The witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 and 1693 are remembered today as a tragic chapter in American history. The trials are generally considered to be a unique and isolated flare-up of European superstitions that had been brought to America by a few settlers. Yet a closer look at this era reveals that, from the very beginning, fear of witchcraft was a basic part of New England society and served many complex functions. Although belief in witchcraft was prevalent throughout the American colonies, formal trials and executions occurred only in the Puritan communities of New England, the northeastern part of the present-day United States. The reason was that the Puritans had a unique sense of their mission in America. They were originally members of Protestant groups in England that opposed practices of the Church of England under King...