“Speak of the Devil and he is bound to appear.” – Proverb

While the 17^th century Enlightenment brought about a wave of reason in European politics and religion, those Puritan riffraff over in New England still saw the Devil prowling in every dark corner of the room. Providential messages appeared to them everywhere. Got a toothache? You’re not praying hard enough, pal. Did you dream about your neighbor? Then she’s most certainly a witch. The neighbor’s pig that wandered onto your land isn’t just a pig. In their world consumed with prayer and chores, everything had meaning and that meaning was usually the Devil.

Set against this backdrop of sinful causality is writer-director Robert Eggers’ richly detailed debut film The Witch. Set decades before New England was seized by full-blown witch hysteria, Eggers’ film traces one family’s descent into bewitched paranoia and madness. Adding to the authenticity of the film’s design and language is the laundry list of occult imagery and afflictions ripped straight from historical accounts. Animal familiars, human-animal suckling, the Devil’s book, the man in black, inability to remember prayers – it’s all there in beautiful detail that adds so much terrifying weight to the film. These are all actual things colonialists claim to have seen/experienced. It’s recorded history. That may be the scariest aspect of the entire film.

Since we can’t seem to get enough of this film, I thought it’d be fun to look closer at some of these historical afflictions as they relate to the film.

Massive SPOILERS for The Witch follow.

The Man in Black, His Book, and His Cheap Ass Gifts

Near the end of the film, Thomasin has a little sit down with Black Phillip, who speaks to her in a disturbingly seductive voice – offering her butter, clothes, and a trip to foreign lands. Enough booty to sell one’s soul for back then, no doubt. All she has to do is sign his book.

This book shows up frequently in accounts of witches and their pact with the Devil. Puritan minister Cotton Mather wrote of afflicted 15-year-old servant girl Mercy Short in 1692, “The devil showed her his book, which was ‘somewhat long and thick’…and filled not only with the names and marks, but also with the explicit…covenants.”

During the trials, many were accused of signing this book and many accusers stated that when tempted with the book, they saw the names of others inside its pages. This was a simple way to accuse somebody else.

In contrast to the gaudy fancy-pants living in England, Puritans dress was as simple as could be. So it wasn’t odd for the Devil to offer them swankier clothes (gold buckles, frilly swag, etc.). Continuing to write about Mercy Short, Mather stated the Devil showed her “very splendid garments…and many more conveniences.” Just a little fashion show between the Devil and a servant girl.

And yes, there are accounts of the Devil offering people butter in exchange for their souls. What a cheap bastard. One account I found dates back to Kalisz, Poland in 1613. Next time you’re picking up that tub of Country Crock in the grocery store, remember, people had to sell their soul for that stuff back in the day.

As the scene continues, Black Phillip transforms into a human dressed up for goth night. Before the 16^th century, the Devil was typically depicted as an animal or some kind of hybrid. Y’know the deal: bipedal guy with horns, pointed tail, cloven hooves. A real Dr. Moreau reject. Gradually the Devil became perceived as more human-like and oftentimes dressed in black. During the Salem witch trials of 1692, accusers referred to the Devil as the “black man” – not referring to the color of his skin (although sometimes he appeared as a Native American), but to his dress.

“Thus the people of Salem in New-England pretended to be bewitched, and that a black man tormented them by the instigation of such and such, whom they resolved to bring to the gallows.” – Daniel Defoe’s Political History of the Devil (1726)

“Sucked by Imps”

The Witch has its share of animal familiars: the hare, the crow, and Black Phillip. In the chilling scene where Katherine is visited by the specters of Caleb and her baby in the night, she nestles the babe to her breast. This cuts to the crow familiar having a go at her teat – leaving her with a bloody breast in the morning.

The European mythology of animal familiars goes back centuries and trickled over to the colonies with the Puritans. Familiars are magical aides, sent by Satan, in the form of animals that assist witches in their nasty deeds. The most popular example is a cat, which lead to the widespread association with black cats and witches. In exchange, the familiars got to suckle blood from the witch, usually from an unnatural teat that would become damning evidence if discovered on one’s body. As legal proof used to convict several witches, the teat became known as one of the “witch’s marks.”

The teat could be your typical nipple, but sometimes was found in odd places, like in between two fingers or even on a leg, which is where Eunice “Goody” Cole, the only woman convicted of witchcraft in New Hampshire, was said to have one:

“A place in her leg which was provable where she had been sucked by imps…the second testifieth that they heard the whining of puppies or such like under her coats as though she had a desire to suck.”

This nourishing of a familiar wasn’t just for the ladies. John Willard, one of the five men executed in Salem, was said to have done so by one of his accusers:

“I saw this Willard suckle the apparition of two black pigs on his breasts.”

The Lord’s Prayer: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t

To me, the most disturbing scene in The Witch is Caleb’s death. Not only does little Harvey Scrimshaw deliver an incredibly unnerving performance as he calls out to Jesus and laughs himself into death, but this is also the moment where the family full on turns against one another and spiral into madness.

It’s sparked by twins Mercy and Jonas, who accuse Thomasin of being a witch. In disbelief, William commands his family to pray. The rub is, the twins can’t remember the Lord’s Prayer – something a Puritan knows backwards and forwards. Their excuse for forgetting this staple prayer? Thomasin has bewitched them, of course.

Demanding that the accused recite the Lord’s Prayer word-for-word was a popular tactic during the witch trials. It was believed that witches were not able to speak it, and that if they were unable to or flubbed it in the least bit, it was because they were in league with the Devil. Like the teat and witch’s mark, this was conclusive evidence among authorities. Under such duress – recite perfectly or die – many simply could not handle the pressure.

However, being able to recite the prayer didn’t always work out in one’s favor. During the Salem trials, accused witch and former pastor George Burroughs recited it verbatim while standing up on Gallows Hill. An impossible feat for a witch. He was also said to deliver a plea for his innocence that drew tears from many who attended his execution. After he was killed, it was Cotton Mather who comforted the crowd, stating that, “the devil has often been transformed into an Angel of Light.” Meaning, Burroughs was only able to recite the Lord’s Prayer because of the Devil’s trickery. Hang him high.

If you dig this subject, here’s some suggested reading. And if you read all these books, the Devil will bring you butter, I swear…

A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience by Dr. Emerson W. Baker. (I’m a bit biased here since Dr. Baker was a professor of mine at Salem State University)

A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials by Frances Hill

The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff