How did 19th century Maryland pro-slavery advocates weaponize witch trial narratives against Connecticut abolitionists? Returning guest Dr. Richard Ross III reveals a fabricated 1848 witch trial story designed to discredit Connecticut's anti-slavery movement following the Amistad U. S. Supreme Court case victory.

This conversation explores the intersection of witch trial history and American slavery through the curious case of Juliana Cox, a completely fictional Connecticut witch whose story appeared in Maryland newspapers to embarrass Connecticut abolitionists. We consider how missing colonial documents created space for propaganda, examine the real Connecticut witch trials that were hidden for generations, and discuss how witch trial rhetoric became a political weapon in debates over slavery and abolition.

Dr. Ross shares research on how the Wyllys family papers disappeared into private collections, why Connecticut's witch trial history remained largely unknown until the 20th century, and the deliberate creation of a witch trial hoax borrowed from English folklore sources to serve pro-slavery political goals.

• Connecticut witch trial records and their disappearance into private collections

• The Amistad trial and Connecticut abolitionist movement

• Fabricated witch trial narratives as political propaganda

• How pro-slavery advocates compared abolitionists to Salem witch trial accusers

• The real witch trials of colonial Connecticut finally documented

• Alice Young: Connecticut's first executed witch

• Examining bodies for witch marks in colonial New England

• Literary and political uses of witch trial rhetoric in 19th century America

Dr. Richard Ross III is a historian and Professor Emeritus from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he taught a seminar on New England witch trials for over ten years. He is the author of Before Salem: Witch Hunting in the Connecticut River Valley, 1647-1663 and has conducted extensive research on colonial Connecticut witch trials and 19th century American social history.

Connecticut witch trials, slavery and witchcraft, Amistad trial, abolition movement, colonial Connecticut, witch trial propaganda, Richard Ross historian, Alice Young witch trial, Connecticut abolitionists, slavery history, colonial New England, witch trial records, 19th century America, anti-slavery movement, political propaganda, witch hunt history, Maryland newspapers

The Thing About Witch Hunts explores historical witch trials and contemporary witch persecution worldwide. Hosted by End Witch Hunts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by Sarah Jack.

Links

Connecticutwitchtrials.org

Buy the Book: Before Salem: Witch Hunting in the Connecticut River Valley 1647-1663

Buy the Book: Contagion in Prussia, 1831

Buy the Book: American Body Snatchers

End Witch Hunts Nonprofit

Salem Witch Trials Daily Program

Historian Mary W. Craig returns to discuss her new book, *A History of Scottish Witches: The Devil’s Handmaidens, which traces the arc from the 1563 Witchcraft Act through its abolition in 1736.

Craig explores how beliefs that had existed for generations became capital crimes, examining the theological frameworks, political upheavals, and social structures that shaped prosecutions. The conversation moves from John Knox’s influence on Scottish law to the chaos of 1661-62, when local courts abandoned proper procedures.

Drawing on trial records and historical documents, Craig discusses who was accused, how interrogations were conducted, and why the trauma made Scottish descendants harder to trace than their New England counterparts. She also reflects on what medieval Scottish communities believed before the Reformation and how those beliefs were reinterpreted.

*A History of Scottish Witches* will be available February 2025 from Pen and Sword Books and is now available for pre-order.

**Keywords:** Scottish witch trials, Mary W. Craig, Scottish history, 1563 Witchcraft Act, Reformation Scotland, historical research, witch trial records, social history, legal history Scotland​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Links

Buy the Book: A History of Scottish Witches: The Devil's Handmaidens

Buy the Book: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Buy the Book: The Hammer of Witches

Mary W. Craig cohosts the podcast "Borders Bletherings"

MaryW.Craig.com

End Witch Hunts Nonprofit

Salem Witch Trials Daily Program

Episode Overview

Clinical health psychologist Peter Mintir Amadu explains the hidden mental health emergency affecting nearly 500 women accused of witchcraft in Northern Ghana and the innovative model transforming their lives.

Women accused of witchcraft face a devastating reality: up to 90% suffer from severe depression, PTSD rates exceed 80%, and many live in camps for over 20 years. They've lost everything: family, livelihood, dignity, and hope.

But mental health support alone isn't enough. As one survivor told Amadu: "I can sleep now, but when I wake up, I'm hungry. What happens to me?"

Initiatives that combine mental health intervention with economic empowerment, creating sustainable change through advocacy, rehabilitation, therapy, livelihood training, and community engagement is being explored. This locally-developed model addresses both psychological trauma and practical survival needs.

Ghana faces a 98% mental health treatment gap with fewer than 200 psychologists for 30+ million people. Yet TOLEC is proving that culturally-grounded, resource-conscious solutions can work, from teletherapy programs to training religious leaders as mental health advocates.

TOLEC's work extends to prison mental health, maternal psychological care, youth substance abuse prevention, and school-based interventions, all driven by data and local innovation.

International collaboration opportunities exist in capacity building, research partnerships, digital health technology, and advocacy. The model is ready to scale. What's needed is global support for local expertise.

For organizations seeking meaningful partnerships in African mental health innovation, culturally-responsive trauma care, or women's empowerment initiatives.

Keywords: mental health innovation Africa, witchcraft accusations Ghana, trauma-informed development, sustainable mental health programs, international mental health partnerships, women's rights Ghana, community psychology, teletherapy developing countries

#MentalHealthInnovation #GlobalMentalHealth #WomensEmpowerment #AfricanSolutions #EndWitchcraftAccusations #TraumaCare

Links

Total Life Enhancement Center, Ghana

Amnesty International, Ghana

End Witch Hunts

Why Witch Hunts are not just a Dark Chapter from the Past

INAWARA

International Alliance to End Witch Hunts