An Outbreak of Witchcraft: A Graphic Novel of the Salem Witch Trials

The Salem Witch Trials affected a small English colony in a relatively short period of U.S. history, yet it continues to capture the imagination. In the graphic novel An Outbreak of Witchcraft, researched and written by Deborah Noyes and illustrated by M. Duffy, the collaborators tell of the events of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 when twenty innocent people were put to death. Several young women who fell ill with a mysterious disease shared damning testimony and accused their neighbors of casting spells.

In recent years, many books and documentary films have attempted to rewrite the narrative of the infamous period in history marked by mass hysteria. This graphic novel differs in its approach because it presents the socio-historical and political contexts of the trials while also depicting the court testimonies filled with fantastical and horrific visions captured in detail in court records. Thus, the reader gets insights into the 16th-century imagination that included encounters with the devil, shape-shifters, and familiars.

The title signifies that fear, anxiety, and the lack of trust spread like an infectious disease within the community beleaguered by famine and a rough winter. Puritanical perspectives led them to believe that afflictions and disasters are God’s punishment for evil thoughts, words, and deeds.