Hour of the Witch

by Chris Bohjalian

“I have heard it argued that prayer does not change God’s mind; rather, it changes us.”

Yes, she thought, revenge belongs to God. But justice? That will be mine.

“She was sent to the scaffold because she had a sharper tongue and a shrewder mind than her accusers. It is always the case when men hang women. Look at Magistrate Caleb Adams: there is nothing that frightens that man more than a woman who does not live happily under a man’s thumb.”