April 4, 2025

Salem: Walcott

Salem: Walcott

We return to Salem to hear the story of Mary Walcott

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We return to Salem to hear the story of Mary Walcott

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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 Friday, April fourth, twenty twenty five. It is

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currently two twenty one 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, if you're watching the news

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right now, or if you've been looking about, you know,

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look looking at what's going on currently in the United

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States of America, maybe looking at the stock market, maybe

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looking at these things called tariffs. You may be like, wow,

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what is happening? And you may have strong opinions, and

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we're not here to get into all the political arguments

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and division, but you may be like, man, I'm worried,

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I'm concerned. I don't know what's happening. Things seem crazy,

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things seem out of control, and I would very much

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understand that. So what can I offer you today, Well,

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I can offer you a trip back to Salem, you know,

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back to a time when things well, when everything made

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sense and everything was wonderful, and everything was great, you know,

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back to the good old Okay, all right, we're going

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back to Salem and we're going to continue our journey

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through the Salem Witch Trials and obviously even going all

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the way back to sixteen ninety one, sixteen ninety two,

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sixteen ninety three. Guess what we find. We find that

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things were not wonderful or great. And to get a

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little bit philosophical here, maybe a little bit philological, because

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I think it's important. I think it is good to

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know this, and I was just mentioning this right before

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I went live on the air. I think this is

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very important for us to realize. It doesn't matter where

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you look in history. It doesn't matter if you go

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back to the sixteen hundreds, the fourteen hundreds, the six hundreds,

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it doesn't matter if you go bc AD. It doesn't

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matter where you go, what what era, whatever time. I

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know we always talk about the good old days, but

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when you go back, you find craziness, tragedy, fighting, arguing, division, evil,

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horrible things happening. Because it doesn't matter which era you go.

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You know what, you know, you know what the problem is.

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It's us. It's us. It's the fact that human beings

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populate this earth. And wherever you find human beings, you

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find pain, you find tragedy, you find suffering, you find evil.

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Sometimes that evil is done, sometimes that wrong. Sometimes that

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tragedy happens in the name of a country, or in

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the name of a political ideology, or in the name

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of a political leader. Sometimes it happens even in the

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name of God. It even happens within the church, because

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it doesn't matter in the church. Outside the church, we

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are all depraved sinners. Now that that still leaves me

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with lots of philosophical questions, But there is something I

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won't say comforting, but it is good to know that

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there's at least maybe an explanation that it doesn't matter

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if I'm looking at twenty twenty five or sixteen ninety two,

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I see horrible things happening. At least I can explain

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why people do horrible things and why horrible things happen,

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and why crazy things occur, and why there's pain, suffering,

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death and all the other it's because human beings are

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sinful and because we live in a fallen world. At

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least it offers maybe some kind of explanation. But we're

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going to take a trip back to Salem and just well,

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once again, we're going to be confronted with the fact

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that even back in the so called good old days,

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things weren't so good because what are we going to find.

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We're going to find human beings are going to find pain, suffering,

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and man, some just absolute craziness. Now, as I have

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been doing so, I'm going to continue the basic same structure.

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I'm going to do this as a narrative, like I'm

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telling a story. At least there'll be a couple of

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times I will just like all the time, I'll kind

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of leave the narrative, throw in some things weave back

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into the narrative. So far, I think the majority of

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people have appreciated this approach. It it changes things up

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a little bit. Now, if I really had, if I

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had the money and the team, that we could really

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produce this as a true narrative with sound effects and

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music and voiceovers and actors, and we could really really

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turn this into a very interesting production. I don't know

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why any podcast company hasn't decided to turn the Salem

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Witch Trials into a mass production of you know, broadcast.

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I don't know why they haven't. I mean, you really,

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there's so many stories that you could tell. So maybe

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maybe there was a good podcast company out there that

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would really our podcast network and say hey, let's get

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together the team and let's do this. We can do

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this in a a dramatic production telling the story of

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the Salem witch Trials, because I think, well, it's a

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story everyone needs to know. So are you ready to

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go back to Salem? Here we go? Are you ready?

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The last time on this podcast when we were talking

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about Salem, we followed the story of Mary Sibley, a

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woman who, in her desperation, turned to a bit of

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old folk magic to try to help the afflicted girls

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of Salem. Her decision to bake a witch cake and

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her public confession in church marked one of the earliest

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turning points and what would become just one of many

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dark chapters in American history. Does everyone remember the witch cake?

