The Witchcraft Delusion in New England (Vol. 1-3)

Book excerpt: The Witchcraft Delusion in New England in three volumes is a book relating the Salem witch trials of 1692-1693. It presents the compilation of works on the subject by Cotton Mather, a Puritan minister involved in trials and Robert Calef who opposed Mather. After the trials Mather published the book Wonders of the Invisible World which contained a few of Mather's sermons, the conditions of the colony and a description of witch trials in Europe. He argued that since there are witches and devils, there are "immortal souls." He also claimed that witches appear spectrally as themselves. Calef's response was the book More Wonders of the Invisible World in which he denounced Mather's preaches. The Witchcraft Delusion in New England contains both of those works with the analysis and additional materials which provide a detailed look on the subject of witchcraft.