parents

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were killed, neighbors were slaughtered. The violence was swift and personal.

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She survived, but from that day for word, Mercy Lewis

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was now an orphan of war. Her family is all dead,

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she's an orphan, she's young. Well she's an orphan of war.

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But now she's about to move to Salem and a

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new war is going to begin. In fact, she's going

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to enter right into the midst of a war because

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Mercy is sent to live in Massachusetts, and eventually she

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is placed in the home of Thomas and Anne Putnam

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and Salem village. You talk about how life can work

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for some people, and it's just so like, I know,

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I'm leaving the narrative. But sometimes just whenever you study history,

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don't even need to study history. You can just you

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can be you can be sitting on a bus talking

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to someone sitting on an airplane, just you could be

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talking to just any stranger and have them tell the

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story of their life. Isn't it crazy how different people's

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lives lives. Some people's lives, they have their mother, their

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father all the way into their adulthood. They have a

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good relationship, they were never molested, they were never abused.

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The life is good. They are married. They have this,

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they have this, they have this, they have this, they

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have this. And in other people's lives, it seems from

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one tragedy to another, tragedy to another tragedy. It's filled

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with pain, trauma, suffering and mercy. Lewis I mean her

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family is slaughtered, and of all the places she has

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to end up, she has to end up in Salem.

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I mean for crying out love. And now see what

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Christians would say, Well, I'm so glad she entered into

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Salem because this is where the righteous people are, this

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is the Puritans, godly theology. I'm so glad she ended up.

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And she probably would have been better to find herself

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in a village of atheists and then instead of ending

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up in Salem. But if I say that, I offend

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a lot of people. But she finds herself in a

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new war because she sent to live in Massachusetts. She

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eventually is placed in the home of Thomas and Putnam

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and Salem Village. There she becomes a servant, living and

301
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working beside Anne Putnam Junior, another young girl who would

302
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soon become central to the witch trials. Now, the Putnam

303
00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:28.759
household was deeply religious, deeply political, and increasingly suspicious. Reverend

304
00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:35.720
Samuel Parris was warning of Satan's schemes. Disputes with neighbors

305
00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:41.440
simmered over land and land inheritance and church leadership, because

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you know, good Christians become political and divisive and fighting

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and suspicious and backbiting and gossip. And I know Christians

308
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want land, they want my I know it's hard to

309
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believe all of this, but whenever you study church history,

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you know what you find when you find Christians sinners.

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I know it's shocking, but it it's true. No matter,

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even though we want a claim that when everyone becomes

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a Christian they're a new creature, everything's passed away. That's

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only true positionally. Practically, we're not new. We are sinners.

315
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We are sinners, and all of that sinful nature is

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still working. And you see it right here the town.

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And we could talk about a lot of the things

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going on in the town. I think a lot of

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what happened in Salem had more to do with church

320
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disputes than anything else. But that's just some of my

321
00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:31.519
own hypotheses there. But all of this is simmering over now.

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Mercy is still young, she's obviously still traumatized, and she

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enters a new war. And she doesn't choose to enter

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this war. She finds herself in it. Now, this one

325
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is fought in sermons, in whispers, and eventually in court,

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and eventually with a rope tied around people's necks or

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in one case, a whole lot of heavy rocks to

328
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crush someone today, but for the most part with sermons,

329
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so in church, whispers, accusations, court, and then a rope.

330
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And she's right in the midst of all of this

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in March of sixteen ninety two. Right, we just came

332
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out of March. We're in April here. But March of

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sixteen ninety two, after the first fits of Betty Parris

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and Abigail Williams, Mercy Lewis begins experiencing her own violent affliction.

335
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So somewhere in March she starts having her own afflictions.

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She screamed of invisible tormentors. She claims spirits clawed at her.

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She said, Witch has tried to force her to sign

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the Devil's Book, and the courts listened. Now I know

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I keep mentioning the Devil's Book over and over and

340
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over again. We do need to talk about this Devil's

341
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Book at some point, since it's such a It's mentioned

342
00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:09.279
many times. Whenever if you visit Salem or you start

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studying Salem, the Devil's Book shows up. So we do

344
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need to do some speaking of it at some point.

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I haven't forgotten now over the next several months. So

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this all begins in kind of March. Okay, we make it.

347
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We can talk about all the significant things that happen

348
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in April. April is an interesting April is interesting in

349
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the history of Salem. If you go to April sixteen

350
00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:35.200
ninety one, you really start laying down the foundations and

351
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some of the fighting and struggles and disagreements happening in

352
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Salem sixteen ninety two. April of sixteen ninety two, you

353
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have accusation. That's kind of where the accusations explode, and

354
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then the court, the whole legal system starts getting involved.

355
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So April is big in sixteen ninety two, and then

356
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April sixteen ninety three is where everything really kind of

357
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starts coming to a crashing hall. Everything begins to fall apont.

358
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So at sixteen April sixteen ninety one, you really start

359
00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:09.119
laying the groundwork. Sixteen ninety two April boom, everything's going crazy, accusations,

360
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the legal system now starts taking over. And then by

361
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sixteen ninety three everything starts imploding and collapsing on itself.

362
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So April is a very interesting month in the history

363
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of Salem, if you really want to put it all together.

364
00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:26.920
So she screamed of invisible tormentors, she claimed spirits claud

365
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at her. She said, witch Is tried to force her

366
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to sign the Devil's Book, and the court listened. Now,

367
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over the next several months, Mercy Lewis became one of

368
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the most and this is true of many of the girls.

369
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I'm just going to say one of the prolific accusers

370
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and Salem. I don't want to say one of the most,

371
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because I think others are far more prolific. So she's

372
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one of the prolific accusers and Salem. She gave testimony

373
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depositions connected to over fifteen people, and that's a small

374
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number compared to some of the others who was accusing

375
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a whole lot more. Now, she wasn't just reacting, though

376
00:24:05.319 --> 00:24:09.599
she wasn't actively shaping the narrative. Her words helped convince

377
00:24:09.720 --> 00:24:15.440
not only the marginalized, but also the respected. So she

378
00:24:16.200 --> 00:24:20.880
in some ways she didn't just react. In some ways

379
00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:23.960
you could say she was kind of actively shaping the

380
00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:29.640
narrative like she seemed. I don't know, how do we

381
00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:35.559
see she seemed maybe more precise, maybe is a good

382
00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:39.559
way to put it, but we know this. She definitely

383
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she was able to not only convict or help people

384
00:24:42.920 --> 00:24:46.039
be convicted, but she didn't have to just go after

385
00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:50.839
the marginalize, the widow, or the woman of questionable character.

