Question

What evidence does cotton mather include in his account that is not presented at the trial? What is mathers purpose for including this information?

Answer 1

Although Minister Cotton Mather was not directly involved with the trials that took place in Salem, in 1693, he did write a letter to magistrate John Richards of Boston. In this letter, Mather express his concern with the magistrates considering to use evidence, what he called 'spectral evidence'.

He explained in the letter, that the devil could take the form of angels of light, innocent people, and even children, to persuade anyone. Therefore he was strongly suggesting the magistrates to be cautious when using this form of evidence during the trials.Minister Mather also added that using 'witch tests' as another form of evidence, was as dangerous and sensitive as the use of 'spectral evidence'.

Unfortunately for Mather, the magistrates took his later as an approval of the before mentioned forms of evidence, and the court decided to proceed with trial, accepting this forms of supernatural evidence as valid.

Mather was a central piece in the trials, because he was a scholar that had previously written and published work related to witchcraft, as his work called Memorable Providences, published in 1689, which recollected information about children being possessed by demons in Boston.

He was a fervent believer in witchcraft, and spent a large amount of his career trying to 'hunt' and expose the dark arts and the people that, in his opinion, were conducting such. That is the reason he was so involved with the trials, and certainly why he wrote that letter to the magistrate.

Answer 2

The correct answer is spectral evidence. The Reverant Cotton Mather was not directly involved in  the Salem witch trials. However he wrote one letter to Magistrate John Richards of Boston. Mather urged caution in the use of "spectral" evidence. Supposedly the devil could assume the shape of an innocent person. Unfortunately, instead of heeding the warning against using supernatural evidence to convict accused witches, the magistrate and the courts interpreted the letter as a sign of Cotton Mather's approval of the persecution. Mather also wrote a controversial book, The Wonders of the Invisible World in which he does not condone the use of spectral evidence used to to convict the witches. However, the most intriguing detail about this book is in the foreward. Mather writes, "I live by Neighbours that force me to produce these undeserved lines".  Mather endured public shaming for the rest of his life, being considered as a witch hunter. In a diary entry,he expressedconcern about God taking revenge on his family because of his failure to stop the trials.