The Taunton Witch Children

In 1823, more than 130 years after the Salem witch trials, the town of Taunton, Massachusetts experienced its own outbreak of alleged demonic possession. Several young girls displayed symptoms reminiscent of the Salem accusers and pointed to an elderly woman as their tormentor. The case demonstrated that belief in witchcraft and possession persisted in New England long after the supposed triumph of rationalism.

The Accusations

The case began when several young girls in Taunton began experiencing fits, convulsions, and strange behavior that their community interpreted as signs of bewitchment. They writhed, screamed, and fell into trance states. Under questioning, they identified an elderly woman as the cause of their afflictions.

The accused woman was a marginalized figure in the community, fitting the traditional profile of those accused of witchcraft. She was old, poor, and socially isolated. The girls claimed she appeared to them spectrally and tormented them with invisible pinches and pricks.

Community Response

Unlike in 1692, the Taunton authorities did not arrest the accused woman or convene a court to try her for witchcraft. Massachusetts law no longer recognized witchcraft as a crime, and educated opinion rejected supernatural explanations for the girls’ behavior.

However, popular belief was not so easily dismissed. Many in Taunton believed the girls were genuinely afflicted and that the old woman was somehow responsible. The community was divided between those who accepted the possession narrative and those who sought natural explanations.

Medical Examination

Physicians examined the affected girls and concluded they were suffering from a nervous disorder rather than supernatural affliction. The medical consensus attributed their symptoms to hysteria, a diagnosis frequently applied to female patients with unexplained physical symptoms.

This medical interpretation was widely accepted among educated observers. The era’s newspapers reported the case as an example of persisting superstition among the common people, contrasting it with enlightened medical understanding.

The Girls’ Experiences

Whatever caused their symptoms, the girls appeared to be genuinely suffering. Their fits were violent and exhausting. They seemed to have no control over their behavior during episodes. Whether their experiences were psychological, neurological, or something else entirely remains unclear.

The similarity to Salem raised obvious questions. Had the girls learned the possession script from local lore about the witch trials? Were they unconsciously imitating a culturally available pattern of behavior? Or were they experiencing something genuinely unexplainable?

Resolution

The case eventually subsided without the tragic outcomes of Salem. No one was executed or imprisoned. The old woman was not formally charged. The girls recovered from their symptoms over time.

The Taunton episode faded from public attention, remembered mainly as a curious footnote to American history. It demonstrated both the persistence of folk belief and the change in official response since 1692.

Historical Significance

The 1823 Taunton case shows that the patterns established at Salem did not disappear after the witch trials ended. Similar accusations, similar symptoms, and similar social dynamics emerged when conditions were favorable.

The different outcome reflected changed institutional responses rather than changed popular beliefs. When authorities refused to validate supernatural explanations, the accusations lost their power to destroy lives.

Legacy

The Taunton witch children are remembered by historians as evidence that witch belief persisted in America long after it was supposed to have died out. Similar episodes occurred throughout the nineteenth century, though none achieved the notoriety of Salem.

The case raises questions about the nature of possession symptoms and why they recur across cultures and centuries. Whatever their cause, the girls of Taunton experienced something real to them, something that their community struggled to understand and that remains puzzling today.