386
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She could go after the respected. That's why she is,

387
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in a sense buries all hope for the former minister

388
00:24:57.799 --> 00:25:00.240
who would have been more respected and the and she

389
00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:02.279
was able to go after some of the more respected

390
00:25:02.319 --> 00:25:09.000
people who were being accused. Now, just to remind ourselves

391
00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:12.279
and to remind you, remember, I've told you the story

392
00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:15.119
of George Burrows, the Harvard trained minister accused of leading

393
00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:18.240
Satan's army. But it was Mercy Lewis who gave some

394
00:25:18.279 --> 00:25:21.240
of the most vivid and dramatic testimony. She said he

395
00:25:21.319 --> 00:25:25.279
appeared to her in spectral form, that she said, he

396
00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:29.039
boasted of his powers, mocked her prayers, and urged her

397
00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:34.480
to sign the Devil's book her. It was her courtroom

398
00:25:34.559 --> 00:25:39.440
testimony that helped Sill his fate. But Burrows was not

399
00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:42.400
her only target. He is the most famous, right, And

400
00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:46.000
that's why in a lot of these stories, these narratives

401
00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:48.119
I'm trying to tell you, trying to tell you, these

402
00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:52.559
historically accurate stories of what happened, George Burrows gets mentioned.

403
00:25:52.720 --> 00:25:56.640
If any, if any of the accusers accused George Burrows.

404
00:25:57.240 --> 00:26:03.079
He's such a central character because he's a minister. Witches

405
00:26:03.119 --> 00:26:05.640
are not supposed to say the Lord's prayer. He recites

406
00:26:05.640 --> 00:26:09.799
it flawlessly. Supposedly, Cotton Mather is there, you know, the

407
00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:13.000
great Puritan that all the pastors, even those on sermon audio,

408
00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:15.799
try to defend Cotton Mather as being the great guy.

409
00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:17.920
And he's the one. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no,

410
00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:20.880
no no no no, he's just that's Satan appearing as

411
00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:23.559
an angel of light. Kill him and he dies. I mean,

412
00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:25.240
come on now, I mean, we don't even get me

413
00:26:25.240 --> 00:26:27.640
started on how pastors defend Cotton Mather. The whole thing

414
00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:29.839
is ridiculous, Okay, And so many times when I hear

415
00:26:29.880 --> 00:26:32.359
pastors try to defend Cotton Mather, the first thing I

416
00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:35.960
think of. One, Clearly, these pastors have never been to Salem. Two,

417
00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:37.680
I don't think they have a clue what actually happened

418
00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:40.240
during the Salem witch trials. And I get really irritated

419
00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:42.559
by it, as someone who has spent so many years

420
00:26:42.559 --> 00:26:45.359
of my life reading and studying what happened in Salem.

421
00:26:45.400 --> 00:26:49.599
So he she just accuses him of I mean, she

422
00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:52.519
tells an elaborate story. I mean like he's the general

423
00:26:52.559 --> 00:26:57.400
of Satan's army. He's tormenting her, mocking her prayers, he's

424
00:26:57.440 --> 00:27:01.440
bragging about his powers. He's like sign Devil's book, signed

425
00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:04.359
the Devil's book. I mean like, and again, this is

426
00:27:04.400 --> 00:27:08.240
all he appears to her, in spectral form, not physical form.

427
00:27:08.599 --> 00:27:10.799
Just his spirit is supposed to be doing all of

428
00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:13.960
these things. So because remember he's often like what where

429
00:27:13.960 --> 00:27:17.480
it wasn't he in Maine? When all these accusations and

430
00:27:17.519 --> 00:27:24.440
they go get him and bringing back, but he wasn't

431
00:27:24.440 --> 00:27:30.519
her only target. Mercy also accused Mary Esty, sister of Rebecca,

432
00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:35.039
nurse Bridget Bishop, the first one to be executed, Giles Corey,

433
00:27:35.319 --> 00:27:38.039
who would be crushed to death under a pile of rocks,

434
00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:43.680
Susannah Martin, a respected widow, and many others She claimed

435
00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:47.400
their specters attacked her, bit her tried to pull her

436
00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:53.200
soul from her body. Her accusations weren't wild or hysterical, though,

437
00:27:53.599 --> 00:27:56.039
that's I guess it's kind of Remember we've talked about

438
00:27:56.119 --> 00:28:00.279
some of those who were more theatrical. They were when

439
00:28:00.279 --> 00:28:04.400
she actually gave her accusation or gave her testimony. She

440
00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:08.920
was calm, composed, detailed, and in some ways that's what

441
00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:11.599
made her more dangerous. She could be seen as maybe

442
00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:15.920
more believable. Some maybe laugh at the theatrics of the others. Now,

443
00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:18.920
the theatrics worked on many scared them to death, but

444
00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:21.119
for others that were like, come on, are y'all falling

445
00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:23.960
for this? Hey? Are you falling for these teenage girls?

446
00:28:25.480 --> 00:28:27.559
You know, looking like they're putting on a high school play.

447
00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:28.920
I mean, they wouldn't have said it that way, but

448
00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:33.680
I mean that's what it would look like. She was older,

449
00:28:33.720 --> 00:28:37.799
than most of the afflicted. She had status because she

450
00:28:37.880 --> 00:28:42.920
was in the Putnam home, and it appears from what

451
00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:46.599
we can tell that she obviously may have been I

452
00:28:46.599 --> 00:28:49.680
can't say the best, but she seemed very good at

453
00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:52.319
knowing how to speak in court, like when to speak,

454
00:28:52.359 --> 00:28:56.720
how to speak. Again, she's older, so that gives a

455
00:28:56.759 --> 00:28:59.799
little bit more. The others are younger and more emotional

456
00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:05.880
and theatrical. She's older and more convincing. Maybe I don't

457
00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:08.799
know if that's a fair Again, sometimes it's hard when

458
00:29:08.839 --> 00:29:11.359
you're talking about these historical accounts. You were trying to

459
00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:15.119
put flesh on these stories. But we don't want to embellish.

460
00:29:15.279 --> 00:29:17.160
We want to be as fair as possible. I'm doing

461
00:29:17.200 --> 00:29:21.000
my very best to do that. Now, this is where

462
00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:25.279
this all comes down to, and this is always hard

463
00:29:25.319 --> 00:29:30.400
with all of these stories. Was Mercy Lewis a manipulate

464
00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:37.599
or or manipulated? I mean she had survived horrors most

465
00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:40.880
of Salem couldn't imagine, and then she was placed in

466
00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:44.000
a house full of spiritual warfare. That's all she heard about,

467
00:29:44.200 --> 00:29:48.599
revenge and rising power. Did she see herself as a

468
00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:50.839
part of the holy battle and this was a war

469
00:29:50.920 --> 00:29:56.240
she could help when did she relive old traumas every

470
00:29:56.240 --> 00:30:01.319
time someone raised their voice in court, or did she

471
00:30:01.480 --> 00:30:08.519
learn that being an accuser meant being safe. We talked

472
00:30:08.519 --> 00:30:12.200
about this. If you were making the accusations, you were safe. Now,

473
00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:15.319
if you werecanted of your accusation, then you were accused.