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Does everyone remember that story? Go back and listen to

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the witch cake crazy story. And Mary Sibley was the

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one who baked the witch cake and then she had

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to confess in church a lot, a lot of things

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and remember the sermon. Okay, there was a lot that

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we could talk about in that, but this is very important.

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Mary Sibley's story did not end with her repentance because

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standing nearby watching the collapse of control was her niece,

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A girl who would not confess, a girl who would

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not apologize, a girl who would speak then remain silent.

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This is the story of Mary Walcott, the niece, the accuser,

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and the woman who just walked away and walked away

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far better than many of the other accusers. Many walked

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away in a way far better than many of the

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other people involved in the Salem witch trials. Now we

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have to talk about her, now, okay, we have to

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talk about her name, because if you look at her name, Mary,

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that's easy. Her last name w A. L. Cott. Walcott.

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That's how I would say it. And if I remember correctly,

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and I've been to Salem and numerous you know, visiting

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numerous places there telling the story of what happened. When

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they mentioned her name Mary Walcott, almost all, I think

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almost every single person who mentioned her name stated it

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that way. However, most will say that that's an incorrect

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way of pronouncing it. It's like Walkett Walkett. Some may

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even say Walkett, but I think Walkett is how many

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would probably say, is the correct way. I cannot promise

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you that I'm gonna say Walkett. I have a tendency

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to say Walcott, all right, that's how I would tend

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to say it. I just want to make sure because

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i'll get an email saying you're saying it incorrectly, and

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I'm acknowledging if I say Walcott, that's probably incorrect, even

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though I think many in Salem say Walcott. But I

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think it's Walkett. Some I think walkit. I think that

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is incorrect. It's Walkett. I think is really the correct way.

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So I just want to make sure you know that

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it's spelled w A. L Cott. Walcott just looks the way.

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It just looks that way. But Walkette, I think is

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the correct way. Right. So just so that we get

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the name situation out of the way, so that I

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don't have to post a correction to my mispronunciations, which

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are frequent. Okay, So let's tell I'm going to read

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I'm gonna read it kind of the introduction again, but

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I wanted to just get that out of the way.

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So last time we followed the story of Mary Sibley,

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a woman who, in desperation, turned to a bit of

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old folk magic to help the afflicted girls of Salem.

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Her decision to make a witch cake, and her public

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confession in church marked one of the early turning points

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and what would become a dark chapter in American history.

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But Mary Sibley's story did not end with her repentance,

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because standing nearby watching the collapse of control, was her niece.

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A girl who would not confess, a girl who would

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not apologize, a girl who would not speak, and in

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some ways she remained silent forever about everything that occurred.

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This is the story of Mary Walkett, the niece, the accuser,

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and the woman who walked away. Mary Walkett was born

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in sixteen seventy five sixteen seventy five. She was the

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daughter of Captain Jonathan Walkett, a military leader and key

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figure in Salem Village. So just to note that her

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father is a military leader, he's a captain, is that

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puts her not as a servant, not as someone who's poor,

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someone who could be, you know, maybe engrave danger in

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certain ways. I mean, she's kind of you know, she's

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in a I guess a position of maybe power influence.

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She's in a good situation I think in some ways.

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But again, her father's name was Jonathan Walkett Walkett, a

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military leader and key figure in Salem Village. Her family

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was not marginal, I think that's the word I was

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looking for, or desperate. I think these are three things

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to know about the family. Influential, faithful, and well respected.

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So Mary Walkett come from a family that's very influential, faithful,

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and well respected. She was about seventeen years old in

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sixteen ninety two, living near the center of village life

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and intimately tied to the church. Her aunt, Mary Sibley

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was connected to Reverend Samuel Paris, and her household would

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have been one where theological talk, spiritual vigilance, and the

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threat of the devil was ever present. So just make

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sure you know Mary Walcott would have heard all of

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this discussion about the devil attacking this area. The devil

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is everywhere, the devil, the devil, the devil, the devil,

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the devil, there's a devil among you type of thing.

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She would have heard this kind of discussion been around.

