Page "Cotton Mather" Paragraph 49

Mather's most fatal influence over the trials was in composing the answer to the question of whether or not to allow Spectral evidence, that is, allowing the afflicted girls to claim that some invisible ghost of the defendant was tormenting them, and for this to be considered evidence of witchcraft by the defendant, even if the defendant denied it and professed their own strongly held Christian beliefs.

An opinion on the matter was sought from the most esteemed ministers of the area and Cotton Mather took credit for their response when anonymously celebrating himself years later: " drawn up at their desire, by Cotton Mather the younger, as I have been informed.

" ( Book of The Life of Sir William Phips first published anonymously in London in 1697 ) And Mather then included the letter, but, for his own reasons ( surely not brevity, Magnalia is huge ) left out the first, second, and eight sections, which would seem most encouraging to the judges to carry-on with their work.