474
00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:17.839
So that remember we talked to that whole story, right,

475
00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:21.680
We've told a lot of these stories, and yeah, you

476
00:30:21.799 --> 00:30:25.720
seem the safest if you were making accusations because you

477
00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:28.240
were being tormented. You're the victim. So if you're making

478
00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:31.599
the accusation I'm being tormented by the witches, well then

479
00:30:31.640 --> 00:30:33.759
you're not a witch because you're being tormented by the ways.

480
00:30:33.839 --> 00:30:36.160
If you didn't get an accusation out quick, then there's

481
00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:40.599
someone could turn on you. So I mean she survived,

482
00:30:41.240 --> 00:30:44.160
her family's dead. That she figures out like, I'm not

483
00:30:44.160 --> 00:30:46.680
gonna lose. I'm not going to die in this war either.

484
00:30:48.200 --> 00:30:49.759
I don't know. I have to do a lot of

485
00:30:49.799 --> 00:30:57.160
speculating here. I cannot say for sure. Now, by early

486
00:30:57.240 --> 00:31:00.720
sixteen ninety three, the trials begin to fall apart. Around

487
00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:02.839
April I think was when they really begin to fall apart.

488
00:31:02.880 --> 00:31:09.519
Actually a little before April, but the execution stopped, Thank goodness,

489
00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:17.359
the court lost its grip, Thank goodness. Then something weird happens.

490
00:31:20.480 --> 00:31:32.519
Mercy Lewis just disappears. Gone. Now some believe she moved

491
00:31:32.519 --> 00:31:38.640
to Boston. This is where it gets scandalous, especially in

492
00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:44.319
seventeen oh one, because from what we can tell seventeen

493
00:31:44.359 --> 00:31:55.960
oh one, she gives birth to a child, an illegitimate child.

494
00:31:57.119 --> 00:32:02.799
She gives birth to a child, she's not married. This

495
00:32:02.839 --> 00:32:06.640
is enormous scandal and Puritan society. I just saw that,

496
00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:09.400
you know, it was still happening in seventeen oh one.

497
00:32:10.759 --> 00:32:12.960
I know, I know sometimes people like I wish we

498
00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:16.480
could go back to the days when our country was

499
00:32:16.559 --> 00:32:19.599
so moral, and it's always it just cracks me. I'm like, oh,

500
00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:21.200
you want to go back to the time when I

501
00:32:21.200 --> 00:32:24.559
don't know, we enslaved people and we sold human beings

502
00:32:24.559 --> 00:32:27.240
as property or out. Let's go back to the wonderful,

503
00:32:27.240 --> 00:32:30.440
good old moral times when we denied people basic rights

504
00:32:30.480 --> 00:32:32.480
because of the color of their skin. Oh, let's go

505
00:32:32.599 --> 00:32:35.279
back to the good old times when the KKK was,

506
00:32:35.559 --> 00:32:38.920
you know, burning crosses and lynching people. Oh, let's go

507
00:32:38.960 --> 00:32:40.920
back to the good old days when I don't know,

508
00:32:41.160 --> 00:32:44.000
we were stealing land from the Native American trial. Let's

509
00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:46.400
go back to the good, okay, because no matter which

510
00:32:46.519 --> 00:32:51.400
error you go back to with sinner's sin now, no

511
00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:54.759
matter how scandalous it was, well when people were I know,

512
00:32:55.119 --> 00:32:58.400
I know this is shocking, they still were engaged in

513
00:32:58.480 --> 00:33:02.200
physical intimacy, I know. And it shouldn't be shocked because

514
00:33:02.240 --> 00:33:05.759
if you opening your Bible, the Genesis, just look at

515
00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:11.559
everything going on in Genesis, because humans are sinners. Now

516
00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:13.519
in some ways this is kind of sad though, right,

517
00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:18.519
This is where it kind of hits me, because all

518
00:33:18.559 --> 00:33:22.319
these people, all these girls, who make all these accusations

519
00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:26.559
and get people literally killed supposedly fighting spiritual warfare, they

520
00:33:26.680 --> 00:33:31.480
themselves were sinners. Same thing is true during the Great

521
00:33:31.519 --> 00:33:34.640
Satanic Panic, which we talked about in previous episode, all

522
00:33:34.680 --> 00:33:38.160
the people running around, Oh no, this rock band, they're evil,

523
00:33:38.319 --> 00:33:41.400
and oh it's gonna destroy everything. Satan is everywhere, Satan,

524
00:33:41.440 --> 00:33:44.920
Satan Satan, Satan. Music is evil, music is evil. Burn records,

525
00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:48.279
burn books, ban this, do this. MTV is the in

526
00:33:48.759 --> 00:33:52.480
guess what. Many of those preachers who yelled and screamed

527
00:33:52.599 --> 00:33:55.640
were caught up in scandal. Many of the parents who

528
00:33:55.720 --> 00:33:59.640
yelled at scream their marriages fell apart, sin all the people.

529
00:34:00.680 --> 00:34:05.079
Sometimes those who raise the voice condemning are the ones who, well,

530
00:34:05.279 --> 00:34:09.360
guess what it's not if they're still sinners, whether it's

531
00:34:09.360 --> 00:34:14.719
ever found out or not, because we're all sinners. But

532
00:34:14.760 --> 00:34:20.199
the thing is, she accused others, they die, she disappears,

533
00:34:20.320 --> 00:34:26.280
but clearly things weren't so spiritually right, or maybe they

534
00:34:26.320 --> 00:34:33.000
were spiritually right. She just sinned, because spiritually right people

535
00:34:33.119 --> 00:34:40.360
sin as well. Correct. After that, it's all we basically

536
00:34:40.400 --> 00:34:43.440
know seventeen oh one, and we're not even for sure

537
00:34:43.480 --> 00:34:47.639
if it's Boston, but it seems to be some historical

538
00:34:47.679 --> 00:34:50.679
evidence to say she gave birth to an illegitimate child,

539
00:34:50.840 --> 00:34:54.159
and that's the scandal. But then after that, I mean,

540
00:34:54.239 --> 00:34:57.880
she literally vanishes from the historical record as far as

541
00:34:57.880 --> 00:34:59.599
we can tell. Now, someone may be able to do

542
00:34:59.639 --> 00:35:02.880
some deep research and find more, but we know this.

543
00:35:03.079 --> 00:35:07.280
She doesn't confess because none of the people really did. Hey,

544
00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:12.719
I know, twenty people died, but hey, you know, you know, oops, upsy,

545
00:35:13.079 --> 00:35:15.239
you know, it's kind of it's just so messed up

546
00:35:15.320 --> 00:35:17.280
in so many ways. Well, I mean, the one girl

547
00:35:17.320 --> 00:35:20.679
did okay, and Putnam Junior does, I think she's she's

548
00:35:20.760 --> 00:35:23.480
she makes her confession, but other than that, nobody does.

