History

Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts

Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts

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  • Create Date：2023-10-23 13:21:58
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Bill O'Reilly
  • ISBN：B0BWFS3777
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Summary

With over 19 million copies in print and a remarkable record of #1 New York Times， Wall Street Journal， USA Today， and Publishers Weekly bestsellers， Bill O'Reilly's Killing series is the most popular series of narrative histories in the world。

Killing the Witches revisits one of the most frightening and inexplicable episodes in American history: the events of 1692 and 1693 in Salem Village， Massachusetts。 What began as a mysterious affliction of two young girls who suffered violent fits and exhibited strange behavior soon spread to other young women。 Rumors of demonic possession and witchcraft consumed Salem。 Soon three women were arrested under suspicion of being witches--but as the hysteria spread， more than 200 people were accused。 Thirty were found guilty， twenty were executed， and others died in jail or their lives were ruined。

What really happened in Salem？ Killing the Witches tells the horrifying story of a colonial town's madness， offering the historical context of similar episodes of community mania during that time， and exploring the evidence that emerged in the Salem trials， in contemporary accounts， and in subsequent investigations。 The result is a compulsively readable book about good， evil， and how fear can overwhelm fact and reason。

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Reviews

Amy Buhr ，

Liked the first half。 Did not like the ending

Natalie ，

Only half of the book is on the Salem Witch Trials。 The Author's Note is asinine。 Only half of the book is on the Salem Witch Trials。 The Author's Note is asinine。 。。。more

Melissa ，

First time I’ve read a Bill O’Reilly book because I am not a fan。 When I saw he didn’t read the audiobook it was even better。 The first half of the book is all about the Salem Witch Trials。 I don’t think there’s any new information。 The book appears to be well researched and tells the history in a way that doesn’t bore the reader to tears as some history books can。 The second half of the book focuses on the American Revolution， Christianity， Benjamin Franklin and his very human struggles with re First time I’ve read a Bill O’Reilly book because I am not a fan。 When I saw he didn’t read the audiobook it was even better。 The first half of the book is all about the Salem Witch Trials。 I don’t think there’s any new information。 The book appears to be well researched and tells the history in a way that doesn’t bore the reader to tears as some history books can。 The second half of the book focuses on the American Revolution， Christianity， Benjamin Franklin and his very human struggles with religion。 I enjoyed this because I have been a Ben Franklin fan girl since high school。 He was always， to me， the most interesting character in America’s early days。 It was a good audiobook but I am glad I was able to listen through Scribd。 。。。more

Dan Schaeberle ，

As I was finishing this book I kept thinking to myself， “what will I write in the review？” （Yes， weird to think about as you finish a book）。 I give it five stars bc with all of these “Killing” books by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard I have learned so much but it was tough really getting into this book。 By the end I really liked it and when you read the author’s note at the end you understand why this book was written。 I also really loved how the authors tied in our founding fathers。 At first I As I was finishing this book I kept thinking to myself， “what will I write in the review？” （Yes， weird to think about as you finish a book）。 I give it five stars bc with all of these “Killing” books by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard I have learned so much but it was tough really getting into this book。 By the end I really liked it and when you read the author’s note at the end you understand why this book was written。 I also really loved how the authors tied in our founding fathers。 At first I was confused as to why Ben Franklin all of a sudden showed up in the book but you will eventually see why and how they used the Salem witch trials in the US Constitution。 。。。more

Susan Faryniarz ，

WOW！ Like most Americans， I knew the Salem witch trials existed。 But to the extent written…just WOW！ I have read most of O’Reilly’s books， but this one will stick with me for awhile。 I enjoy the history of our Constitution and our Founding Fathers。 I know I have ancestors that were part of the Salem Witch Trials， now I have to look back on the genealogy documents I have。 Very interesting read！

Liz ，

As other have stated this book strayed so far from the Salem witch trials and turned into an assortment of Massachusetts history。 A perfect collection before my Boston/Salem vacation though！

