Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne were two of the first women accused of being witches during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. They were accused, along with Tituba, by Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams. After Tituba confessed, she also accused the women of witchcraft. Tituba claimed the two women both had familiars (supernatural beings that helped witches) and were present at witch meetings. Good’s familiar was an animal, but Osborne’s was a two legged, winged monster that turned into her.

During the examination and trial, it is said that Good “behaved with all the malice and deceit one could expect from a witch.” She went as far as accusing Osborne of being the witch. Even if she had not acted with malice during the trial, the people still had enough evidence against her to charge her as a witch. People claimed they heard her leaving her neighbors’ homes muttering curses. They even blamed her for various events, like the death of a cow.

Osborne did not have any better of an examination. Both her husband and her four or five year old daughter testified against her. During Osborne’s trial, the girls began having fits, which is attributed to Osborne hurting them for testifying against her. The villagers also accused Osborne of being a liar. They asked her if she knew Sarah Good and she claimed she did not. After some time she admitted to knowing Good. This damaged her credibility. She also claimed she had not been to church recently because she was sick, but her husband claimed that was not the case. Later, her daughter Dorcas was arrested for being a witch. The four or five year old girl was the second person to confess, claiming her familiar was a small snake given to her by her mother. The villagers imprisoned her for months, while her mother Sarah Osborne died in jail.

By: Jessica McKenzie 

Credits and Sources:

Games, Alison.Witchcraft in Early North America.New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2010.

Hansen, Chadwick. Witchcraft at Salem.New York, NY: G. Braziller, 1969.  

Rapley, Robert.Witch Hunts: From Salem to Guantanamo Bay.Canadian Electronic Library: McGill-Queen’s Press, 2007.