549
00:35:23.480 --> 00:35:26.599
So I shouldn't say nobody. One person did no confession.

550
00:35:26.639 --> 00:35:30.519
But in this case, Mercy doesn't confess, she doesn't apologize.

551
00:35:32.280 --> 00:35:34.719
There's no she doesn't even attempt to clear her own name,

552
00:35:36.679 --> 00:35:38.760
or she doesn't even come to try to clear anybody

553
00:35:38.760 --> 00:35:42.920
else's name. In some ways, she was one of the

554
00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:52.519
loudest voices. Then she just disappeared. Now, Mercy Lewis lived

555
00:35:53.159 --> 00:35:56.039
through war, she lived through loss, she lived through terror.

556
00:35:56.480 --> 00:35:58.679
She was a child of fire, placed in a village

557
00:35:58.679 --> 00:36:03.119
of fear. She accused more people than a lot of

558
00:36:03.199 --> 00:36:06.239
the other girls did. Her words carried a lot of weight,

559
00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:10.119
some cases meant more weight. And then she simply disappeared.

560
00:36:11.559 --> 00:36:16.760
Was she a monster, a manipulator, or just another casualty

561
00:36:17.119 --> 00:36:22.400
of fear, theology and trauma? The one thing I do

562
00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:27.880
know is we're never going to know. Her story reminds

563
00:36:27.960 --> 00:36:30.519
us that some of the most dangerous testimonies don't come

564
00:36:30.559 --> 00:36:34.280
from liars. They come from those who believe they've seen

565
00:36:34.400 --> 00:36:40.960
the truth. Maybe she truly believed what she said. That

566
00:36:41.039 --> 00:36:43.880
still can be the most dangerous testimony. When people are

567
00:36:43.920 --> 00:36:50.920
convinced they have the truth when they are convinced. Now

568
00:36:51.039 --> 00:36:57.760
that's the story of Mercy Lewis, the war orphan turned

569
00:36:57.760 --> 00:37:02.679
into courtroom witness. Her cries helped condemn a minister and

570
00:37:02.719 --> 00:37:06.559
many more. But this is the thing I want you

571
00:37:06.639 --> 00:37:09.039
to know about Mercy Lewis. Remember we came to Danvers

572
00:37:09.079 --> 00:37:10.119
and we got out of the car and I'm like,

573
00:37:10.159 --> 00:37:13.719
this is the home. I really want to drive this,

574
00:37:13.719 --> 00:37:17.480
this point home because we need to talk about this home,

575
00:37:17.559 --> 00:37:23.480
this household, because see, Mercy Lewis's story doesn't unfold in isolation.

576
00:37:24.239 --> 00:37:26.760
She lived in a house where fear didn't just grow,

577
00:37:27.159 --> 00:37:31.920
it was cultivated. She lived in a home where theology, vengeance,

578
00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:36.159
and power mixed behind closed doors. A home that sent

579
00:37:36.280 --> 00:37:39.360
more people to prison and to the gallows than any

580
00:37:39.480 --> 00:37:44.559
other home. So I think now we need to conclude

581
00:37:44.599 --> 00:37:48.880
this episode well telling the story of the Putnam Household.

582
00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:50.679
Aren't you glad you got in the car? I know

583
00:37:50.719 --> 00:37:53.760
you've been worried, but yet now this is the home

584
00:37:53.800 --> 00:37:58.199
of the Putnam's right here and Danvers, Danielle Street, right

585
00:37:58.199 --> 00:38:01.719
here here. Look at it. There it is. I know

586
00:38:01.760 --> 00:38:03.719
it's not really there, but see it in your mind.

587
00:38:03.840 --> 00:38:07.039
See the home. Think of sixteen ninety two what the

588
00:38:07.079 --> 00:38:09.960
home would have looked like. There's the activity. There they are,

589
00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.519
there's Mercy, there's Anne Putnam Junior. There's Anne. There they are,

590
00:38:14.559 --> 00:38:19.480
there's Thomas. There's the family. See them. Maybe maybe it's

591
00:38:19.599 --> 00:38:22.039
night and there's just a light inside the house, maybe

592
00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:24.519
a lantern or something, and let's walk up and listen.

593
00:38:24.719 --> 00:38:30.159
And they're talking about who's possibly a witch who was

594
00:38:30.239 --> 00:38:34.360
in this house in sixteen ninety two. The Putnam household

595
00:38:34.360 --> 00:38:37.559
in Salem Village modern day Danvers was one of the

596
00:38:37.679 --> 00:38:42.159
largest and most prominent in the area. Here's who lived

597
00:38:42.239 --> 00:38:46.639
under the roof during the trials. Thomas Putnam Senior, a

598
00:38:46.719 --> 00:38:53.840
prominent landowner, militia officer, and staunch supporter of Reverend Samuel Parris.

599
00:38:54.039 --> 00:38:57.360
Because there's a lot of these people likes you know,

600
00:38:57.519 --> 00:39:01.760
it's it's typical church garbage, right. Oh, we're for the pastor,

601
00:39:02.039 --> 00:39:04.639
we don't like the pastor, and the church is divided.

602
00:39:04.760 --> 00:39:07.679
Some want him to go, some want him there. Okay, well,

603
00:39:07.960 --> 00:39:11.119
I wonder if if that leads to any accusations. Okay,

604
00:39:11.159 --> 00:39:13.840
well we can get into a lengthy discussion about that.

605
00:39:14.159 --> 00:39:19.559
But he's on Samuel Parris's side. Okay, Remember Paris. Okay, wait,

606
00:39:19.599 --> 00:39:21.440
we can get in. Well, you can go back and

607
00:39:21.480 --> 00:39:24.840
listen to everything. But he's instrumental Paris. It's his household

608
00:39:24.840 --> 00:39:28.679
where everything starts. Right, it's the Paris household where everything starts,

609
00:39:29.000 --> 00:39:31.800
it says daughter. It's his niece, right, and he's got

610
00:39:31.800 --> 00:39:34.840
the book by Cotton Mather and he was in Boston

611
00:39:34.840 --> 00:39:36.960
when there we could put it on. I mean, Paris

612
00:39:37.039 --> 00:39:40.039
is instrumental in starting the fire, right, He's the one

613
00:39:40.119 --> 00:39:44.639
his household strikes the match, sets the fire ablaze. But

614
00:39:44.719 --> 00:39:46.920
I think it's the Putnam who goes picks up the

615
00:39:46.920 --> 00:39:52.000
fire and spreads it all over Salem. Okay, So you

616
00:39:52.039 --> 00:39:56.079
have Thomas Putnam Senior, you have and Putnam. You have

617
00:39:56.400 --> 00:40:01.719
Thomas Putnam Senior, and Putnam Senior his wife deeply religious

618
00:40:01.760 --> 00:40:06.920
and afflicted herself, and Putnam Junior, their twelve year old daughter,

619
00:40:07.199 --> 00:40:10.920
one of the most prolific and influential accusers and the

620
00:40:11.079 --> 00:40:15.440
entire witch crisis. I mean she is the one, all right.

