The Devil of Great Island: Witchcraft and Conflict in Early New England

by Emerson W. Baker

In 1682, ten years before the infamous Salem witch trials, the town of Great Island, New Hampshire, was plagued by mysterious strange, demonic noises; unexplainable movement of objects; and hundreds of stones that rained upon a local tavern and appeared at random inside its walls. Town residents blamed what they called "Lithobolia" or "the stone-throwing devil." In this lively account, Emerson Baker shows how witchcraft hysteria overtook one town and spawned copycat incidents elsewhere in New England, prefiguring the horrors of Salem. In the process, he illuminates a cross-section of colonial society and overturns many popular assumptions about witchcraft in the seventeenth century.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Witches, Cultural, Witchcraft, American History, Womens

257 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 2, 2007

About the author

A specialist in the history of 17th century Maine, Emerson "Tad" Baker II is a historical archaeologist and professor of history at Salem State University. He is well known in academic circles for his extensive work on witchcraft in Colonial America, as well as for his work on numerous archaeological sites along the East Coast of the United States.

Reviews

[BCMUnlimited · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I love history in general, I have always been fascinated by the Salem Witch Trials. Over the past couple years, that interest has expanded into pretty much every witch trial to ever take place in Europe or North America. I love reading about the superstitions and problems that lead to these outbreaks - to the point that it is going to be the focus of my master's thesis...whenever I narrow it down enough.

Anyway, "The Devil of Great Island" was recommended to me, by a professor actually, and I'm thrilled that he told me to read it. I loved the book; when people think of witchcraft trials in America, Salem is the place that comes to mind but it was not the only place to suffer from flying accusations of witchcraft or suspicions of supernatural activity. The book can be a little much to take in if this period of history really isn't your thing because Baker is very detailed about all the problems assualting Great Island and it's residents. He pulls out wonderful connections from Great Island to a a previous event of a lithobolia (stone-throwing devil), as well as follows the path to more supernatural stone-throwing occurences in both Maine and Connecticut - and eventually Salem, though the stone-throwing in 1692 has not been focused on by scholars of the Salem Witch Trials.

By the end of the book, I seriously needed a map to keep the connections straight in my head. The family trees that Baker included were helpful, but I had to draw up my own linking map. The amount of research ithat Baker had to do in order to follow people as they moved and took stories of previous supernatural occurences to new towns is mind-boggling.

Honestly, as much as I enjoyed the book for its historical value - especially because of my own interest in New England witchcraft and superstitions - it also caught my attention for amusement purposes as well. I've begun thinking of the entire book as a "real-life soap opera, seventeenth century New England style"! It really does have that dramatic element in it as you learn of a minister trying to excommunicate the man who's supposed to be taking his job for unchaste behavior, only to be discovered in bed with his maid the next day! Or near the end, when a sitting governor gets thrown into a fireplace by his brother-in-law!

Overall, I think this was a wonderfully researched and well-written history work that anyone who has the slightest interest could truly enjoy.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have some mixed feelings about this book. I can't honestly say it was enjoyable, as I found it rather dry (it is an academic book, after all) and I thought that the author rambled a bit for most of the book (although he did wrap things up rather well in the last two chapters, I will give him that). The book could have benefited from some serious editing -- not just to tighten up the author's ramblings, but to fix all the freaking typos! Oh, how I hate that! How is it that books can get published (and not just self-published, that I could understand, but published by a major academic publishing house) with typos still in? I just can't wrap my head around it. On the plus side, there was a great deal of information about colonial New Hampshire that I had never learned before (what does that say about the state history curriculum in the New Hampshire school system?). As the author correctly points out, it seems that colonial American history is dominated by Massachusetts and Virginia, and the American people usually hear very little of the colonial frontier states such as New Hampshire and Maine (odd to think of NH and ME as "frontier states" but in the 17th century, I guess they were). So, I learned something new, but I was annoyed by typos and rambling while I did so.

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting case study of an attack of lithobolia or a stone-throwing devil that occurred in colonial America, ten years before the Salem witch accusations. This book carefully dissected the history surrounding the event to see who were the most likely culprits behind the attack on one particular family. There was a lot of research, and the story got bogged down at times because the author threw in every detail imaginable. You could tell he was passionate, but I just wasn't that into knowing everything. I wish there were more story and fewer facts. He noted how most attacks in colonial America were the result of property disputes, differences of religion, and differences of culture, depending on the mix of nationalities living together. He used this information to trace this attack through to events ten years later at the better known Salem trials. Interesting, yet dull at the same time.

[Thomas M. Burby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This well-researched and highly detailed work tells the story of one of the first lithobolia attacks in New England. Lithobolia is stone-throwing from unseen hands, presumably the hands of a ghost, spirit, or devil. The result was an accusation of witchcraft that was never finally settled because the parties involved, long-standing neighbors and enemies, both died.

[Keri Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because it mentions my 8x great-grandmother, Jane Guy, who was accused of being a witch, found innocent, and sued her accuser for slander. Badass. However, Jane is only mentioned in 1 chapter. What really interested me about this book was how little it was about witchcraft and how informative it was about what drove people to accuse others of witchcraft. It's a very interesting look into the history of religious conflict in New England and how things can go so far, so fast.

[Cheryl Gatling]

George Walton owned a tavern on the island of Great Island, New Hampshire. In 1682, which was before the Salem witchcraft trials, stones began flying through the air. Stones slammed into his tavern. Objects were thrown around inside as well. And the stone throwers were never seen. Walton accused his neighbor Hannah Jones, whom he had a property dispute with, of making the stones fly through witchcraft. That seemed to be the generally accepted explanation. The episodes were called "Lithobolia," or "The stone-throwing devil." Increase Mather wrote about the events in his book Illustrious Providences, which listed all kinds of "proofs" of witchcraft and evil spirits. Seventeenth century New Englanders were fascinated by the idea of Satan at work among them. But so had people through other centuries. Mr. Baker, the author of this book, describes the history of outbreaks of witchcraft hysteria. He then examines the situation on Great Island in detail. Who were all the people involved. Why might anyone be motivated to throw rocks at George Walton? Turns out Walton had irritated a lot of his neighbors, and been a bad boss to his servants. Who didn't want to throw rocks at him? Baker then examines the community-wide sources of conflict: religious differences between Anglicans, Puritans, and Quakers; economic stresses; ethnic tensions; political divisions; and deep uncertainty about the future of the colony, whether it would be part of theocratic Massachusetts, Royalist Maine, or be the personal property of a man named Mason. A picture emerges of a society riddled with resentments, strained and ready to explode with tension, and not having an outlet to handle it. It is an interesting story. It made me think deeply about the nature of Christianity, as these were for the most part deeply religious people. They cared a lot about appearance at Sunday meetings, and keeping the Sabbath, and not swearing, but they couldn't seem to handle just getting along. Surely religion can do better for us than that. It is Baker's belief that the stone throwers were just hiding behind bushes and trees, protected by the complicity of their neighbors who did not tell on them. Eventually the attacks died down, and the charges were thrown out of court. But New England would remain a powder keg of tensions, which would erupt a few years later in Salem.

[Malia Ebel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baker's account of the lithobolia attack of 1682 on Great Island (now Newcastle, NH) should appeal to fans of narrative non-fiction and accessible academic writing.

In 1682, a family was allegedly attacked by a rock throwing demon which caused rocks to rain from the sky, damaging their house and tavern. Rocks also allegedly floated around inside the house. The attacks allegedly raged from June through September, and then stopped as suddenly and mysteriously as they started.

Since this was 1682, the targeted family concluded it was the work of witchcraft, and a "lithobolia" working on the sorcerer's behalf. They blamed an elderly female neighbor (she not only fit the type of person often accused of witchcraft at the time but was involved in a boundary dispute with the targeted family).

This incident is particularly interesting because it took place before the Salem Witch Trials, and unlike the later event, didn't spiral out of control. It was resolved fairly quietly and without any arrests or executions. Therefore, it provides an interesting comparison with the Salem Witch Trials.

