Accused of Witchcraft in New York State

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By: S. R. Ferrara

Although the fiery witch trials of Salem often dominate the public’s imagination of colonial witchcraft accusations, New York was no stranger to the phenomenon. Allegations of witchery permeated both European settlements and Native American villages in the 1600s and 1700s.
Goody Garlick of East Hampton was frequently blamed for the town’s ills and eventually underwent trial for witchcraft in Connecticut. Some accusations were merely that of folklore, such as the legend of Aunty Greenleaf, rumored to cause livestock deaths and bizarre sightings of an all-white deer in Brookhaven.
Eventually, New York’s Dutch and English governments offered sanctuary to neighboring New Englanders whose Puritan leaders still condoned hanging alleged witches. Author S.R. Ferrara narrates the stories of more than two dozen individuals accused of witchcraft in colonial New York.