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It would have been very intimate, had intimate knowledge of it. Now,

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Mary wasn't afflicted when the first fits broke out in

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the Paris household, but in a sense she was there, watching,

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listening and absorbing the fear. And when her aunt stood

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before the congregation and confess to ordering and baking a

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witch cake. Mary learned an important lesson. Even good in

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tensions could bring condemnation, even if you mean to do right,

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even if you were trying to help. It could lead

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you to being condemned. It could lead you to standing

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in front of the church confessing. It could lead you

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to being well, are you a devil? Is the devil

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working in you? Are you a witch? Not long not

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long after that moment, Mary Walkett herself now begins to

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exhibit signs of affliction, convulsions, outbursts, claims of invisible tormentors.

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She became one of the core group of girls whose

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testimony would steer the entire course of the Salem witch trials,

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because ultimately you get kind of a core group of

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these girls who make accusation after accusation after accusation after accusation.

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To sheer number by two or three of these girls

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is pretty staggering at how many people they accuse. And

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you got some just accusing everyone. You've got some who

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are very theatrical and their accusations. And we talked about

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we already talked about a number of these girls. So

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you know, she she sees all of this and the

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next thing, you know, well, she becomes well, she becomes

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a part in a sense of this core group. But

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unlike some of the other accusers, Mary wasn't impulsive or erratic.

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She seemed more methodical, more reliable, maybe some would even

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say more frequent in her accusations. She testified against more

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than a dozen people Rebecca nor A nurse. Me get

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the names right, Rebecca Nurse, Mary Esty, Sarah good Susannah Martin,

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John Bridget Bishop, and there was a lot more. I

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could list a lot of the people she accused, right, So,

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but she seemed much more in control, much more. Do

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you want to be saying guided? Do you want to

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be saying lead? I don't know clearly. Maybe because she's seventeen,

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she's more methodical. Maybe maybe she you know, not everyone

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could be dramatic and theatrical. It's almost like each one

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kind of took their own role and they kind of

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approached it in their own way, all right, which I

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guess would make some sense because everyone is different, or

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maybe that says a lot maybe about their motivations or

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what they were trying to do. But again, some of

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the so we went through those those names, and so

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just well, let's just look at one of them. One

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of the most heartbreaking episodes of the trials involved Rebecca Nurse.

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Because Rebecca Nurse would have been viewed as being a devout,

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elderly woman known for her charity, her wisdom, and her faith,

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many in Salem, even some judges, struggled to believe that

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she could be a witch. At one point, the jury

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even found her not guilty, only to reverse their decision

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under pressure. Hey, we don't find her guilty. Well, then

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all of a sudden pressure begins and they're like, well,

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you know, we've changed our minds kind of things. We'll

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tell the story of Rebecca Nurse and far more detail.

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And if you ever, it depends on which you where

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you go for the different memorials set up around Salem.

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If you're in Salem, and I think it's the cemetery

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in Salem, right, Like, there's a gate that kind of

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walks into the cemetery. Right outside the gate, you'll see

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these they're like stones. It almost looks like a bench,

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but it's made out of rock, right, And they're made

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out of rocks. And if you walk up to each one,

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you'll see the name and the date and how they

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were executed. It's a memorial of all the people who

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were killed. So if you walk and you look at them.

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A lot of times people are new to Salem, they

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don't realize what they are. They just kind of go, oh,

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these are like benches, and they'll sit down on them,

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like these are the memorial stones for the people who

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were killed. Like, I don't know, maybe you don't sit

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on it, maybe you stand up, you know, what are

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you doing. I remember one of the walking tours I

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was on. We we kind of ended up right there

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at that memorial, right outside the cemetery. They were telling

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different stories about that cemetery and different things and people.

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When we walked there, and the person the tour god

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gets talking. Some people just kind of went and sat

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on the stones, and I'm kind of looking, going, oh,

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what are the people? These people don't know, These people

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don't have a clue. It just seems so disrespectful. And

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finally the tour guide was like, and those stones here

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are the memorial stones for all the people who were

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executed and killed in the Salem witch trials. And then

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some people kind of stood up. I think others, you know,

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for some reason, disrespectful and didn't care, But I just

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remember going and seeing all the names, looking at all

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the names, and of course a name like Rebecca Nurse

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obviously you know just when you know the names, and

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if you ever go to Salem and you see any

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of the memorials set up, you'll be like, oh, I

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know these names because we heard the story. But when

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it comes to Rebecca Nurse, her story is somewhat heartbreaking

