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Devil of Great Island Witchcraft and Conflict in Early New England In 1682, ten years before the infamous Salem witch trials, the town of Great Island, New Hampshire, was plagued by mysterious events: strange, demonic noises; unexplainable movement of objects; and hundreds of stones that rained upon a local tavern and appeared at random inside its walls. Town residents blamed what they called "Lithobolia" or "the stone-throwing devil." In this lively account, Emerson Baker shows how witchcraft hysteria overtook one town and spawned copycat incidents elsewhere in New England, prefiguring the horrors of Salem. In the process, he illuminates a cross-section of colonial society and overturns many popular assumptions about witchcraft in the seventeenth century. Published by Palgrave Macmillan ISBN-13: 978-1403972071 Praise for the Devil of Great Island Lectures, Readings and Signings for fall 2009 |
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| Description of Lithobolia in Berwick, Maine | Description of Lithobolia on Great Island, NH |
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Praise for The Devil of Great Island "With
deft insights, Tad Baker illuminates a supernatural mystery from
seventeenth-century New England. Thoroughly researched and clearly
written, The Devil of Great Island leaves no stone unturned,
revealing a popular culture of marvels and wonders. And it offers a
gripping tale well told."
--Alan Taylor, author of American
Colonies
"Thoroughly
fascinating and fascinatingly thorough, Baker's lively narrative of a
witchcraft episode in early New Hampshire exposes the many reasons why
a 'stone-throwing devil' attacked George Walton and his tavern. In
learning about life on Great Island, at the mouth of the Piscataqua
River, readers also learn much about a part of New England that does
not fit our standard Puritan stereotypes and thus about a diverse
aspect of our collective past that will now become better known."
--Mary Beth Norton, author of In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692 "The
witch trials of seventeenth-century New England have been extensively
worked over by historians, and yet, as this fascinating book shows,
there are new insights to be gained by moving the focus beyond
Massachusetts and the Puritans. In this meticulously researched
case
study, Emerson W. Baker not only makes a valuable contribution to our
understanding of supernatural beliefs in colonial North America, but
also weaves an enjoyable and accessible story that leads the reader up
to the events at Salem."
--Dr. Owen Davies, author of Popular
Magic: Cunning-Folk in English History
"Emerson
Baker combines his talents as historian of early New England and
historical archaeologist to untangle the web of personal
conflicts,
property disputes, and tensions political and religious that
underlay
the events on Great Island. The Devil of Great Island
will surely take its place among the must-read books on witchcraft in
seventeenth-century New England."
--James Leamon, author of Revolution
Downeast: The War for American Independence in Maine
"In
Baker’s expert hands, this long ignored witchcraft episode yields
important insight into the bizarre imagination and rich social
diversity of late 17th century northern New England. Here we
encounter
the contrasting beliefs of Quakers, Puritans, Baptists, Antinomians,
and Godless fishermen as well as the clashing political interests of
Native Americans, Europeans, Puritans, and Royalists. This masterful
narrative of religious and social pluralism in early New England helps
to refocus our vision of the foundations of America and also puts other
New England witchcraft events into useful perspective."
--Benjamin C. Ray, Director, Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive (http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft), University of Virginia |
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