In order to understand why the Salem witch trials happened, we need to get to grips with how exactly things unfolded over the course of 1692. In this episode, we piece together a timeline of the events that reveals how the strange behaviour of a couple of young girls spread like a virus, mutating and mushrooming into community-wide paranoia that ultimately culminated in multiple executions.

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Want to hear more? Browse the rest of the episodes in our series Investigating the Salem witch trials

Authors

Ellie CawthornePodcast editor, HistoryExtra

Ellie Cawthorne is HistoryExtra’s podcast editor. She also contributes to BBC History Magazine, runs the podcast newsletter and hosts several live and virtual BBC History Magazine events.

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