SOURCE: An introduction to The Devil Hath Been Raised: A Documentary History of the Salem Village Witchcraft Outbreak of March 1692, Yeoman Press, 1992, pp. ix–xvii.

In the following excerpt, Trask outlines the conflicts between Salem Village and Salem Town and the controversies surrounding the Village's minister, Samuel Parris.

"The Devil hath been raised amongst us, & his Rage is vehement & terrible, & when he shall be silenc'd the Lord only knows." So wrote Samuel Parris, the pastor of Salem Village, in his church record book in late March 1692 when confronted with what was discovered to be a diabolical occurrence taking place in this small Massachusetts hamlet.

What at first seemed only a localized witchcraft outbreak soon would spread rapidly and by the end of May 1692 people from communities as distant and diverse as Salem, Billerica, Andover, Charlestown, Marblehead, Lynn, Reading, Topsfield, Gloucester, Maiden, and Beverly would be accused by various...