rsons had died. Nineteen were hanged on Gallows Hills in Salem Town. The rest died in prison. The references for Karlsens work are lengthy. Several documents still exist showing land transfers of accused witches land to villages. She also uses journals and diaries of the people who lived during these times. The largest amount of reference comes from the Peabody Museum where 522 original court documents pertaining to witch trial have been preserved. Did Karlsen prove her thesis? She did show that women in general were accused more than men. Sexuality seemed to play an important part in the witch hysteria. I feel that more important was the social, marital, and economic state of a woman was the deciding factor of the accusation of witchcraft. Her references are excellent since they are preserved documents of the time.Did I enjoy this book? I thought the book was hard to follow. It is written more like reference material as opposed to a story. The title would lead one to believe the book is about the use of witchcraft, but it never touches on the practice. The book does have a purpose, showing who, why and where people were accused of witchcraft....
