Is The Witch of Blackbird Pond historical fact or beloved fiction? Museum educators Martha Smart and Gillie Johnson from the Wethersfield Historical Society pull back the curtain on Elizabeth George Speare's classic novel by revealing what she got right and what she invented. This episode demonstrates why Connecticut's real witch trials deserve more attention than they've gotten.

Discover the true story of Katherine Harrison, whose 1669 witch trial revealed the dangerous reality for independent women in Puritan Connecticut. Learn why Gershom Bulkeley, a real historical figure who appears in the novel helped end witch executions in Connecticut by declaring he'd seen no legally proven case of witchcraft.

From the Charter Oak legend to the history of slavery in colonial Connecticut, this conversation goes far beyond the novel to explore what life was really like in 1680s Wethersfield and whose stories have been left out of the history books.

• The real Katherine Harrison witch trial and how it differed from the novel's dramatic courtroom scene

• Why Connecticut's witch trials ended decades before Salem's panic began

• How The Witch of Blackbird Pond has shaped—and sometimes distorted—Wethersfield's historical identity

• What Elizabeth George Speare got wrong about Puritan social customs, trade, and the treatment of outsiders

• The truth behind the Charter Oak legend and Connecticut's resistance to British rule

Martha Smart - Research and Reference Librarian, Wethersfield Historical Society

Gillie Johnson - Museum Educator, Wethersfield Historical Society

Learn more at wethersfieldhistory.org, where you can explore their database of people of color in Wethersfield's history.

Elizabeth George Speare's The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Connecticut's colonial-era witch trials, including the 1669 case of Katherine Harrison in Wethersfield, form an important part of the state's historical narrative, though they remain less widely recognized than their Salem counterparts.

Links

Wethersfieldhistory.org

Webb Deane Stevens Museum

Purchase the book: The Witch of Blackbird Pond from our nonprofit bookshop

Connecticut Witch Trial History

End Witch Hunts Nonprofit

In this episode, Josh and Sarah speak with the creative team behind "The Witch of Woodbury," a theatrical production at Connecticut's Glebe House Museum that brings 17th-century witch trial victims to life through performance.

Featured Guests:

• Linda Barr-Gale - Actress portraying Moll Cramer for 13 years and production writer

• Loriann Witte - Director of Glebe House Museum, portraying Rebecca Greensmith

• Maribeth Cummings - Actress portraying Katherine Harrison for 5 years

• Vail Barrett - Actor portraying accuser Thomas Allyn

Key Topics:

• The legend of Moll Cramer, the "Witch of Woodbury" who was banished to Tophet Road

• Connecticut's witch trial history from 1647-1663, including 11 executions

• How Governor John Winthrop Jr. transformed Connecticut's approach to witchcraft accusations

• Accused Witch Katherine Harrison's well-documented case and its role in changing spectral evidence standards

• Executed woman Rebecca Greensmith's role in the Hartford Witch Panic of 1662

• The perspective of accusers like Thomas Allyn and the climate of fear in colonial Connecticut

• Using theatrical performance to make history accessible and memorable for modern audiences

Historical Context: The performance emphasizes the stark differences between Connecticut's evolving legal standards under Winthrop and the later Salem trials.

Learn More:

• Glebe House Museum

• • Connecticut Witch Trial History
  • End Witch Hunts Nonprofit