For centuries, women have been accused of being witches and having a pact with the devil. But how did these people supposedly enter into this alliance with the devil? According to Puritan Christianity, of Calvinist origin, this was done with the individual signing the “book of the devil”, with pen or blood. Only after that did the person become a witch and acquire demonic powers to harm others.
During the Salem witch trials, an important part of the conviction involved finding a witness that the accused had signed that book. Some of the defendants were denounced for doing so at the behest of specters (that is, by ghosts).
The figure of the “book” was important because it related to the belief that church members also did a covenant with God and signed this book. Therefore, in the case of the “epidemic” of witchcraft in Salem, it made sense to preach that this would have occurred on the opposite side.
The story of Tituba
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Tituba was an enslaved woman in the 17th century who belonged to the Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem, one of the most outstanding figures in the famous trial. She was one of the first three people accused of witchcraft at the time of this court, which took place in 1692.
The woman stated at the trial that she was beaten by her enslaver and that she was forced to confess to practicing witchcraft . In her testimony, she would have “confessed” to signing the devil’s book, and some witnesses declared that they had seen her do typical acts of a witch, such as levitating.
By confessing to the alleged crime, Tituba got rid of hanging (death punishments were only for those who refused to confess). She was tried in 1963 by the Superior Court of Justice, which acquitted her of the “deal with the devil”.
The judge in question, John Hathorne, questioned her directly about the signature of that book. She then said that she signed the book with something “red as blood”, giving her some leeway to later say that she had tricked the devil by using some red substance that was not her own blood.
Tituba would also have said that she saw nine other names in the book, but could only identify those of Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne. Because of this, the accusers began to include questions in the depositions about this signature on the books. It was considered that several of the defendants had been tortured by ghosts to sign such document.
Other accusations about the devil’s book
(Source: AP Manuscripts)
In March 1692, Abigail Williams, one of the first accused in the Salem witch trials, accused Rebecca Nurse of trying to force her to sign the infamous book. Back in April, Mercy Lewis accused farmer Giles Corey that Corey appeared to her as a spirit and got her to sign the book. After this testimony, Giles was arrested and killed after he refused to confess to the crime.
It is worth remembering that this idea of a “pact with the devil”, either orally or in writing, was a common belief about witchcraft. An example of this is the work Malleus Maleficarum, or simply )Hammer of Witches, a book written by two monks that functioned as a manual for witch hunters, already describing the pact as an important part of association with the devil .