Jessica Gilmore ，

Witch trials， then the reshaping of American political relationship with religion， and finally a description of the Exorcism of Ronald Hunkeler。 I might not sleep tonight。

Kaylyn Thompson ，

Bad。 This book was just bad。 Not even the first half of the book was about Salem and the witch trials。 While there was some good information on the trials， it’s very poorly edited。 The rest of the book is about Benjamin Franklin and … The Exorcist。。？

Maria ，

Disappointing。 The first half of this book contained brief snippets about the Salem Witch Trials and seemed focused on entertainment， not education。 The chronology also bounces around so frequently that it was disorienting。 The authors then tie a chance meeting of Cotton Mather and Benjamin Franklin to America’s quest for religious independence。 And the last part of the book discusses the real-life events that inspired The Exorcist。 If you’re interested in learning more about this historical eve Disappointing。 The first half of this book contained brief snippets about the Salem Witch Trials and seemed focused on entertainment， not education。 The chronology also bounces around so frequently that it was disorienting。 The authors then tie a chance meeting of Cotton Mather and Benjamin Franklin to America’s quest for religious independence。 And the last part of the book discusses the real-life events that inspired The Exorcist。 If you’re interested in learning more about this historical event， there are better options available。 。。。more

Luana ，

Not what I expected but definitely worth reading。 We need to learn from the Salem Witch Trials about mob mentality， but also how this time has affected us as a nation。

Malindy Ely ，

I really wanted to love this book because I've always been intrigued by the Salem witch trials， but it just doesn't come together well。 The actual Salem events are covered in a dry summary and the following chapters covering the American Revolution and the story behind The Exorcist seem out of context。 The Author's Note attempts to connect the dots， but overall the book doesn't live up to its potential。 I really wanted to love this book because I've always been intrigued by the Salem witch trials， but it just doesn't come together well。 The actual Salem events are covered in a dry summary and the following chapters covering the American Revolution and the story behind The Exorcist seem out of context。 The Author's Note attempts to connect the dots， but overall the book doesn't live up to its potential。 。。。more

Jenae McAbee ，

Picked this up on a whim without looking to closely at it thinking it could be a October themed read。 Poorly cited for a work of non fiction。 Poorly edited if at all。 For instance chapter 20 is dated January 30， 1750 and opens “The town of Salem is still haunted。 The accusers and prosecutors in the witch trials are long dead。” …not according to chapter 15 that lists the death of Betty Paris as March 21， 1760。Only half this book is about the Salem Witch Trails then it’s some fan-boying over Benja Picked this up on a whim without looking to closely at it thinking it could be a October themed read。 Poorly cited for a work of non fiction。 Poorly edited if at all。 For instance chapter 20 is dated January 30， 1750 and opens “The town of Salem is still haunted。 The accusers and prosecutors in the witch trials are long dead。” …not according to chapter 15 that lists the death of Betty Paris as March 21， 1760。Only half this book is about the Salem Witch Trails then it’s some fan-boying over Benjamin Franklin and finally a few chapters because the author was very impressed by the movie The Exorcist when he saw it in 1973。 。。。more

Patty ，

I am not a big fan of non-fiction， but I have read all of the Killing Series because I like BOR。 His reporting， like his book， is fact-based。 This was an interesting book。 For me， the Afterward was the part that gave the front end the most meaning。 The Exorcist part didn't seem to fit as well， but I didn't mind reading it。 "Killing the Rising Sun" is my favorite of the series， probably because my father was in WWII and was shipped into the harbor at Nagasaki on an LST right after the bomb was dr I am not a big fan of non-fiction， but I have read all of the Killing Series because I like BOR。 His reporting， like his book， is fact-based。 This was an interesting book。 For me， the Afterward was the part that gave the front end the most meaning。 The Exorcist part didn't seem to fit as well， but I didn't mind reading it。 "Killing the Rising Sun" is my favorite of the series， probably because my father was in WWII and was shipped into the harbor at Nagasaki on an LST right after the bomb was dropped， so I had great interest in the subject matter。 。。。more