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because she's accused, she's basically found not guilty, and then

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they're reverse and why and what kind of help leads

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to this change? Well, among those whose testimony helped condemn

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her was the testimony of Mary Walkitt. Her claims of

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being tormented by Rebecca's specter added just enough weight to

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push the court over the edge. The voice of a

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seventeen year old girl silence the life of a seventy

279
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year old saint. That's what happens when paranoia, fear, conspiracy,

280
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just insanity takes over a seventeen year old girl, ends

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the life of a seventy one year old woman who,

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by all accounts, would have been viewed as a saint,

283
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godly wise. But no, no, no, now, because a seventeen

284
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year old girl can just say her specter is haunting me,

285
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tormenting me. Well, kill kill the older woman. That's just insane.

286
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It's hard to wrap your mind. And all of this

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being done in the name of God, being done in

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the name of Jesus, being done in the name of

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religious people, which is demonstrates that Christians are no better

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than lost people were ungodly. We are just as prone

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to lying and deception. And now I know what people say, Well,

292
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the people who did this weren't Christians. That's always our

293
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go to answer. Well, I don't know, because on one hand

294
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we would say these people aren't Christians. On the other

295
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hand we got pastors defending Cotton Mathers. Sometimes I don't

296
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have a clue what Christians are going to say. Mary

297
00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:24.440
Walcott was also present in one of the most theatrical

298
00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:30.359
moments of the trials, during the interrogation of George Burrows.

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We've talked about him now multiple times. He was the

300
00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:39.319
former minister of Salem Village. A dramatic test was conducted

301
00:19:39.400 --> 00:19:43.599
in court during his court case. Not only was there

302
00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:47.000
a dramatic thing at his execution, there was this dramatic

303
00:19:47.079 --> 00:19:50.920
scene that happened during his court case. During his interrogation,

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Burrows was told to touch the afflicted girls. As he

305
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:05.640
he did, some of them immediately stopped convulsing. The implication

306
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was chilling. His physical touch broke the spell his spirit

307
00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:17.480
had cast on them. Mary was one of the girls

308
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present for this test. Her participation helped reinforce the idea

309
00:20:22.519 --> 00:20:29.079
that witchcraft could be verified through performance, not evidence, just

310
00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:36.119
reactions and interpretations to those reactions. So it's kind of crazy.

311
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Like in some cases, if if a woman was being

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accused and if she motioned her hand towards the girls, ah,

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they would scream, fall around, start convulsing. We're being tormented.

314
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But on other hand, in this case, he touches some

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00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:53.960
of the girls and immediately they stop and they're like, see,

316
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this is proof. This is proof. It's not the physical

317
00:20:57.240 --> 00:20:59.880
presence that's tormenting us. It's his spirit. It's a specter.

318
00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:03.200
He's a witch. He's guilty. So like, no matter what

319
00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:06.680
you do, you're once you got accused, you basically had

320
00:21:06.759 --> 00:21:09.279
no way to defend yourself. It didn't matter what you did,

321
00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:13.079
you're just done. You just as well saying oh I'm accused,

322
00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:15.720
where are you going? I'm going to gallows Hill, I'm

323
00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:18.960
gonna stop by the hardware store, bio Rope, I'm going

324
00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:21.559
to Gallow Hills, and I'm just gonna hang myself. Well, why,

325
00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:25.119
because there's nothing I can say or do. If I'm religious,

326
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I'm dead. If I'm not religious, I'm dead. If I

327
00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:30.799
move my hand, I'm dead. If I don't, If I

328
00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:34.880
touch whatever, it doesn't matter, because you guys don't care

329
00:21:34.920 --> 00:21:37.319
about truth. You don't care about honesty, you don't care

330
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about mercy, you don't care about God. You don't care

331
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about anything other than your ridiculous fear that the devil

332
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is everywhere and witches are taking over Salem. So he

333
00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:51.720
touches and the girls say, oh, we stop. Oh witch.

334
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If he would have touched him and their convulsions would

335
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have got worse. Witch, you can't win. Hey, a witch

336
00:22:00.839 --> 00:22:03.720
can't recite the Lord's prayer, recite the Lord's prayer perfectly,

337
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and Cotton Mather may say, oh, he's appearing as an

338
00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:14.920
angel of light. Kill him anyway. Now we don't have

339
00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:17.319
any specific I want to just make sure we talk

340
00:22:17.359 --> 00:22:19.839
about this touch test, because a lot of people don't

341
00:22:19.880 --> 00:22:21.960
know anything about the touch test, Like a lot of

342
00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:23.880
people didn't know about the egg ritual. A lot of

343
00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:25.839
people didn't know about the witch cake. So let me

344
00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:27.160
do a little just to try to help you a

345
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little bit here. We don't have any specific surviving documentation

346
00:22:31.799 --> 00:22:37.400
that I'm aware of confirming that Mary Walcitt Walcut was

347
00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:41.759
personally touched during the touch tests of George Burrows. We

348
00:22:41.880 --> 00:22:46.039
know she was present, we know she demonstrated being afflicted,

349
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and we know she actively participated in that courtroom scene,

350
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so we can't. I cannot say he touched her. But

351
00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:57.039
there were those who were touched, and it seems like

352
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they kind of all followed like they're all being afflicted.

353
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Then he touches some and then they all stop, and

354
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then they're like, oh see it's a specter that's doing it.

355
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It's not him, but that makes him guilty, which is

356
00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:11.319
just like, how do you even wrap your mind around

357
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this from a logical standpoint? I don't know. But the

358
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one thing I've learned and all of my years in

359
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Christianity is logic sometimes has no place. It's like we

360
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all have think many churches and many Christian homes have

361
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a sign above their door that says logic is not

362
00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:26.519
welcomed here, because just think of some of the crazy

363
00:23:26.599 --> 00:23:32.400
conspiracy and nonsense, nonsensical and ridiculous things that many Christians

364
00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:37.319
believe and think. So I cannot say he touched her.

365
00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:39.960
So I don't want anyone to say that I'm claiming

366
00:23:40.039 --> 00:23:42.519
that because I can't. I don't have any documentation to

367
00:23:42.680 --> 00:23:46.519
prove that. All right, we don't have any of that.

368
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We do know that the touch test seem to have

369
00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:54.880
occurred during the preliminary examination and trials of several accused individuals,

370
00:23:55.160 --> 00:24:00.279
including George Burrows. The afflicted girls claim that if the

371
00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:04.759
accused touch them, the spectral torment would stop, which was

372
00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:08.680
taken as evidence that the accused had control over their spirits.

373
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Even try to wrap your again, they just try to

374
00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:15.480
wrap your mind around this and how it even is logical.

375
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So the afflicted girls claim that if the accused touch them,

376
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then the spectral torment would stop, which was taken as

377
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evidence that the accused had control over their spirits. But

378
00:24:27.799 --> 00:24:32.880
if so, if I touch you, then my spectral, my

379
00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:37.119
spectral spirit, my spirit stops tormenting you, So that shows

380
00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:43.119
that I have control over my spirit. So I don't know,

381
00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:46.279
It's like there's nothing you're doing. The girls are going

382
00:24:46.359 --> 00:24:48.279
to determine if you're going to be found guilty or not.

383
00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:50.599
So if I touch them and then the girls want me,

384
00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:53.079
if that's what the court is going with. If I

385
00:24:53.240 --> 00:24:56.039
touch you and you stop convulsing, well then I'm guilty

386
00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:58.839
because it shows I have control over my specter, over

387
00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:01.519
my spirit. Well, then the girls are the ones making

388
00:25:01.559 --> 00:25:04.720
the determination. It's not evidence. The girls just decide if

389
00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:07.119
they want to play along or don't play along. Ultimately,

390
00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:14.519
in the case of Burrows, sources like Cotton Mather, there

391
00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:18.359
we go his name shows up again, and court transcripts

392
00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:20.599
such as those found in what is known as the

393
00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:23.440
Salem Witchcraft Papers, we may have to do a little

394
00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:27.599
bit of investigating into the Salem Witchcraft papers. They describe

395
00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:31.960
multiple afflicted girls falling into fits and their fits stopping

396
00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:38.119
when he physically laid hands on them. Afflicted girls present

397
00:25:38.200 --> 00:25:42.920
we seem to know this. Ann Putnam Junior, she was present,

398
00:25:43.480 --> 00:25:48.000
Mercy Lewis, which we will be talking about soon, Elizabeth Hubbard,

399
00:25:48.519 --> 00:25:52.920
Mary Walcott, and Susanna Sheldon. These girls seem to all

400
00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:57.799
be present during Burrow's examination from what we can tell

401
00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:02.759
from what documentation does exist. So while Mary Walkett is

402
00:26:02.759 --> 00:26:04.880
not singled out as one of the girls who was

403
00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:08.680
specifically touched in that moment. Her name is included among

404
00:26:08.759 --> 00:26:13.119
the afflicted who claimed spectral torment by Burrows, and she

405
00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:17.359
was in the courtroom when those touch tests were administered.