621
00:40:15.760 --> 00:40:19.559
Then you have Mercy Lewis, their teenage servant, war orphan

622
00:40:19.800 --> 00:40:23.039
and active accuser. You have other children. The Putnam's had

623
00:40:23.079 --> 00:40:26.519
several other children, though Anne Junior was the only one

624
00:40:26.559 --> 00:40:28.719
known to be directly involved in the trials. I don't

625
00:40:28.719 --> 00:40:32.079
know anything about the other kids. They don't They just

626
00:40:32.079 --> 00:40:33.760
stayed out of it. Okay, I don't know what they

627
00:40:33.760 --> 00:40:38.119
were doing. I don't know how old they were or anything. Now,

628
00:40:38.199 --> 00:40:43.079
this one household generated more formal accusations than any other

629
00:40:43.159 --> 00:40:46.159
in Salem. I want you to just consider the numbers,

630
00:40:46.159 --> 00:40:48.760
the accusations, the deaths, and the land. All right, let's

631
00:40:48.800 --> 00:40:53.320
try to break this down. And Putnam Junior, she accused

632
00:40:54.000 --> 00:40:59.679
sixty two individuals, gave formal testimony at many of the

633
00:40:59.679 --> 00:41:03.679
most pivotal trials. Her accusations led to at least twenty

634
00:41:03.760 --> 00:41:09.840
imprisonments and over ten executions. So just their one daughter,

635
00:41:10.800 --> 00:41:14.280
twenty people in prison, over ten people dead. So I

636
00:41:14.360 --> 00:41:16.559
think maybe I don't know if we have an exact number.

637
00:41:16.599 --> 00:41:18.880
I think the other numbers, maybe it's harder to put

638
00:41:18.920 --> 00:41:23.480
them just on her. So let's just say ten twenty imprisonments,

639
00:41:23.800 --> 00:41:26.840
ten executions, only twenty people not only I hate to

640
00:41:26.840 --> 00:41:30.360
say the word, only twenty people die. She makes up

641
00:41:30.480 --> 00:41:35.599
half of their deaths comes from her one family, one daughter.

642
00:41:37.920 --> 00:41:43.079
Thomas Putnam Senior. He filed complaints and depositions against forty

643
00:41:43.440 --> 00:41:49.320
three people. That's crazy. He acted as an official witness

644
00:41:49.760 --> 00:41:53.400
or coordinated in many of the early proceedings. He was

645
00:41:53.480 --> 00:41:57.679
right there in they of the early proceedings, and he

646
00:41:57.960 --> 00:42:03.119
often amplified his claims through legal channels. He sometimes who

647
00:42:03.159 --> 00:42:06.280
was working through legal channels to keep this going, keep

648
00:42:06.280 --> 00:42:08.960
this happening. He was the one making sure he was.

649
00:42:09.000 --> 00:42:15.639
In many senses, if the reverend's house started the fire,

650
00:42:17.159 --> 00:42:20.840
Thomas is the one keeping it going. And then you've

651
00:42:20.840 --> 00:42:25.280
got Mercy Lewis. She accused or supported accusations against somewhere

652
00:42:25.280 --> 00:42:30.000
between fifteen to twenty individuals, including George Burrows, Mary sd

653
00:42:30.239 --> 00:42:35.960
Sarah Good, and Giles Corey. Her testimony helped convict multiple people,

654
00:42:36.719 --> 00:42:40.639
and Putnam Senior, while less prominent, she also reported afflictions

655
00:42:40.719 --> 00:42:44.159
and supported claims made by her daughter. So basically, almost

656
00:42:44.239 --> 00:42:49.079
everyone in the household accused someone everyone did. Now that

657
00:42:49.159 --> 00:42:51.000
kind of makes you feel bad for Mercy because she's

658
00:42:51.000 --> 00:42:54.639
caught up in this, right, It also makes you feel

659
00:42:54.880 --> 00:42:58.639
bad for Anne Putnam Junior because she's caught up in

660
00:42:58.719 --> 00:43:01.280
the middle of this. And again, I still believe Thomas

661
00:43:01.320 --> 00:43:04.039
is the one driving this. I cannot prove that historically,

662
00:43:04.320 --> 00:43:08.320
but it just sounds like man. This man was wiping

663
00:43:08.320 --> 00:43:13.400
out everybody, and he was using his daughter and his

664
00:43:13.559 --> 00:43:19.280
servant to pull this off. In total, the Putnam household

665
00:43:19.280 --> 00:43:23.639
contributed to accusations that resulted in dozens imprisonments. At total,

666
00:43:23.920 --> 00:43:29.599
their house is responsible for fourteen of the executions fourteen

667
00:43:30.400 --> 00:43:34.000
fourteen out of twenty. The Putnam household is right there.

668
00:43:34.679 --> 00:43:37.960
That come on, now, come on, you see why we

669
00:43:38.039 --> 00:43:43.119
drove to this area. And I can't even begin to

670
00:43:43.159 --> 00:43:47.920
calculate how many families and lives were ruined. Because once

671
00:43:47.920 --> 00:43:51.519
you get accused of being a witch and Puritan society,

672
00:43:51.840 --> 00:43:54.400
I mean, you just as well pack up and move. Okay.

673
00:43:56.400 --> 00:44:00.320
Now did the Putnams benefit from all of this? Now? Okay,

674
00:44:00.400 --> 00:44:02.559
I gotta be careful here. I gotta be careful here,

675
00:44:04.239 --> 00:44:07.599
because this is one of the most persistent questions. Did

676
00:44:07.599 --> 00:44:11.000
the Putnams gain from the deaths of those accused? Now,

677
00:44:11.039 --> 00:44:12.840
if you go to Salem and you listen to some

678
00:44:12.920 --> 00:44:16.000
of the tour guides, sometimes, depending on how they're telling

679
00:44:16.079 --> 00:44:22.039
the story, I'm sometimes like, whoa did they? Didn't they?

