Cotton Mather

**Cotton Mather** was a compassionate man, though capable of extreme cruelty if he believed it justified. Unfortunately, his sense of justice was molded by a traumatic childhood being raised by the tyrannical Increase Mather. Due to his parentage, his education, and his charisma, Cotton was a well-respected Puritan despite his love of alcohol and the frequent visits he made to brothels.

## History

Cotton Mather was born in Boston, Massachusetts -- child of two prominent and wealth Puritan families, the Cottons and the Mathers, his name being given as a symbol of this important union. After his mother's death, his father Increase raised him with the express purpose of becoming a powerful political figure in the Massachusetts colony. To that end, he was eventually sent to Harvard to study theology. There he became interested in the occult, in much the same way his father had, though he was too fearful to pursue witch hunting as a career. Nevertheless, he read voraciously on the topic and became an academic expert on the subject of hunting witches.

### Salem Witch Trials

When the people of Salem became afraid that there were witches among them, they called upon Increase Mather to help root them out. Instead, Cotton arrived. He quickly became convinced there were indeed witches among them, particularly after investigating Mercy Lewis who he determined was under spectral attack. When he determined that Mercy was spelled to prevent her from speaking the name of the witch, he put her on a leash so that she could point a finger at her assailant -- and in this way, she accused Giles Corey. When he would not plea either guilty or not guilty, at the encouragement of Mary Sibley, Cotton had him pressed under stones -- which ultimately killed him. Without having truly tried the elderly man, Cotton became unsure if his methods were justified.

His crisis of faith was temporarily resolved, however, when John Alden and Isaac Walton revealed to him that they had witnessed a witches sabbath ritual. Evidence from the scene, and researching what they had witnessed with them, led Cotton to become convinced that the witch's were attempting the Grand Rite. Though he was correct, he was unaware of their own manipulation of the witch panic -- and so when an accusation against Bridget Bishop came forth, accompanied by a "monstrous birth" he staunchly argued that she had to be executed. Even after her death, he continued to believe that doing so had been a just act.

When Isaac fell under the Vitae Cupido spell cast by Magistrate John Hale, and was given items that would surely convict him of being a witch, Cotton was torn. Though he, like John Alden, did not believe Isaac would have brought him evidence of the witches if he was one, he had to follow the evidence. Furthermore, Isaac -- under the spell's influence -- had seen Cotton at the Divining Rod with Gloriana Embry, which put the clergyman in a precarious situation. When John Hale dropped the accusation against Isaac, however, he reported to Gloriana that his methods of trial were sure not to lead to the conviction of innocent people.

When Mercy Lewis seemed to be free of the spectral attacks that plagued her, Cotton Mather investigated her -- discovering proof of Reverend Lewis' exorcism. Meanwhile, he grew jealous of Gloriana's other clients, and offered her a contract of exclusivity. As they reached this agreement, John Alden brought him the box containing the Malum and they discovered proof that the Grand Rite was being attempted. Together they set a trap, in which they captured Rose Browning as she tried to acquire the Malum.

As the planetary alignment of Saturn was happening the next night, Cotton concocted a paralytic agent to allow them to bring the witch into the woods and interrogate her while she was compelled to speak the truth. From this interrogation, Cotton and Alden learned that the Grand Rite had already begun, though they could not learn what innocent sacrifices had been made before Rose escaped -- awakening the dead of the Crags as zombies to attack her captors. The zombies suddenly collapsed when Rose was, unbenknownst to Cotton, beheaded by Mercy Lewis.

Cotton soon intervened in the mob forming against the Barker family -- insisting that they receive a trial before their execution. With the support of John Hale on this, the Barkers were placed in cells. That night, however, Cotton's father arrived and ordered them burned at the stake.