Baker not only describes the event, but lays a detailed background of the society and the individuals involved. So the book is not only an account of a strange event, but provides a glimpse into New England life at that time.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, information-rich book! In "The Devil of Great Island" we get to view a 1682 witchcraft episode in early NH through the greater lens of sectarian strife and general insecurity that plagued much of colonial life. Baker paints a rich picture of the shifting allegiances and litigious nature of our colonial progenitors. He also neatly ties this particular episode with other cases including the much more famous Essex County outbreak of 1692. We end up with a very clear understanding of why George Walton would be visited by a "stone-throwing devil." What a tangled web! As a lifelong yankee who lives a stones throw (yup!) from present day New Castle and who can trace his lineage back to Edward Winslow, The Hilton family and Giles Corey I found this book particularly interesting and I heartily recommend it.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting look at religious and political strife in early colonial America. Well, interesting might be too strong a word here, however I certainly learned a great deal about historical property disputes and the neverending see-sawing of early English/American politics. My guess is that if you don't know much about this period in American history, or don't have much interest in it to begin with, you'll get bogged down in the details and give up after the second chapter. However, for those with the fortitude to see it through to the end, you'll be treated to a vision of colonial life not seen in textbooks or the popular historical imagination.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot of fiction and non-fiction about early New England, and I rarely give a book a 5. To me, the Devil of Great Island is a 5+ read. It is well-researched and gives the reader insight into the history and interrelationships among New Englanders that I have not seen elsewhere. The only recommendation that I would make is that if it is reprinted, the author consider a title change. While it is obvious as one reads it, why it is titled as such, I wonder how many ppl pass it by on bookshelves, assuming it is just another light weight historical fiction while it is actually a worthy study of the period.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great researcher but not a very good writer. There’s no real narrative, just a lot of family names and dates thrown around making it a confusing read. Stuck with it because I am from the area that the events took place, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who has no prior knowledge of our local history. The important facts, dates, names and gist of the whole ordeal could be put into less than 20 pages.

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very informative and interesting. However, it tended to repeat itself quite a bit and thus got a bit boring. It is very thorough and tells a good story, however, you will learn more than you ever needed to know about New England and stone throwing demons.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to stop reading after trying to will myself to slog through the endless details about property disputes. I understand that the author was trying to get at the reasons behind accusations of witchcraft in the 1600's, but ugh...I just couldn't do it anymore!

[Sorcha · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting story muddled by the description of the dense web of intrigue surrounding the event, which becomes confusing and redundant even with the four page character list at the front as a guide.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than I ever wanted to know about the politics of New England in the 1600s. The basic premise of the book was interesting but the author just went on and on about really boring aspects of Colonial New England politics and land disputes that had tenuous connections to the stories of witchcraft.

[Thomas Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent sociological study of religious fanaticism in early America and its interaction with colonial politics.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and researched. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to reading his other books.

[Jnana Hodson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I opened this expecting a fictionalized version of the actual events but was pleasantly surprised to find it a well-researched investigation of what would appear to be a Colonial-era paranormal encounter.
My one quibble, a big one, is identifying George Walton, the central figure in these developments, and Nicholas Shapleigh of Maine, a minor figure here, as Quakers – repeatedly. In fact, Shapleigh remained Anglican though sympathetic and supportive in regard to Quakers or, as they're more formally known, Friends. Walton, however, was a member of no Meeting as far as I can tell and would have been seriously disciplined if he had been. Rather, he was simply a very disagreeable guy.
Many of the other characters involved dovetail into my own history, Quaking Dover, of the town upstream on the Piscataqua River, so I’m not exactly an impartial observer.
Nevertheless, Baker does build a serious argument for conditions that later erupt in the infamous Salem, Massachusetts, witch hysteria and bloodshed, a topic he further pursues more fully in a subsequent book. Here, he adds depth to what was evolving downstream from Dover in early New Hampshire.
The later developments in Salem into infamous trials and executions prove more pivotal in the course of American history than is usually assumed. Background like this adds to the intrigue.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nonfiction about accusations of witchcraft and ghosts (specifically, mysterious specters throwing stones!) in a small town in New Hampshire, ten years before the Salem Witch Trials. Baker does an excellent job of delineating the various politics, class struggles, and interpersonal conflicts that divide any small town, while also placing this particular set of witchcraft accusations into the larger context of belief in the supernatural in both New England and old England, and how one set of accusations influenced another through time. Very readable, but honestly probably not all that interesting unless you're already engaged in the topic.

[Malwae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Digging around in 1680's New England history is complicated, and I really appreciate that Baker did so much heavy lifting and legwork in this book so that I don't have to.

If you ever thought that it's just too simple that craziness like Salem was just Puritans being jerks, you would be correct, and The Devil of Great Island is a fantastic infodump of who all the faction were, what they wanted, why they hated each other, and why the friction among them errupted in allegations of witchcraft.

[George F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Remarkable Book

This meticulously researched book has completely changed my rather pedestrian view of the witch hysteria in colonial New England. If you really want to understand the pre-Revolutionary period, you have to read this book at least once. (I'm on my third reading, myself!)

[Jessa Hay · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5