The Devil's Shadow: The Story of Witchcraft in Massachusetts

by Clifford Lindsey Alderman

CRUSADE OF TERROR!

In 1692 Salem, Massachusetts was witness to a terrifying chapter in American history. It began with a strange sickness that attacked a small group of girls: making weird, animal-like sounds, they fell to the floor in convulsions. Charged with tormenting the children by witchcraft, three women were arrested and brought to trial.

What followed was an outbreak of violent persecution against a supposed plague of witches. Accused by the "afflicted" girls and condemned by a fanatic judge, hundreds of innocent people were sent to prison and scores to their death at Gallows Hill.

How did this madness end? And was there an explanation for this extraordinary happening in Salem village?

Genres: History, Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1967

Reviews

[Samantha Strickland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would rate this book with four stars because the book did have a good choice of characters that fit with the plot almost perfectly. The transitions between timelines was really good. The Salem Witch Trials is such an interesting topic and seems to draw quite the audience. The author explained the story very well and had a good choice of both fictional and nonfictional characters and the connections between them. All the details in the book makes it easy for the reader to put all the events together and to understand the idea of the book's purpose. It was a very good book, just not 100% perfect or enough to give five stars.

[Brett]

Non-fiction,History

[Jacinta Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read several books about the Salem Witch Trials, so I was excited to find this one. Unfortunately, while it contains quite a bit of good information, it just wasn’t very interesting.