680
00:44:23.000 --> 00:44:29.760
I'm not so sure? So we know they land was confiscated,

681
00:44:29.840 --> 00:44:35.239
We know that land confiscation did occur, and theory land

682
00:44:35.360 --> 00:44:39.119
from executed witches could be seized, and practice it was

683
00:44:39.159 --> 00:44:42.599
often left in legal limbo are reclaimed by families. So

684
00:44:43.159 --> 00:44:45.119
there's some debate here if you go to some of

685
00:44:45.159 --> 00:44:47.760
the I think when I was at the Dungeon Museum,

686
00:44:48.239 --> 00:44:52.440
where you go, it's crazy to see it's basically the

687
00:44:52.559 --> 00:44:55.480
recreation of what they're these Geil cells when these people

688
00:44:55.480 --> 00:44:58.239
were put in prison, what they look like, and and

689
00:44:58.239 --> 00:45:00.239
and the size of your cell depending on how much

690
00:45:00.280 --> 00:45:02.639
money your family had. It was really crazy the way

691
00:45:02.639 --> 00:45:06.320
it went down. But the family basically had to pay

692
00:45:06.320 --> 00:45:07.800
for you to be in jail. It was nuts. And

693
00:45:08.480 --> 00:45:11.960
how much money you had determine if you were poor, sorry,

694
00:45:12.199 --> 00:45:13.920
and you were basically in a prison cell that you

695
00:45:13.920 --> 00:45:16.039
couldn't even lay down in. All you could do was stand.

696
00:45:16.079 --> 00:45:19.320
It was crazy. Yep. The Dungeon Museum is crazy. But

697
00:45:21.360 --> 00:45:24.400
when they tell the story, they talk about the land confiscation.

698
00:45:24.559 --> 00:45:28.280
But they seemed to, if I remember correctly, told it like, hey,

699
00:45:28.320 --> 00:45:29.880
if you were accused of being a witch, that could

700
00:45:29.920 --> 00:45:34.239
take your land immediately. So there's a little bit of debate.

701
00:45:34.559 --> 00:45:37.760
I cannot be for sure exactly how it goes down. Now.

702
00:45:37.840 --> 00:45:40.920
Thomas Putnam was known to have long standing land disputes

703
00:45:41.159 --> 00:45:45.639
with several families he or his daughters accused. That seems

704
00:45:45.639 --> 00:45:49.079
to be factual. He wanted land, and then these people

705
00:45:49.159 --> 00:45:51.239
ended up being accused of being a witch by either

706
00:45:51.320 --> 00:45:55.039
him or someone in his house, including the Porters, which

707
00:45:55.159 --> 00:45:59.639
was in some ways their chief political rivals. Now, some

708
00:45:59.760 --> 00:46:02.639
will argue there's no chief, or let me state it

709
00:46:02.679 --> 00:46:06.079
this way. Some would argue there is no direct evidence

710
00:46:07.000 --> 00:46:11.079
that Thomas Putnam directly acquired confiscated land. There seems to

711
00:46:11.079 --> 00:46:15.239
be some strong circumstantial evidence that some of the accusations

712
00:46:15.440 --> 00:46:19.960
were aimed at weakening rival families or removing obstacles to

713
00:46:20.079 --> 00:46:23.800
property expansion. So it still seemed like it could have

714
00:46:23.800 --> 00:46:28.000
been strategic calculated. Hey, these people trying to get the land,

715
00:46:28.079 --> 00:46:30.639
well they're now they're worried about dying and being accused

716
00:46:30.639 --> 00:46:34.239
of me, of which this weakens they can't expand what

717
00:46:34.280 --> 00:46:36.159
they're trying to do, or they have to pull back

718
00:46:36.159 --> 00:46:38.280
from trying to get the land, and then he could

719
00:46:38.639 --> 00:46:42.039
move in or expand or whatever the case may be. Now,

720
00:46:42.079 --> 00:46:46.239
again there's a lot of that circumstantial, A lot of

721
00:46:46.239 --> 00:46:53.840
it's circumstantial, So maybe it wasn't so much about what

722
00:46:53.880 --> 00:46:57.199
the Putnams could gain. Maybe it was more about what

723
00:46:57.239 --> 00:47:02.199
their enemies could lose. Maybe it was more strategy. Not

724
00:47:02.280 --> 00:47:04.400
that we're gonna gain it, but they're gonna lose it,

725
00:47:04.440 --> 00:47:06.480
and there are enemies and we don't want them to

726
00:47:06.519 --> 00:47:11.639
have it. So what was driving the Putnams? I mean,

727
00:47:11.760 --> 00:47:16.280
I mean, come on, this is Salem witch trials HQ. Right,

728
00:47:16.320 --> 00:47:20.519
here's the Putnam home. I mean, come on, it's crazy.

729
00:47:21.239 --> 00:47:26.400
Some have debated their motivations. In fact, they've been debating

730
00:47:26.400 --> 00:47:29.440
their motivations of what three centuries, ever, how long it's been.

731
00:47:30.360 --> 00:47:32.880
Here's some of the possible theories. All right, here's some

732
00:47:32.920 --> 00:47:37.960
of the possible theories. All right, And here's I guess

733
00:47:38.000 --> 00:47:42.719
maybe here's maybe the most credible theories. Number one, religious zelotry.

734
00:47:43.360 --> 00:47:48.519
They're religious zelots. First, the Putnams were deeply devoted to

735
00:47:48.559 --> 00:47:51.920
Puritan theology. Thomas and a senior were strong supporters of

736
00:47:51.920 --> 00:47:55.119
Reverend Samuel Parris, the minister who helped ignite the witch panic.

737
00:47:55.639 --> 00:47:59.039
Paris preached about spiritual warfare, covenant breaking, and the devil's

738
00:47:59.039 --> 00:48:02.719
war on the church, messages that lended powerfully with the Putnams.

739
00:48:03.079 --> 00:48:05.960
They didn't just believe which has existed. They believe they

740
00:48:06.000 --> 00:48:09.559
were fighting a holy war. Now guess what happens. This

741
00:48:09.599 --> 00:48:13.079
is where it gets complicated, because I don't know if

742
00:48:13.119 --> 00:48:18.280
you realize this. As believers, as Christians, we like to

743
00:48:19.519 --> 00:48:26.760
synctify our motives. We like to sanctify what we do.

744
00:48:27.079 --> 00:48:29.159
We always like to make what we do sound more

745
00:48:29.199 --> 00:48:32.360
spiritual and more godly, when in many cases what we're

746
00:48:32.360 --> 00:48:35.400
doing is selfish. But we can't see the selfishness of

747
00:48:35.440 --> 00:48:39.079
it because we always give our actions and our feelings

748
00:48:39.119 --> 00:48:44.840
and our thoughts and our perspective religious justification. I hold

749
00:48:44.880 --> 00:48:48.920
this political point not because of your own bias, your

750
00:48:48.960 --> 00:48:52.360
own likes or dislike. No, because of God. I don't

751
00:48:52.440 --> 00:48:55.480
like this music, not because it's against your taste. You

752
00:48:55.559 --> 00:48:57.480
just hate it. It's loud, you know what, your kids

753
00:48:57.480 --> 00:49:00.360
to listen to it. You're like, it's ungodly. But if

754
00:49:00.360 --> 00:49:05.760
you like something, it's okay. We Christianity gives you the

755
00:49:05.920 --> 00:49:08.599
power and the ability to dress everything up you do,

756
00:49:08.719 --> 00:49:11.079
even your sinful motives, and we can dress them on,

757
00:49:11.119 --> 00:49:15.719
making them it's just righteous indignation, it's just godly. It's

758
00:49:15.719 --> 00:49:18.079
not that I'm trying to gossip or slender I'm just

759
00:49:18.119 --> 00:49:22.840
trying to warn people. How about sheep's wolves and sheep's clothing.

