Before Salem Burned: The Witch Fear That Came to America, Part One | The Grave Talks

This is a Grave Talks CLASSIC EPISODE!

Long before Salem became shorthand for hysteria, fire, and fear, the idea of the witch had already crossed the ocean.

In this episode, we dig into the dark origins of American witchcraft with historian and author Troy Taylor, whose new book One Night in Salem: The Hidden History of the American Witch peels back the layers of how fear arrived in the New World alongside the first European settlers. They didn’t just bring religion and tradition with them—they carried the trauma of a Europe gripped by witch hunts, torture, and public executions. That fear didn’t disappear when they reached America. It took root.

What followed in Salem Village wasn’t just superstition, but a perfect storm of paranoia, religious extremism, and social fracture—one that led to the deaths of innocent people and forever stained American history. But Salem wasn’t the end of the story.

We explore how witchcraft accusations evolved after Salem, how the image of the American witch shifted over time, and why the fear never truly went away. From colonial gallows to modern belief systems, this is the hidden history that still echoes today.

Find more information about Troy, his books, ghost tours, hunts, and more at his website americanhauntingsink.com

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