It started with a house, not immodest, by the standards of the village, an open parlor on the first floor with an adjoining hall, two hearths leading to a large chimney dividing the space, two more rooms on a second floor, a lean-to out back, the land surrounding the house fenced in, separating it

from the uncertainty of the New England forests. The parsonage had been built in 1672 to house the

minister of Salem Village and his family. I'm going to turn my tour guide chair around and level with

y'all for a sec. When people tell the story of Salem, they usually begin with Tituba telling stories in the woods,

or Betty Paris and Abigail Williams throwing themselves across rooms, or however the crucible starts.

People tend to blame the witch trials on the women, when really it

largely boils down to the gross incompetence of the men, and the failings of a government,

or church committee, or whoever holds the cards, do not happen overnight. They sit on the backburner

for years and years until the whole pot

boils over and we're left to wonder, oh no, how did this happen? Salem Village had burned

through three ministers in 16 years. They were no closer to spiritual or political independence, but with Deodat Lawson's departure,

the faction in favor of an established church got kind of a second wind. It seems that they had

learned something from their hesitation during Lawson's stint as minister, and were feeling much bolder

in their intentions. Furthermore, larger were feeling much bolder in their intentions.

Furthermore, larger political upheavals in Boston and England gave the pro-church faction

of Salem Village a ripe opportunity to further their interests.

All they needed was a willing participant, and the village still needed a minister. Someone who would come to the

village despite their reputation, despite their shaky finances, despite the uncertainty of their

position, someone who was out of options, someone who was desperate for a job, someone just plain desperate.

That someone, it turned out, would be Samuel Paris, human disaster.

Listen to Remarkable Providences, an exploration of Puritans and pettiness, gospel and government, magic and misogyny, and of course, the Salem Witch Trials, coming wherever you get podcasts from the Whisper Forge.