760
00:49:23.920 --> 00:49:27.159
You can justify anything as a believer, because as long

761
00:49:27.199 --> 00:49:28.800
as you can put God to it and say God

762
00:49:28.880 --> 00:49:31.639
is on my side, you can do anything. And Christians

763
00:49:31.679 --> 00:49:33.800
love to do that with their politics. Oh God's on

764
00:49:33.920 --> 00:49:36.039
my side, so you say this and you do this,

765
00:49:36.159 --> 00:49:41.360
and oh it's just ridiculous the game Christians play. So

766
00:49:41.519 --> 00:49:46.119
maybe they were religious. They had religious zealous They were

767
00:49:46.280 --> 00:49:50.840
very zealous and their religious beliefs, very zealous about Puritan theology.

768
00:49:52.079 --> 00:49:55.239
Maybe they really believed they were fighting a holy war.

769
00:49:55.519 --> 00:49:59.079
But that belief of it can lead you say and

770
00:49:59.159 --> 00:50:06.079
doridiculous things like burning records and books and banning and

771
00:50:06.840 --> 00:50:09.559
accusations and blaming everyone for being a Satanist or a

772
00:50:09.599 --> 00:50:12.480
part of the Illuminati, or every other nonsense Christians have

773
00:50:12.599 --> 00:50:20.880
done throughout church history. So some believe maybe they're religious

774
00:50:21.480 --> 00:50:26.480
zelotry zealousness that led to it. A second possible thing

775
00:50:26.480 --> 00:50:30.519
that motivated them was social and political power. The Putnams

776
00:50:30.519 --> 00:50:34.760
had enemies, especially the Porter family, who were wealthier, more moderate,

777
00:50:34.800 --> 00:50:38.480
and critical of Paris's ministry. See this all comes down.

778
00:50:39.000 --> 00:50:41.960
I still believe all of this comes down to a

779
00:50:42.079 --> 00:50:47.079
church split. You got the Putnams, they're pro they're pro

780
00:50:47.199 --> 00:50:51.360
Pastor Paris. Right, you got the Porters, who's not pro

781
00:50:51.440 --> 00:50:55.880
Pastor Paris. Just lo and behold, spiritual warfare breaks out?

782
00:50:56.119 --> 00:50:59.639
What everyone starts being killed? And isn't it amazing? Hmm?

783
00:51:00.440 --> 00:51:04.119
Well where did the accusations first begin? In? The Paris family?

784
00:51:04.480 --> 00:51:09.039
Who comes out fanning the flames and defending the Satan

785
00:51:09.039 --> 00:51:12.480
has really an attack? Oh? The Putnams? Who do they

786
00:51:12.480 --> 00:51:19.760
support Parish? Isn't it interesting? So these were like the

787
00:51:19.800 --> 00:51:25.480
two opposing factions. Right in this corner, we have the Putnams.

788
00:51:25.559 --> 00:51:28.480
In this corner, we have the Porters. I hate to

789
00:51:28.559 --> 00:51:30.760
break it down to such a crass way, but that's

790
00:51:30.760 --> 00:51:33.360
what it really turns into in the middle, or all

791
00:51:33.360 --> 00:51:37.320
the innocent people getting accused and dying. Okay, that's the

792
00:51:37.400 --> 00:51:41.280
sad part. The good Christian families are at war, and

793
00:51:41.880 --> 00:51:45.679
it's the marginalized people who get slaughtered in the end.

794
00:51:45.719 --> 00:51:53.320
Between many of the people the Putnams accused were either

795
00:51:53.320 --> 00:51:56.159
connected to the Porters or at odds with the Putnams,

796
00:51:57.239 --> 00:52:00.719
but fueling the trials, the Putnam's consolidated power in the

797
00:52:00.800 --> 00:52:05.559
church let me stay this way not but by fueling

798
00:52:06.159 --> 00:52:11.639
the trials, fanning the flames, the Putnam's consolidated power in

799
00:52:11.679 --> 00:52:15.000
the church and in local politics. Because see, hey, if

800
00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:18.360
there's really a spiritual war going on, and Paris is

801
00:52:18.400 --> 00:52:21.159
in the midst of this war, fighting this war, then

802
00:52:21.159 --> 00:52:24.599
we got to support Pastor Paris. He knows there's a

803
00:52:24.639 --> 00:52:26.840
war going on. He's in the middle of it. He's

804
00:52:27.199 --> 00:52:34.280
he's God's warrior to fight the evil witches. His stuff

805
00:52:34.320 --> 00:52:38.320
is so messed up, all right, So the first possible

806
00:52:38.320 --> 00:52:42.239
reason is their own religious zealous zelotry. I'll use that word.

807
00:52:42.920 --> 00:52:46.679
Social and political power Number three Psychological and emotional trauma

808
00:52:47.639 --> 00:52:50.440
personal grief mayl played a role in sixteen ninety and

809
00:52:50.519 --> 00:52:55.199
Putnam Senior lost several children in infancy. The family experienced

810
00:52:55.239 --> 00:53:02.280
repeated misfortunes, felled crops, legal disputes, and some historians believe

811
00:53:02.320 --> 00:53:05.400
that the emotional trauma fed a sense of cosmic injustice

812
00:53:05.639 --> 00:53:09.079
and the idea that unseen forces were working against them.

813
00:53:09.280 --> 00:53:14.840
Now you get paranoia, Why is all this happening? Why

814
00:53:14.840 --> 00:53:17.559
are our kids dying? Why are people? Why are we

815
00:53:17.599 --> 00:53:22.519
in legal disputes? Why did the crops fail? Satan? Satan

816
00:53:22.800 --> 00:53:25.000
now you may not, they may not have been able

817
00:53:25.039 --> 00:53:27.679
to verbalize that yet. But once then all of a

818
00:53:27.719 --> 00:53:30.840
sudden in the Paris family, like the witches are here,

819
00:53:31.079 --> 00:53:34.440
our kids are being tormented by witches. That that's the reason,

820
00:53:34.679 --> 00:53:39.760
that's what's happening. Satan is after That's why we're suffering.

821
00:53:41.679 --> 00:53:44.760
Now you give your you get purpose to your suffering.

822
00:53:44.840 --> 00:53:47.679
You give reason for your suffering. Some people like to

823
00:53:47.719 --> 00:53:50.639
have a reason, whether it's true or not. They like certainty.

