Religion is dangerous. So are teenage girls. This seems to be the main theme of this book. Starkey has gathered myriad sources on the Salem Witch Trials and managed to put together a cohesive account which is neither dry nor dense. Though written in 1949, it is comprehensible to the modern reader and also fascinating. Starkey has taken great care not to fabricate action or dialogue in order to add drama to her tale; she hardly needs to. She has copied entire sections of dialogue from court reports and detailed diaries of eyewitnesses to the trials.
Starkey also claims in her introduction that she has tried to apply some 'modern psychology' to the major players in the conflict, but I saw little evidence of that. There was definitely some borderline personality disorder among the 'afflicted girls,' most notably Abigail Williams.
Overall, an engaging and informative non-fiction work. ( )

Reviewed July 2006

I never really knew much about this subject but felt I should get some background also it appears to e a required book for SJSU in the colonial history class. I found this book to be very difficult to read not because of the writing style but more because it was extremely difficult to believe that people could be so stupid. They even hung the “guilty” based on no evidence at all. Also difficult to follow are the Quaker names, tons of Mary’s throughout the story, Also the author uses Goody a lot, I think it is a term like Mr. or Mrs. probably has something to do with the word ‘godly’. This is a good book to explain the situation so it is understandable. i would have like a hand-out with the main characters on it just so I could go back and reference them as they enter and exit the story. To imagine that what happened here is mile compared to what Europe had already gone through is difficult to fathom.
16-2006 ( )

Starkey uses the now rather dated technique of Freudian analysis (which she cops to right in her title) to inspect the hysteria surrounding the Salem witch trials of 1692. Whether or not this was an appropriate way to study a sordid tale from Puritan times (I don't believe it was), I got the feeling she was trying to inject drama into a story that already had plenty of drama. I would have gotten more out of it had she talked more about the link between Puritans and their homeland of England, and the demons and spirits they brought with them overseas. ( )

This is a riveting account of the Salem Witch Trials. Marion Starkey has just the right amount of detail to portray all the elements of this horrifying story. From the hysteria spun out of fanaticism to the economic and social background that provided a fertile ground, the events unfold in a way that kept this reader spellbound. There may be more recent accounts that cover more details, but this is the classic telling of this tale of witchcraft and evil. ( )

In all honesty, even though this book has some great facts about the early 1690's I have to say that it was hard to read. For some reason my mind kept wandering as I was reading it. There were also certain things about the witch trials (and which I believe were the main motivation of them) which are barely given mention in this book. A good factual read.. a boring book in totality. ( )