Sarah Good

In 1692 alone, legal actions were taken in Massachusetts against 154 individuals accused of the crime of witchcraft. While the cases were located throughout Massachusetts, a large number occurred in Salem, so the trials as a whole have come to be called the Salem Witch Trials. Of the 154 prosecutions, 19 ended in execution, 13 of which were women and 6 were men. Four individuals died while in prison and one man was crushed to death under rocks during his interrogation. Of the 154, 42 prosecutions took place in Salem resulting in 10 of the 19 executions. Forty-one occurred in Andover, resulting in three of the 19 executions. Towns where prosecutions also took place were Amesburg (1 executed), Beverly, Gloucester, Haverhill, Lynn, Malden, Marblehead (1 execution), Reading, Rowley, Topsfield (2 executed), Wenham, plus a few others. One execution occurred in Wells, Maine, and records show that the location of one execution is uncertain.