THE DEVIL IN NEW ENGLAND – WITCH BELIEF AND WITCH TRIALS IN THE 17TH CENTURY: WCSU Professor of History Dr. Leslie Lindenauer will present this talk from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main St. in Torrington.

When most people think about historic American witch trials, it is Salem Massachusetts that comes to mind. With good reason; in 1692-3, the Massachusetts courts sentenced 19 people to hang and tortured a 20th to death. Others died in Jail. But dozens and perhaps hundreds of people were tried for witchcraft in New England beginning over four decades before the Salem witch trials. Many of those trials occurred in Connecticut. At least sixteen people in Connecticut and Massachusetts were executed for the crime of witchcraft, most of them women. This program will explore those trials and consider the ways that popular culture has represented that dark history.

For tickets and information, visit https://torringtonhistoricalsociety.org/event/though-shalt-not-suffer-a-witch-to-live-witch-trials-in-early-new-england