406
00:26:18.119 --> 00:26:21.920
So it's possibly likely that Mary was one of the

407
00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:25.119
girls included in the dramatic touch and be healed seen.

408
00:26:25.640 --> 00:26:29.319
But the trial records do not confirm by name. They

409
00:26:29.400 --> 00:26:36.240
don't confirm by name. I'm sorry, I just saw a notification.

410
00:26:36.359 --> 00:26:39.680
I guess we got temporary disconnected. I apologize for that,

411
00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:42.480
but everything will be uploaded and everything will be there.

412
00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:45.839
So the court records do not confirm her by name.

413
00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:48.519
Or let me stay it this way, the court records

414
00:26:48.599 --> 00:26:51.960
do not confirm which girls were touched and immediately cured

415
00:26:51.960 --> 00:26:54.720
in Burrows case. So I didn't say this girl was touched,

416
00:26:54.880 --> 00:26:58.559
this girl was healed. It's just the basic idea he

417
00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:03.480
touched the girls stopped. That was seen as evidence that well,

418
00:27:03.880 --> 00:27:08.759
his spirit's doing it. So Mary Walcott stood in that

419
00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:12.920
courtroom claiming to see George Burroughs specter tormenting her, and

420
00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:15.319
while we cannot confirm it was if she was one

421
00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:18.720
of the girls physically touched during the infamous touch test.

422
00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:22.039
She was very much a part of the drama, adding

423
00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:25.160
her voice to the growing case against the former minister.

424
00:27:25.400 --> 00:27:29.240
And we all know ultimately that he well, he's going

425
00:27:29.319 --> 00:27:32.200
to be murdered. Okay, I'm not going to say executed.

426
00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:34.880
He was murdered, Okay for crying out loud because of

427
00:27:35.319 --> 00:27:42.759
the just this insanity that took place. Now, Mary wasn't

428
00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:46.799
acting alone. Her family's influence, I think, I think it's

429
00:27:46.839 --> 00:27:49.279
fair to say was felt throughout the trials. Her father,

430
00:27:49.440 --> 00:27:53.279
Captain Jonathan Walkett, was a head of the militia and

431
00:27:53.519 --> 00:27:58.759
was a known supporter of Reverend Paris. Her aunt Mary Sibley,

432
00:27:58.759 --> 00:28:02.799
had already been rebuked for spiritual era. The Walkheads were

433
00:28:02.839 --> 00:28:09.559
closely tied to the Putnams and Paris and other leading

434
00:28:09.640 --> 00:28:13.440
voices in the trials. So is it possible that Mary

435
00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:17.680
saw her role somewhat as redemptive restoring her family spiritual

436
00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:23.480
standing after her aunt's mistake. Was this a way to

437
00:28:24.119 --> 00:28:34.400
somehow be redemptive, redeemed the family name, or perhaps she

438
00:28:34.519 --> 00:28:37.440
simply stepped into the current of fear already flowing through

439
00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:41.599
her community. Either way, her voice was loud and her

440
00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:47.599
voice was believed. Now, Unlike some of the other accusers,

441
00:28:47.880 --> 00:28:51.279
like Anne Putnam Junior, who confessed and sought public forgiveness,

442
00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:56.720
Mary walkeead never recanted. She never confessed, and she never

443
00:28:56.839 --> 00:29:02.799
offered even one word of regard. Read She married twice,

444
00:29:03.480 --> 00:29:08.480
had children, lived a quiet life in Massachusetts. There is

445
00:29:08.519 --> 00:29:13.000
no record of scandal, no public shame. Her role in

446
00:29:13.079 --> 00:29:18.480
the trial simply faded into the past. And yet that

447
00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:23.119
voice that faded into the past was a death sentence

448
00:29:23.480 --> 00:29:28.480
for many others who she ultimately had killed and murdered.

