Infamous America

Professor Emerson Baker is an authority on the Salem witch trials. His book, "A Storm of Witchcraft," was a vital resource for this show. In this episode, he shines a light on many aspects of the crisis, including his thoughts on the biggest question of all: How did this happen? For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Salem witch trials reach their darkest point as more innocent lives are lost. When the crisis touches the highest level of government, the governor finally stops the trials. The outbreak slowly fades away, but it haunts all involved for the rest of their lives. For the next 300 years, family members, scholars and historians try to understand it all went so horribly wrong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Salem Witch Trials finally begin, and they produce scandalous moments that no one will forget. The results are predictable and the executions begin. And even as the accused are condemned to hang, the afflicted girls name new witches. But doubts about the trials slowly creep into the public's voice... For more details, please www.blackbarrelmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Witchcraft spreads rapidly through Salem Village and the surrounding towns. The number of afflicted rises, and so does the number of accused. Fear races through the community as it becomes clear that anyone could be a witch. No one is safe as the afflicted girls are now haunted by ghosts of the dead. And the crisis claims its first life. For more details, visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The crisis escalates beyond the afflictions of four girls. Numerous people in Salem Village have frightening experiences with witchcraft, and the girls name four women as the sources of the devilry. Magistrates hold the first public examinations of the accused women and the results are explosive. For more details, visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When two girls fell ill in January 1692, no one suspected the affliction would lead to one of the most infamous events in American history. The Puritans of Salem Village believed the Devil had attacked their community and they would stop at nothing to find the witches who were Satan's minions. For episode details, visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are people whose names will live forever in American history: John Wilkes Booth, Benedict Arnold, Bonnie and Clyde. There are robberies, manhunts, prison riots and unexplained phenomena that are still debated today. We'll journey through all of them on this show. In Season One, we'll tell the story of the Salem Witch Trials. This isn't the version you learned in history class... Visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com for more details and to subscribe.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices