The Witch Hunt That Broke Salem: The Final Chapter of the Trials
10 Minute Murder | Bingeable True Crime Stories
Joe Kuner
4.8 • 614 Ratings
🗓️ 23 October 2024
⏱️ 15 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In part two of our journey through the Salem witch trials, we find ourselves face-to-face with one of the most brutal and heartbreaking moments of this dark chapter: the torture and death of 81-year-old Giles Corey. This well-liked yet rough-around-the-edges settler had seen his fair share of trouble in Salem, but nothing could prepare him—or us—for the cruelty he would endure in the name of "justice." Accused of witchcraft, just months after his wife Martha was charged, Giles chose an unusual and dangerous form of protest: silence.
Refusing to enter a plea, Giles unwittingly sealed his own fate, leading to one of the most infamous moments in the trials—his slow, agonizing death under a pile of stones. Meanwhile, Salem’s paranoia reached fever pitch as accusations spread like wildfire, and anyone from indentured servants to prominent community members became targets. All the while, Reverend Samuel Parris remained firmly in control of the chaos, with his daughter Betty and niece Abigail at the center of it all. But was this mass hysteria the result of spiritual fears—or something even more insidious?
In this episode of 10 Minute Murder, we peel back the layers of political intrigue, personal vendettas, and the chilling reality of a town at war with itself. This is the story of how fear can crush a community—literally.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | So picture this. It's 1692 and Salem, Massachusetts has officially lost its collective mind. |
| 0:32.1 | At this point, half the town is accused the other half of witchcraft, and the accusations are flying |
| 0:37.3 | faster than the gossip at a PTA meeting. |
| 0:40.1 | A respectable 81-year-old farmer named Giles Corey is dragged into this madness, but instead of going |
| 0:46.3 | quietly, he decides to stage a silent protest, like literally silent. He refuses to speak, |
| 0:53.6 | which turns out to be a bad idea when your punishment involves |
| 0:56.5 | being crushed under a pile of rocks. |
| 0:59.6 | But the thing is, it wasn't just about witches and black cats. |
| 1:04.2 | Now, it was personal. |
| 1:05.6 | With local politics, family feuds, and some questionable leadership thrown in, |
| 1:10.8 | the Salem witch trials |
| 1:11.8 | were the ultimate small town drama on steroids. And in this episode, we'll explore how a chaotic |
| 1:17.8 | mix of religious fervor, fear, and one man's refusal to say anything at all led to one of the |
| 1:23.9 | most disturbing moments in American history. Trust me, if you think your town has drama, |
| 1:29.3 | Salem would have eaten it for breakfast. |
| 1:32.3 | Listen as we dig into the twisted end of the Salem Witch Trials. |
| 1:36.3 | Welcome to 10-minute murder. Before Giles Corey found himself facing accusations of witchcraft, the Salem courts had already seen their |
| 1:57.4 | share of unlikely defendants, like George Burroughs, a Puritan preacher with some serious |
| 2:03.0 | political baggage, and Bridget Bishop, a tough-as-nails tavern owner. But for Giles, the trial |
| 2:09.6 | hit even closer to home. Just a few months earlier, his own wife, Martha, had been accused of |
| 2:15.7 | witchcraft and stood on the very same spot in court. Now, it was |
| 2:20.8 | Giles' turn to face the hysteria, and things were about to get a whole lot darker. By then, Giles |
... |
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