449
00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:35.839
Mary Walcp may not have been the loudest girl in

450
00:29:35.880 --> 00:29:41.480
the room. She didn't give the most elaborate testimonies. Her

451
00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:45.160
words tended, it seems, from what we can tell, were

452
00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:52.720
always spoken calmly and consistently, and she sent helped send

453
00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:59.640
Rebecca Nurse, Mary Este and others to the gallows. Now

454
00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:04.319
she was a servant. She wasn't a social outcast. She

455
00:30:04.440 --> 00:30:08.079
was part of the inner circle, and her accusations carried

456
00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:13.920
social and spiritual weight. What she saw or claimed to

457
00:30:14.039 --> 00:30:18.960
see was trusted, and her silence in the years afterwards

458
00:30:19.400 --> 00:30:25.240
is its own testimony. She didn't need to confess, she

459
00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:35.519
didn't need to explain. She just lived her life. Now

460
00:30:35.559 --> 00:30:40.559
maybe what's perhaps most remarkable and most haunting about Mary

461
00:30:40.599 --> 00:30:45.000
Walkett's story kind of I think, is that ending itself.

462
00:30:45.440 --> 00:30:47.240
It may, I think in some ways the way it

463
00:30:47.400 --> 00:30:50.440
ended is more haunting to me. Right, She didn't flee

464
00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:54.720
the colony in disgrace, She wasn't arrested, she wasn't accused

465
00:30:54.759 --> 00:30:59.200
in return. She didn't die young, she didn't fall into obscurity,

466
00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:04.240
she didn't show signs a public torment and being haunted

467
00:31:04.279 --> 00:31:06.880
by all of this, like all the others. I mean,

468
00:31:07.079 --> 00:31:10.359
I've already stated she married twice, she raised children, she lived,

469
00:31:11.119 --> 00:31:14.279
she never apologized, she never explained. She didn't even face

470
00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:17.160
public judgment. It wasn't even like it didn't seem like

471
00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:19.599
even people were like, oh, there she is now. Maybe

472
00:31:19.640 --> 00:31:22.839
because she was so steady and calm in her accusation,

473
00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:27.039
she didn't stand out. Maybe she wasn't theatrical. Maybe it

474
00:31:27.119 --> 00:31:33.359
comes with being from a family of means and power

475
00:31:33.680 --> 00:31:39.720
and respect. You see Ann Putnam junior, she's going to

476
00:31:39.759 --> 00:31:42.759
stand before the congregation at seventeen oh six and confess

477
00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:47.839
Mary Lewis, she's going to vanish with scandal attached to

478
00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:51.279
her name. Well, we'll talk about her even Betty Paris

479
00:31:51.400 --> 00:31:54.160
was rumored to have lived with regret, but Mary Walga

480
00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:57.200
just kind of like, well, oh well, it's over all

481
00:31:57.240 --> 00:32:02.799
right now, let's just move on. Maybe she believed what

482
00:32:02.839 --> 00:32:07.599
she said, Maybe she felt protected by her status or

483
00:32:07.599 --> 00:32:16.559
her family. Or maybe maybe just maybe she learned that silence.

484
00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:28.680
Maybe silence is much safer than the truth. Maybe silence

485
00:32:28.839 --> 00:32:31.000
is better than the truth. Maybe it's just better not

486
00:32:31.079 --> 00:32:40.359
to say anything at all. But history, at least those

487
00:32:40.359 --> 00:32:47.039
who care to study it, history doesn't forget. Mary may

488
00:32:47.079 --> 00:32:54.720
have walked away, but her words remain. Her testimony helped

489
00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:59.960
condemn the innocent, and somewhat her silence and the aftermath

490
00:33:00.680 --> 00:33:04.519
kind of speaks volumes, doesn't it. I mean, you may

491
00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:08.319
not no remember Mary Walcat, you may not remember her,

492
00:33:08.519 --> 00:33:10.680
but if you go to Salem, you're gonna see the

493
00:33:10.759 --> 00:33:13.839
memorial stones, not of Mary Walcat, but of those well

494
00:33:13.920 --> 00:33:28.680
she helped kill, she helped have murdered. Maybe the most

495
00:33:28.759 --> 00:33:34.960
haunting voices of Salem are the ones that never spoke

496
00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:41.920
again but could have. I mean, the ones accused and died,

497
00:33:42.279 --> 00:33:44.799
They can never speak again. We have to speak for them.

