Review of Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer

Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer is a spellbinding account of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. When several girls in Salem Village became afflicted with curious ailments and fits, the Puritan families tried every cure in the book before deciding that God must be angry with them and that the girls were being tormented by witches. The resulting trials sent 20 people to their deaths and ruined hundreds of lives. Schanzer’s narrative is based on actual accounts, and she uses the real words of both the accusers and the victims, bringing the horrors of the witch trials to life for the reader. But what really happened to the girls who claimed they were being tortured? And what happened to the accused witches once the trials ended? To find out all the gruesome details, you’ll have to read Witches!

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Image of Witches by Rosalyn Schanzer; Schanzer, R. (2011). [Cover image of Witches]. Retrieved from https://www.walmart.com/ip/Witches-The-Absolutely-True-Tale-of-Disaster-in-Salem/324956436

Evaluation

One of the biggest strengths of Witches! is that Rosalyn Schanzer includes actual accounts from the people who were part of the Salem Witch Trials. Schanzer’s research led her through countless volumes of trial transcripts, letters, sermons, and more, and she uses the real voices (abridged and modified slightly for modern readers) of the accusers and victims to paint a vivid story for the reader. For example, when Goodwife Martha Cory was arrested and asked why she harmed children, her response was “I am an innocent person: I never had anything to do with witchcraft since I was born. I am a Gospel Woman” (Schanzer, 2011, p. 46). As a “gospel woman,” Cory was one of the most respected members of her church. Nevertheless, she was accused of witchcraft, as many were, despite her good reputation and standing in the community. Later, a witness named Robert Calef wrote that, at her trial, “one of the afflicted fell into a Fit, and after coming out of it, she cried out that the Prisoner had stabbed her in the chest with a Knife” (Schanzer, 2011, p. 90). When the truth came out that the afflicted girl had planted the knife and stabbed herself, the chief justice told the girl to play no more games and the trial continued; they had already decided Martha Cory was guilty, and even proof of false evidence would not change their minds. Some 15 years after the Salem Witch Trials, Anne Putnam Jr. confessed to lying about the witches: ”I earnestly beg forgiveness of God, and from all those unto whom I have given just cause of sorrow and offence” (Schanzer, 2011, p. 125). By using the accounts of the people involved in the trials, Schanzer’s narrative is much more authentic and vivid for the reader. The horrors of the trials are brought to life through the very words of those who lived through it.

Rosalyn Schanzer’s incredible black-and-white scratchboard art both fits the tone of the book but also adds to the eerie, dark quality of the narrative. Similar to 17th-century woodcuts, the scratchboard art is primarily in black and white with small additions of eye-popping blood red. The cover design (shown above) illustrates the two sides of the witchcraft story. The face is split in two; on the left is a weeping girl, presumably one of the afflicted victims. Her white face is framed by a healthy, leafy vine. The right side of the face is dark and evil-looking, with a red eye narrowed in anger. This side represents the witch, and behind her grows a tangled bed of thorns. Above the two-faced figure are two images of devils, lurking in the corners, waiting to pounce. This scratchboard art is sprinkled throughout the book. On another page, angry men point fingers at each other, creating a ladder of finger-pointing going up the page (Schanzer, 2011, p. 54). This illustration shows that no one was safe from the accusations. One of the saddest pictures is the hanging of Bridget Bishop (Schanzer, 2011, p. 84). A ladder leans against the tree where Bishop has been hanged by a blood-red rope; her spirit is clearly an angel, rising out of her body with her arms outstretched toward Heaven. Many innocents were killed in the mass hysteria of 1692, and throughout the book, the eerie scratchboard art extends the plot and reinforces the tone of the work.

Finally, the story of the Salem Witch Trials is told in an engaging way with unexpected insights. Two of the most powerful lines in the book come at the very end: “But never again will we allow witchcraft, the Devil, and the lure of superstition to rule the day in America. OR WILL WE?” (Schanzer, 2011, p. 131). One would hope that we learn from our collective past mistakes and make changes to ensure that horrors like the 1692 Salem Witch Trials do not repeat themselves. However, history has shown again and again that we keep repeating the same mistakes. In the late 1940s and 50s, Joseph McCarthy and his House Committee on Un-American Activities conducted modern-day witch hunts to find people who were sympathetic to communism, whether or not they actually were. Narratives like Witches! are so important for us to read so that we don’t repeat these same errors over and over again. Schanzer asks the question that we all want to know: WHY? Why did these girls accuse innocent people of being witches? Why did mass hysteria take over, plotting husband against wife, son against mother? How could this have happened in such a god-fearing land? Schanzer shows us exactly how: with out-of-control courts that relied on “spectral” evidence, no one would stand up for the accused without being accused themselves. Schanzer reminds us that without vigilance, fear and superstition can take hold very easily.

Response

I studied The Crucible in high school (along with most of America) and I remember being absolutely fascinated by the Salem Witch Trials. I must have done additional research because I felt like I knew the story pretty well. Despite my background knowledge, I found Rosalyn Schanzer’s Witches! absolutely gripping and horrifying. Schanzer’s ending reminds the reader that we must always be on the lookout for events like this; the community of Salem was gripped by terror and fear of the unknown and accused the innocent for problems without ready solutions. I feel like this is happens frequently in today’s world. For example, immigrants are often blamed for bringing in drugs and violence while at the same time stealing our jobs. Though this isn’t based on fact, it certainly is easy to blame an entire group of people Books like Witches! are essential for readers, young and old. If we don’t know our history (because it is boring and we never read it), then history is bound to repeat itself. Witches! brings a horrific part of American history to life. Overall, I absolutely loved this book and would definitely read more by Rosalyn Schanzer again. She has a way of making history relatable and important the modern reader.

Conclusion

Witches! by Rosalyn Schanzer provides a captivating look at one of America’s gruesome outbreaks of hysteria and insanity. She uses real-life accounts to bring the words of the victims and accusers to life for the modern reader. Her insights are meaningful today; our fears can still lead to hysteria and modern-day witch hunts are still possible. And finally, the scratchboard art perfectly fits the time period and sets the tone for the entire narrative. The art helps the reader understand just how terrifying the witch trials would have been. I found Witches! fascinating and would highly recommend it to students in 5th grade on up. 5 stars.

Citation

Schanzer, R. (2011). [Cover image of Witches!]. Retrieved from https://www.walmart.com/ip/Witches-The-Absolutely-True-Tale-of-Disaster-in-Salem/324956436

Schanzer, R. (2011). Witches! The absolutely true tale of disaster in Salem. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic.