Notes on The Wonders of the Invisible World

Here we see the Puritan ideology of the city on a hill, the idea that God is establishing his kingdom in the new world, which has formerly been dominated by Satan.

An interesting aspect of Martha Carrier's trial is the use of spectral evidence. Carrier could have an iron-clad alibi but still be guilty of her shape or specter was somewhere else. There is no way to establish your innocence against it. The basic idea is that Satan can't use our image if we don't let him, so if I had a bad dream about her, I could accuse her of assaulting me in my sleep.

Here is one artist's version of the witch trial of George Jacobs, August 5, 1692. The image was produced by T. H. Matteson in 1855, so it reflects the insights of that period much later than the trials themselves.