NEWBURYPORT — Peter Muise, author of “Legends and Lore of the North Shore” will visit “The Morning Show” this Thursday.
Muise will discuss the history of accused witch Elizabeth Morse of Newbury, now Newburyport, who was tried and found guilty of witchcraft in 1697. Sentenced to be hanged, she was reprieved and sentenced instead to lifelong confinement in her husband’s home near what is now Market Square.
Host Mary Jacobsen said she became aware of Morse when she noticed a plaque commemorating her on the side of a building at the corner of Liberty and State streets.
Muise will talk about the Puritan theology underlying belief in witchcraft, and how it bolstered their view that it was always and necessarily the result of consorting with the devil. He will also describe the dynamics of the Morse family and its contribution to Elizabeth’s strange and tragic situation, as well as the spectral skepticism of appeals court judges that led to her reprieve.
Muise discusses the pre-Enlightenment worldview that led to numerous witchcraft trials throughout Europe prior to the infamous Salem witch trials. He also explains why Ireland, in contrast to other nations, had relatively few witch trials.
“The Morning Show” airs Thursday at 9 a.m. on Channel 9 and WJOP (FM 96.3), and is available after broadcast at www.NCMHub.org by clicking on YouTube, then Playlist and scrolling down.