Voices Accused: The First to Fall: Part 2 of the Four Seasons Spookfest
A dedication to the women and men who lost their lives in Salem, 1692–1693 🕊
They were the first to be accused — Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba. Three women from different walks of life, bound together by a single word: witch.
Sarah Good was poor. Homeless. She wandered the streets of Salem with her small child, begging for scraps. Her bitterness and desperation made her an easy target — she didn’t smile enough, didn’t submit enough, didn’t belong. When the girls began convulsing and crying out, they named her quickly. They said she sent her spirit to torment them. When she was arrested, her 4-year-old daughter was taken with her. The child was questioned. Pressured. Coached into testifying. The court used her words against her mother.
Sarah Osborne had not attended church in months. She had scandalized the community by marrying her indentured servant. Ill and bedridden, she was accused nonetheless — a woman breaking social expectations was threat enough. The girls said she tormented them, too, though she could barely move from her bed.
Tituba was enslaved. An Indigenous woman from South America or the Caribbean, she worked in the home of Reverend Parris. Her stories, her differences, her mere presence made her suspect. Under pressure — likely beaten — she confessed. She said she had seen the Devil. She told them what they wanted to hear. And they believed her.
These three women became the beginning of a storm. The first domino. Their names opened the floodgates of accusation. And in the end, it didn’t matter who was guilty or innocent. What mattered was fear. Control. Power.
The trials had begun. And the gallows were waiting.
They Still Speak
Many believe the spirits of the first accused — and those who followed — still linger in Salem.
Visitors to Proctor’s Ledge often report hearing whispers in the wind, or a sense of deep sorrow that clings to the ground. Some say the Old Burying Point Cemetery carries cold spots that move beside you, even in summer.
At the Witch House, where trials were once discussed, some report shadowy figures darting between rooms. The Joshua Ward House, long associated with Giles Corey’s ghost, is known for its heavy energy — nausea, dizziness, even sudden tears.
And those who dare to stand in silence in Salem at night? Some say you can still feel the presence of the accused. Still hear the footsteps. The sorrow. The injustice.
Because the truth was never laid to rest.
And they still speak.
Back then… they called it witchcraft. Today… we call it something different.
Bullying. Slandering someone’s name. Spreading gossip.
It ruins lives. Be mindful.