Image from “The history of witches and wizards : giving a true account of all their tryals in England, Scotland, Sweedland, France and New England : with their confession and condemnation” by W.P., 1760.
Abigail Williams, niece of Samuel Parris’ was born in 1680, and lived with the Parrises in 1692 when the outbreak of accusations began. She, her cousin, Betty, and other friends experimented with fortune-telling to learn about their future husbands. Fairly soon after this, Williams became one of the first girls to report strange afflictions, including having fits and complaining of being pinched by invisible spirits. She and the other afflicted girls accused Tituba, Sarah Osburn, and Sarah Good of bewitching them, leading to the first arrests in the witch hunt. Williams went on to accuse 57 people of witchcraft, and testified against 8, giving her last testimony on June 3, 1692. It is unclear what happened to Williams after this date.
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