The Cultural Work of Witchcraft: Salem, 1692

In a recent article Eric Midelfort suggested that witchcraft historians should 'look beyond the legends of panic' and 'use the surviving records from witchcraft trials as a means to peer into the conditions of life and the culture of early modern towns and villages.' In this essay I apply this advice to the Salem witch trials of 1692, and suggest that witchcraft accusations performed useful work in reconciling early American communities with the uncomfortable cultural, social and environmental realities of living in the New World.