Jackie ，

A well-researched account of the troubling， terrifying， and horrific years of 1692-1693 in the town of Salem， Massachusetts as a frenzy of witch hunting was taking over the town。 Falsely accused and convicted many people， mostly women， were hanged。 This is the first half of Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem， Massachusetts。The second half recounts the repercussions of these witch hunts and eventually how they ‘appear’ and influence us today…even going so far as （per the author）， their pan A well-researched account of the troubling， terrifying， and horrific years of 1692-1693 in the town of Salem， Massachusetts as a frenzy of witch hunting was taking over the town。 Falsely accused and convicted many people， mostly women， were hanged。 This is the first half of Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem， Massachusetts。The second half recounts the repercussions of these witch hunts and eventually how they ‘appear’ and influence us today…even going so far as （per the author）， their panic inducing lies led to our founding fathers promoting religious freedom at the Constitutional Convention。 There is a connective link to the movie The Exorist which also created a media frenzy in the 1970s。 And， the book brings us up to modern times。 Much food for thought， whether you believe or not。 A compelling read。 Includes Author’s Note， Afterword， PostScript， Acknowledgements， and Index。 Take the time to read through these also。 。。。more

Stacey Woodall ，

This is a great book。 It points to our current situation with the cancel culture。 Everyone should read it and then think about what it says。

Barb Friedrich ，

Have read many of Bill's books and this one was a little lacking in New information。 The info about the Salem Witch trials was interesting and informative to me， the second part about the founding fathers， was good， but not new and last the story about exorcisms still around today was a reminder of the fact that there will always be evil in our world。 Have read many of Bill's books and this one was a little lacking in New information。 The info about the Salem Witch trials was interesting and informative to me， the second part about the founding fathers， was good， but not new and last the story about exorcisms still around today was a reminder of the fact that there will always be evil in our world。 。。。more