824
00:53:50.719 --> 00:53:53.679
They're like an explanation. They don't like the unknown and

825
00:53:53.760 --> 00:53:57.800
not knowing Satan is doing it. We're under attack and

826
00:53:58.320 --> 00:54:01.159
they just happened to become the center of all the accusations,

827
00:54:01.239 --> 00:54:04.440
or most of them, come on. That makes perfect sense

828
00:54:04.480 --> 00:54:12.440
to me. How about number four, Mercy Lewis and class tension.

829
00:54:12.840 --> 00:54:14.679
Let's not forget the role of Mercy Lewis and the

830
00:54:14.719 --> 00:54:18.119
Putnam servant. She was a war orphan who had been violent,

831
00:54:18.400 --> 00:54:21.039
who had seen violence firsthand in Maine, and now she

832
00:54:21.119 --> 00:54:23.920
lived in a house where religious fear and personal grievance mixed.

833
00:54:24.360 --> 00:54:27.360
Was she trying to please her masters? Was she expressing

834
00:54:27.440 --> 00:54:30.159
trauma and the only way she knows how? And a

835
00:54:30.199 --> 00:54:34.440
society that validated spiritual affliction. Hey, I've suffered trauma, I've

836
00:54:34.480 --> 00:54:38.679
been Maybe she's like, I'm suffering this Satan. Maybe the

837
00:54:38.679 --> 00:54:42.320
Putnams already gave this idea or suffering because of Satan.

838
00:54:42.559 --> 00:54:45.639
You suffered because of Satan. Satan's out to kill us all.

839
00:54:47.960 --> 00:54:50.000
Oh wait, which is wait, wait, wait, wait, what's going

840
00:54:50.039 --> 00:54:53.599
on in our pastor's household? Old? Their daughters are his

841
00:54:53.760 --> 00:54:56.679
daughter and his niece is being tormented by devil, by

842
00:54:56.719 --> 00:55:02.280
devils or by witches. That explains everything. That explains why

843
00:55:02.280 --> 00:55:04.920
you're suffering. And I'm suffering because Satan is here. I

844
00:55:04.920 --> 00:55:08.519
remember that this already started way earlier than sixteen ninety two.

845
00:55:08.599 --> 00:55:12.199
Cotton Mather what happened in Boston, that the entire region

846
00:55:12.320 --> 00:55:17.039
was under attack by Satan. Christians lose their ever living

847
00:55:17.079 --> 00:55:18.719
mind with this stuff. I mean we saw it in

848
00:55:18.760 --> 00:55:23.599
the eighties, saw it with the Illuminati being everywhere, Christians

849
00:55:23.599 --> 00:55:25.719
always next to it, were we always have something to

850
00:55:25.760 --> 00:55:28.000
be a fearful of. There's always got to be a boogeyman.

851
00:55:28.159 --> 00:55:35.280
And then Christians lose their ever living minds. Or maybe

852
00:55:35.280 --> 00:55:38.519
did Mercy. She saw an opportunity to gain attention, purpose,

853
00:55:38.719 --> 00:55:41.239
and even vengeance. In a world that had offered her

854
00:55:41.320 --> 00:55:46.559
nothing but loss. So maybe maybe some of it driven

855
00:55:46.599 --> 00:55:49.159
by Mercy Lewis because of the things that happened to her.

856
00:55:50.920 --> 00:55:55.639
How about this is simply grabbing at opportunity and revenge,

857
00:55:56.519 --> 00:56:01.039
And maybe this is maybe the simplest explanation revenge. Some

858
00:56:02.119 --> 00:56:05.840
people the Putnamen's accused had wronged them in business, land

859
00:56:05.840 --> 00:56:10.840
disputes and church conflicts. Now they don't need proof, They

860
00:56:10.880 --> 00:56:14.400
just need a symptom and a name. They felt like

861
00:56:14.440 --> 00:56:16.599
they've been wronged in business by some of these people.

862
00:56:16.719 --> 00:56:19.960
They've been wronged in land disputes, and and they're sick

863
00:56:20.000 --> 00:56:22.920
and tired of the church conflict because they want this

864
00:56:22.960 --> 00:56:25.440
pastor and other people want someone else and they're tired

865
00:56:25.480 --> 00:56:27.920
of it. Well, now they don't need any proof. They

866
00:56:27.920 --> 00:56:29.599
don't have to go to court. All they got to

867
00:56:29.639 --> 00:56:32.280
do well, well, ultimately they'll go to court, but they

868
00:56:32.320 --> 00:56:34.000
don't have to go to court about the business issues

869
00:56:34.000 --> 00:56:35.840
of the land issues. They don't have to fight it

870
00:56:35.880 --> 00:56:37.679
out in church conflicts. All they have to do is

871
00:56:37.719 --> 00:56:44.400
like that person is a witch. Boom, goodbye. And when

872
00:56:44.400 --> 00:56:48.440
accusations became power and power became influenced, the trials may

873
00:56:48.440 --> 00:56:53.119
have become less about the devil and more about control.

874
00:56:56.199 --> 00:57:03.000
This one family, one house. Remember we're in Danvers Ron

875
00:57:03.079 --> 00:57:08.719
Danielle Street. Look, everyone this house helped shape the course

876
00:57:10.800 --> 00:57:19.599
of the entire crises. Their words maybe first spoken in

877
00:57:19.719 --> 00:57:29.360
this house that we're looking at. It sent ministers, widows, neighbors,

878
00:57:30.639 --> 00:57:37.639
and even friends to the gallows. And long after the

879
00:57:37.719 --> 00:57:46.039
execution stopped, the questions remained. Were they sincere? Were they

880
00:57:46.119 --> 00:58:01.679
victims of fear or were they using fear? That family everything?

881
00:58:01.800 --> 00:58:03.719
I mean, I don't know what else I can say

882
00:58:03.760 --> 00:58:07.519
to you other than it's just crazy how that all

883
00:58:08.679 --> 00:58:13.039
played out, how it all played out. I'm going to

884
00:58:13.320 --> 00:58:15.760
see here. I think I may have I got to

885
00:58:15.800 --> 00:58:27.559
look here in some of my notes, I may have here. Yeah,

886
00:58:27.599 --> 00:58:30.000
I don't think I have. I don't think I have here.

887
00:58:32.800 --> 00:58:35.480
I don't think I have everything that happened to the Putnams.

888
00:58:36.599 --> 00:58:40.320
But I think you get a pretty good idea of

889
00:58:40.559 --> 00:58:47.239
how it all played out, pretty good idea. I'll stop

890
00:58:47.280 --> 00:58:49.920
there because we're at fifty yeah, fifty eight minutes. If

891
00:58:49.920 --> 00:58:51.679
I try to go into everything happened, we know what

892
00:58:51.679 --> 00:58:54.480
happened to Mercy. She disappears and has a child out

893
00:58:54.559 --> 00:59:05.840
an illegitimate child. There you go. That's the story of

894
00:59:05.880 --> 00:59:10.880
the the House of No Mercy, the Story of No Mercy.

895
00:59:15.719 --> 00:59:18.079
Thanks for listening, God bless