There Was Some Mischief in It: The Social Context of Witchcraft

In 1657 William Meaker of New Haven initiated a slander suit against his neighbor, Thomas Mullenner, claiming that the defendant had called him a witch. Questioned by the court, Mullenner explained that several of his pigs had died “in a strange way, and he thought them bewitched” by Meaker. The two men had a contentious history, and the witchcraft accusation that put them at odds was but one act of a longer feud. The trouble started the previous year when Meaker provided testimony against Mullenner as he stood trial for stealing swine. Mullenner lost the case and, among other reparations,