Salem witchcraft trial (1878)

Salem witchcraft trial
Photograph
Daniel Spofford, the accused in the trial.
CourtSupreme Judicial Court in Salem
Decided1878 (1878)
Court membership
Judge sittingHorace Gray

The Salem witchcraft trial of 1878,[1][2][3] also known as the Ipswich witchcraft trial[4] and the second Salem witch trial,[5] was an American civil case held in May 1878 in Salem, Massachusetts, in which Lucretia L. S. Brown, an adherent of the Christian Science religion, accused fellow Christian Scientist Daniel H. Spofford of attempting to harm her through his "mesmeric" mental powers. By 1918, it was considered the last witchcraft trial held in the United States.[6] The case garnered significant attention for its startling claims and the fact that it took place in Salem, the scene of the 1692 Salem witch trials. The judge dismissed the case.[7]

  1. ^ Fraser 1999, p. 69
  2. ^ Tucker 1989, p. 159
  3. ^ Wilbur 1966, p. 243
  4. ^ Springer 1930, p. 237
  5. ^ Gallagher & Ashcraft 2006, p. 93
  6. ^ Jastrow 2009, p. 200
  7. ^ Fraser 1999, pp. 69–71