498
00:33:47.839 --> 00:33:50.279
But maybe the most haunting voices are the ones that

499
00:33:50.839 --> 00:33:53.559
well never spoke again, but could have could have done

500
00:33:53.559 --> 00:33:58.759
a lot of explaining, a lot of warning, could have

501
00:33:58.920 --> 00:34:01.640
could have said, hey, this is what happened, don't ever

502
00:34:01.720 --> 00:34:13.039
let it happen again. Now you could argue, maybe maybe

503
00:34:13.079 --> 00:34:16.480
you could be argued two different ways, right and modern times,

504
00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:19.320
she would have went on to write a book, have

505
00:34:19.400 --> 00:34:23.800
a podcast, YouTube channel, telling her story over and over

506
00:34:23.840 --> 00:34:26.880
and over and over and over again. Probably would have

507
00:34:26.880 --> 00:34:30.039
become filthy rich for telling the story over and over

508
00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:34.400
and over again and all the details and everything that happened. Well,

509
00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:39.440
that those dead would be still be dead. So in

510
00:34:39.480 --> 00:34:42.239
some ways that's kind of that would that would be

511
00:34:42.320 --> 00:34:49.519
kind of horrible as well. Right, On the other hand,

512
00:34:51.719 --> 00:34:54.800
the silence seems like a slap in the face because,

513
00:34:55.280 --> 00:34:57.760
I mean, come on, at some point that everyone realized

514
00:34:57.800 --> 00:35:00.679
what happened. Everyone, everyone had to start realize this whole

515
00:35:00.719 --> 00:35:04.280
thing was a mess, right, or maybe she just really believed.

516
00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:06.960
But you know, but if she really believed, you think,

517
00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:09.320
then you know, she would have been speaking up. She

518
00:35:09.360 --> 00:35:12.840
would have continued to defend what happened. Yes, I accused

519
00:35:12.840 --> 00:35:15.880
those people, they were witches. The witches are still here.

520
00:35:16.760 --> 00:35:19.920
But no, and then amazing how quickly it all, It

521
00:35:20.039 --> 00:35:23.599
all exploded, People are being accused, people are being imprisoned,

522
00:35:23.639 --> 00:35:25.559
people die, and then all of a sudden, magically it

523
00:35:25.639 --> 00:35:28.119
is just over the witches, just all packed. Satan just

524
00:35:28.159 --> 00:35:31.199
packed up and left Salem, just left Massachusetts. He moved

525
00:35:31.239 --> 00:35:33.599
on somewhere else. I mean that just seems really the

526
00:35:33.639 --> 00:35:46.760
whole thing is just horrifying. But that is the story

527
00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:51.639
of Mary Walcat. Again, most would if you see it,

528
00:35:51.840 --> 00:35:55.360
many will say Mary Walcott. I probably typically would. I

529
00:35:55.400 --> 00:36:00.280
tried to purposely not kit Kat, a kind of going

530
00:36:00.360 --> 00:36:11.079
back and forth between those two. But there's the story. Now.

531
00:36:11.880 --> 00:36:16.519
What we will try to do. I think next time

532
00:36:17.840 --> 00:36:21.599
is we'll try to meet another young woman whose voice

533
00:36:21.639 --> 00:36:25.559
echoed through the courtroom. This time, the story is not

534
00:36:25.599 --> 00:36:28.039
going to begin in Salem. It's going to begin in

535
00:36:28.079 --> 00:36:33.320
the war torn frontier of Maine. I think that's where

536
00:36:33.360 --> 00:36:39.000
we will go now. In the meantime, maybe you could

537
00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:44.239
reflect on how does belief, social standing, and fear combine

538
00:36:44.239 --> 00:36:48.960
to give someone extraordinary power? And when fear passes, what

539
00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:53.679
happens to those who spoke it into existence? Oh, in

540
00:36:53.679 --> 00:36:58.239
this particular case, nothing, They just walk on because of

541
00:36:58.280 --> 00:37:05.440
their position and power. I think I'll end with this,

542
00:37:05.559 --> 00:37:07.599
and I think this is true and much of what

543
00:37:07.719 --> 00:37:17.960
happened in Salem. Truth is not always the most influential, powerful,

544
00:37:19.079 --> 00:37:25.400
or loudest voice in the room. God bless,