If what happened in the meeting house on the first day of examinations was an explosion,

the aftershock echoed far and wide.

In fact, a number of reverberations can still be found in the pages of history.

In evening, the three women were carted off to jail, where they could be held for further questioning and an actual trial.

Sarah Osburn and Tituba were taken to the Salem jail, while Sarah Good was transported to the nearby Ipswich jail,

where Constable Joseph Herrick, a relative of hers, could keep an eye on her.

After the Magistrates and accused left the meeting house, though, that's when the shock waves began to spread.

The place had been packed.

Some estimates placed the crowd at nearly 600 people, more than the total population of Salem Village itself.

Those people left for homes and taverns, taking the news of what they had witnessed out into the world,

and news, as we all know, has a way of spreading like a wildfire.

Some of them stayed behind, though.

A small group of Salem Village men remained in the meeting house to discuss the matter in a more official capacity.

Among them were two putnams, the uncle and cousin of Thomas Jr., father of one of the afflicted,

and they decided to send these two men south to Boston for help.

The most significant gathering happened over at the home of Dr. William Griggs.

He was the closest thing the Village had to a medical doctor, and was a good friend of the Reverend Samuel Paris.

He was a devout Puritan, an educated man, and a rational thinker.

But he also suspected something less natural was behind the events of the past few days.

He and a number of neighbors huddled together that evening inside Griggs House to discuss what they had learned.

They arrived at the meeting house that day believing that there might be three witches in Salem Village,

and left with news that there were in fact five of them.

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