The New Puritans Are On The Prowl

In the spring of 1692, Giles Corey was 80 years old when his wife was accused of witchcraft.

The entire town was in such a frenzy that even Giles started to believe that his wife might be a witch.

Soon after, another person in the town was accused of witchcraft. Then another. And another. And another.

It wasn’t until Giles Corey himself was accused of being a wizard that he realized the whole thing was a scam.

But it didn’t matter. The Puritan preachers in this small New England town (Salem, Massachusetts) took every accusation seriously.

They felt it was their duty to protect the townsfolk from the systemic witchcraft that was so pervasive in Salem. So everyone who was accused of witchcraft was quickly punished.

That included Giles Gorey, who, at the age of 81, was tortured for three days in September of 1692, in an attempt to extract a plea.

He had been accused, therefore he must be guilty. And Corey was laid in a field with boards placed on top of him, and large rocks piled on top of the boards to slowly crush him to death.

Rumor has it the only words he spoke during the torture were, “More weight.”

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