Karen jewell ，

One of the best books I’ve ever read about the Salem witch’s

Lissa ，

Woo boy， this book is a hot mess。I mean， I can't say that I'm surprised， considering that Bill O'Reilly is a "coauthor" （I use that term quite loosely， because I'm sure he didn't write much except that disgusting "author's note。" And I know that the "Killing" series is history lite， and that's putting it kindly。 These books are not targeted to people who actually know much of anything about the history of the events they purport to discuss。I absolutely despise that this book is written in presen Woo boy， this book is a hot mess。I mean， I can't say that I'm surprised， considering that Bill O'Reilly is a "coauthor" （I use that term quite loosely， because I'm sure he didn't write much except that disgusting "author's note。" And I know that the "Killing" series is history lite， and that's putting it kindly。 These books are not targeted to people who actually know much of anything about the history of the events they purport to discuss。I absolutely despise that this book is written in present tense。 It feels weird and wrong to write supposed non-fiction （that is also putting it kindly） of historical events in present tense。I don't know much about the Salem witch trials， but quite honestly， I am taking what is in this book with a grain of salt until I learn more about them， because there were SO MANY ERRORS in the American Revolution section （more on that later）。 This book needs a thorough fact checking， because it is quite obvious that no one bothered to do that。And in spite of the subtitle （"The Horror of Salem， Massachusetts，" which is really quite ironic， considering that I could definitely see ol' Billy Boy here screaming for the witches to be hung）， only about 45% of the book actually deals with the Salem witch trials。 I cannot comment on this section because， as I said， I do not have a lot of knowledge about them。The next section of the book deals with the American Revolution and has NOTHING to do with the witch trials in Salem。 The authors don't even try to link what happened in Salem to later events， except that Ben Franklin met one of the pathetic Mather preachers as a boy。 It is abundantly clear that the authors know very little about the American Revolution and do not care to learn beyond what their rudimentary education about the event taught them。 The book is littered with glaring mistakes in this section。 If I listed them all， I'd most likely run out of characters in this review before I even had the chance to get halfway close to finishing， so I'm just going to list a couple as examples of how BAD this book is when it comes to actual facts （but hey， Bill O'Reilly has never been big on THOSE now， has he？）。Crispus Attucks is killed first。。。The firing continues。 Five more Bostonians are shot dead within seconds。 - page 200 in the hardcover Oh good lord。 So this has to do with the event that became known as the Boston Massacre， and huge surprise， these chucklefucks got it all wrong。 FIVE people ended up dying。 FIVE。 Not six。 FIVE。 How in the hell did they get the number of people killed wrong？And they were not all "shot dead within seconds。" Samuel Maverick was mortally wounded in the belly and died the next morning （March 6， 1770）。 Patrick Carr had it even worse; he also received a mortal stomach wound and didn't die until March 14， 1770。 The authors spend a great deal of time trying to make King George III the new "devil" and stating how much American colonists disliked him。 Ha。 Haha。 Hahahahahahaha。 If they had bothered to pick up a single book about the Revolution that was fact-checked （unlike their own shoddy excuse for a book）， they'd realize that a vast number of colonists LIKED the king。 Many pinned the blame of the unpopular acts （ie。 the Stamp Act， the Sugar Act， the Intolerable Acts， etc） on PARLIAMENT and wrote NUMEROUS petitions BEGGING the king to step in and help out the colonists。 Even after shots were fired in Lexington and Concord， there was a spirit of "hey， this doesn't HAVE to mean a huge break with England， we like the king， this was just a way for us to get his attention about what is really happening over here。" Read up on the Olive Branch Petition if you don't believe me - it was adopted by Congress on July 5， 1775 and declared their loyalty to the crown and how this didn't have to be a permanent rift。 They still considered themselves to be English - AFTER Lexington and Concord！So yeah， history isn't such a neat little package like these two authors are trying to portray。Speaking of neat little packages， it is still hotly contested and debated today about what exactly was said between the colonists and British soldiers under Captain Preston's command， but these two idiots act like they have all the answers that scholars don't。 LOLThe last section of the book has to do with the Exorcist， and Jesus H。 Christ， why is this included in the book？ Why was most of this book even written？ It felt like a bunch of disjointed articles slapped together with no rhyme or reason。Besides the obvious factual errors， what really burned me was the absolute disgusting author's note that O'Reilly put at the end。 He defends J。 K。 Rowling for "promoting traditional gender" and criticizes "trans fanatics" for speaking out against her gross transphobia。 And he also tries to defend Roseanne Barr and compares "cancel culture" to the witch hunts in Salem。 LMFAO。Oh Billy Boy， here's the thing sweetie: it isn't cancel culture。 It's something called ACCOUNTABILITY。 Do or say something disgusting， and you have to face some damn consequences for it。 But heaven forbid that there are CONSEQUENCES， right？ We all need to brush what the racists and misogynists and homophobes say under the rug and let them blather on all they want without pushing back， apparently。 And you do NOT get to compare racists who have to face the consequences of their actions and words to INNOCENT MURDER VICTIMS。Fuck anyone who thinks this way。 :DThis is a library book and I am SERIOUSLY tempted to toss it in the bin and pay the fine to replace it， except I know that they'll just buy another copy of this flaming dumpster fire of a book。 Sigh。 。。。more

