Putnam patriot., 1930-05-15
Witch Sabbath, Devils uo, Yard, Witch Woods,
 Witch Meadows
s,.vinE of Poison at Chapman Falls

aAs of uylhB ...... ,s \. , "a, were praetieed to the tune oi its
 t. tss.sment. date back to the ancient ssssrIonians and Persians living along i aHoly River. commonly. known 'lS .sa Enphrates. One of the trials ss .'e eerioinated there was what later u91 tbe English was called "cuck- sms"e Inc use of the cuckingstool, mt became ducking or ducking wn,IA The test for guilt by water ,ah Ah was used on the continent of yane in the British Isles and New LsaGd LLsIand was originated by the in. at;sants along this Holy River and isA earliest law to be found for such u.isbment u. was found there. The rsonerty of the drowned or condemn a,ss confscated and the children ex hiled. c...
 I. has been stated that the first .;.eh bung in New England was in Sannertieut about l64s or 9, but if very short time before Massa- ssnsetts inflicted that penalty. No s.,,rbes were burned in New England. Sn xitches of Windham County were mi to death. In the Old World psople of all ranks and conditions fell pnder suspicion. In fact scarcely any saSv escaped. The children of those sonyicted and punished were banish- sd. their goods confiseated, while inn- sssners. notaries. witchfinders, ex- aentioners. ministers and the many ,hirsters for blood and booty became rieb In England the most over whelming wave of persecution seem ad I'd roll over the Isle during the peien of Henry the VIII and though tbe wave seemed to turn back for a neriod of years, under the reign Of the "Wisest fool in Christendom" l, James l. it rushed onward with over whelming strength.
 Hebrews Believers
 The Hebrews were firm believers ;n witehcraft. The legislative, judi eal and ecclesiastical laws were found ed on the laws of the Old Testament, SO were those of the New Haven Colony. Exodus xxx, IS Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.' Deuteron- omv XVIII. 10-11. And the soul that turneth after such us have ia miliar spirits and after wizards will even set my face against that goul and will cut him off among his people" Samuel l, 3. Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land Samuel |. 15-23 For rebellion is as the sin of witcheraft." And l will cut off witchcraft out of the land" may be found in the book of Micah. Then in the New Testament we find in Acts VIII, g. But there was a cer- tam man called Simon which before time in the same city used sorcery and bewitched the people of Sam aria Upon the authority found in John XV. 6, an eminent Italian thought witches were burned alive "If man abide not in me, he is cast forth as branch, and is withered. and men gather them and east them into the fire, and they are burned" Our Lord did not es- cape. The scribes and Pharisees at tributed the miracles to Beelzebub. Luke Xl, l5, But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelze- bub, the chief of the Devils" Also We find He casteth out devils through Beelezebub," and again He saved others himself he cannot save"
 Seotland's Methods
 Scotland methods of torture were gruesome and nauseating as the stories in detail are told in the state trial records. No records of this sort can be found in Connecticut. Perhaps the revolting form of the death of Giles Corey of Salem, Massachusetts and of the horrid practices resorted to in the punishment and tortures of the condemned in the case of Good wife Knapp. one of the early victims of Connecticut, caused the public mind and conscience of the colonies to crush out the work of the "Evil One" long before it's abatement m the Old County The last execution in Connecticut was nearly thirty years before the notable year when witehcraft reigned supreme in and about Salem. Massachusetts, for a half year in 1892. The last execu- tion in England was twenty years later. The dances of old crones at Devils Hop Yard, Witch Woods and Witch Meadows in Old Haddam be- speak of the "Sabbaths" of the witch es, which were meetings Casually held on Saturday. to which the witches to the number of bakers dozen (l3) met to be anointed with magical oint- ments. christened with new names provided and given by their Internal Leader, and were supposed to make progress through the air on brooms, coal-staves, spits and others help to locomotion tcoai in those days was ohareoaD. These gatherings were of festive nature; music and dancing as we'll as copious refreshments of flesh, bread and liquor; the devil, a black character of great size seated himself in the Giants chair" pro- noted their merry-making by playing on the "pipe or the cittern," and held in his hand a sceptre, studded with earbuncles, the emblem of his magical power. (The carbunele is garnet one of the precious stones worn Tn the breast-plate of the priests Tn Bible times.)
 Devils Teachings
 The Devil teaches them to make gruesome ointments by which they ride in the air.
 ''Or trip it OCT the water quicker
 Than Witches when their Slaves
 they liquor,
 As some report"
 The ointment is reported to be made xF T~ff K.