Zach Kechter ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book was an interesting read。 It certainly covered the history of the witch trials。 Names， stories， and the like of the accused。 Then it dove into a short biography of Benjamin Franklin， keeping his struggles with religion at the forefront and emphasizing the importance of religious freedom that won acceptance at the constitutional convention。 Following Franklin's passing， the book addressed a more modern encounter with religion: the exorcism of Ronald Baker， the subject of The Exorcist fil This book was an interesting read。 It certainly covered the history of the witch trials。 Names， stories， and the like of the accused。 Then it dove into a short biography of Benjamin Franklin， keeping his struggles with religion at the forefront and emphasizing the importance of religious freedom that won acceptance at the constitutional convention。 Following Franklin's passing， the book addressed a more modern encounter with religion: the exorcism of Ronald Baker， the subject of The Exorcist film。As if the combination of those three things wasn't loose enough， he summarizes the end of the book with a note about modern "witch hunts" that occur on a social media platforms。 He cites examples of people who were accused of something， then promptly accosted by society regardless of any evidence existing to prove such guilt。 This sort of excommunication has cost people jobs and livelihoods， and sometimes worse。Ultimately。 his epilogue about modern "witch hunts" could fill their own book and is a weak way to synonymize the "witch hunts" that occurred in Salem， regardless of the analogy。 And while the history of Salem and Ben Franklin is indeed interesting， I simply find the correlation between the two and a demonic possession in the 1930s to be weak。 。。。more

Kim ，

Less than half of this book was， in fact， about "The Horror of Salem。" That part of the book was enjoyable and page turning。 We seem to jump from 1693 to 1723 when we switch to Ben Franklin and his peers and a brief history of our Founding Fathers。 The word "witch" is dropped every once in awhile to remind of the book's title。 We then jump from 1787 to 1949！ Where we are introduced to the roots of the the book and movie， The Exorcist！ Don't bother， disjointed and redundant in places。 Less than half of this book was， in fact， about "The Horror of Salem。" That part of the book was enjoyable and page turning。 We seem to jump from 1693 to 1723 when we switch to Ben Franklin and his peers and a brief history of our Founding Fathers。 The word "witch" is dropped every once in awhile to remind of the book's title。 We then jump from 1787 to 1949！ Where we are introduced to the roots of the the book and movie， The Exorcist！ Don't bother， disjointed and redundant in places。 。。。more

Delora Renfro ，

Loved itStarts with the Mayflower and moves quickly。 Even covering up to evils of today。 I read all Of Bill O'Reilly history books。 Loved itStarts with the Mayflower and moves quickly。 Even covering up to evils of today。 I read all Of Bill O'Reilly history books。 。。。more

Brian Ledtke ，

As many other reviewers noted， 45% of this book is about the Salem Witch Trials which I really enjoyed。 But then for the next 45% it's about the founders of America。。。for no discernable reason whatsoever。 It's not interesting， it offers nothing new， and it doesn't tie into the Salem trials at all。 Even more bizarre， it then jumps ahead for the last 10 percent to tell the story of the Exorcist。 Why？ No idea。 This one is pretty bad。 As many other reviewers noted， 45% of this book is about the Salem Witch Trials which I really enjoyed。 But then for the next 45% it's about the founders of America。。。for no discernable reason whatsoever。 It's not interesting， it offers nothing new， and it doesn't tie into the Salem trials at all。 Even more bizarre， it then jumps ahead for the last 10 percent to tell the story of the Exorcist。 Why？ No idea。 This one is pretty bad。 。。。more

Margaret ，

This book is a mess。 The witch trials are discussed， but theories about why they may have occurred at that moment in world and local history are not developed。 The rest of the book is all over the place， introducing random facts of American history。 Really awful。

Carole Petranovich ，

First of all， I think the title is misleading。 The first half of the book is about the Salem witch trials， etc。， but the second part of the book is not - it is about modern day haunting。 Perhaps more appropriately the book should be called， "Killing the Witches and the Connection to Modern Day Events"， so something to that effect。I was hoping for more of a "page-turner" in this book， but was disappointed。 It wasn't bad， but just wasn't as good as the other "Killing" books that I've read， also wr First of all， I think the title is misleading。 The first half of the book is about the Salem witch trials， etc。， but the second part of the book is not - it is about modern day haunting。 Perhaps more appropriately the book should be called， "Killing the Witches and the Connection to Modern Day Events"， so something to that effect。I was hoping for more of a "page-turner" in this book， but was disappointed。 It wasn't bad， but just wasn't as good as the other "Killing" books that I've read， also written by O'Reilly。I missed references to some of the things we learned in school （like the midnight ride of Paul Revere）， but that may have been intentional。Worth reading， but not worth paying the price of a new hard-back book。 。。。more

Amanda Hopson ，

I felt a little deceived by the title and thought it seemed more like excerpts from 3 different books in one。 The first 45% was about the Salem witch trials which I thought was very interesting。 There was so much I thought I knew but didn’t。 The second 45% was about the Founding Fathers and the onset of the Revolutionary War which was also interesting， however， this era in history has soo much more than what was given in this book that it should be it’s own book。 The last 10% was about the Exorc I felt a little deceived by the title and thought it seemed more like excerpts from 3 different books in one。 The first 45% was about the Salem witch trials which I thought was very interesting。 There was so much I thought I knew but didn’t。 The second 45% was about the Founding Fathers and the onset of the Revolutionary War which was also interesting， however， this era in history has soo much more than what was given in this book that it should be it’s own book。 The last 10% was about the Exorcist。 Again， a small snippet of a practice that encompasses so much more than the one exorcism the movie portrays （based on a true story）。 The history of exorcisms and the Catholic Church could again be its own book。 I understand what the authors were trying to do with tying everything together to explain how the witch trials ultimately caused the revolt agains England and the crown and how “witch hunts” are still happening today but in a different context。 。。。more

Stef ，

Was expecting this to deal with Salem which is an interest of mine。 It did broadly but only a fraction of the book with other sections running from an extended discussion of Ben Franklin， religious views in early America， and shorter excursions ending with modern cancel culture。

Nomad ，

As others have noted， the whole book is not about witches and Salem。 However， the other content is extremely relevant and clarifies the history of religion in the United States and how it is tied to our history today！

Deb Quinn ，

The first half of the book was focused on the Salem Witch Trials， the religious culture that permeated the town， the girls who started the horrific paranoia that led to so many destroyed lives， the politics that evolved around the accused， and how it finally drew to an end。 I thoroughly enjoyed delving into this portion of history。 The second half of the book was more about the Founding Fathers and the debate over religion and government， followed by the story of demonic possession that was the The first half of the book was focused on the Salem Witch Trials， the religious culture that permeated the town， the girls who started the horrific paranoia that led to so many destroyed lives， the politics that evolved around the accused， and how it finally drew to an end。 I thoroughly enjoyed delving into this portion of history。 The second half of the book was more about the Founding Fathers and the debate over religion and government， followed by the story of demonic possession that was the source of the book and movie， The Exorcist。 The second half of the book was loosely tied to the first half， but I would have preferred more about the witch hunts。 All of it was interesting， but I did not realize the book was only partly about the witch trials。 。。。more

Andrea Lee ，

This is not just about the Salem witch trials。 It also addresses religious freedom and the founding of the United States， as well as the demonic possession case that The Exorcist was based on。 The authors liken witch hunting to targeting on social media and cancel culture， proposing that society continues to "witch hunt。" This is not just about the Salem witch trials。 It also addresses religious freedom and the founding of the United States， as well as the demonic possession case that The Exorcist was based on。 The authors liken witch hunting to targeting on social media and cancel culture， proposing that society continues to "witch hunt。" 。。。more

Thomas P Enda ，

A Fine ReadThis book was very interesting。 In places it was hard to follow because of all the names。 It was， however， generally easy to read。 I know there is a lot of research that goes into O’Reilly’s books。 I have read several of them。 I also understand that they are novels。 But， I wonder how the author sometimes gets into the minds of his subjects。 I guess it is what’s called， “literary license。”

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    killing the witches the horror of salem massachusetts killing the witches the horror of salem massachusetts (bill o'reilly's killing series) borrow killing the witches the horror of salem massachusetts

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0