Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1692. When the first girl fell down screaming, the people of Salem Village thought it might just be silliness. Then a second girl started barking. A third and fourth began to shake uncontrollably. A doctor said “an evil hand” had come upon the girls, and everyone knew: They were bewitched.

But who were the witches? Everyone knew that too: the unprotected residents of Salem—the poor, the elderly, the ones who were a little bit strange. Soon more girls were having fits and naming people as witches. The village erupted in accusations, suspicion, and fear. By the time the witch trials ended, dozens of lives had been ruined, and twenty people were dead.

And I saw it all.

With a snarky and surprising first-person narrator – a historical figure that played a major role in events – acclaimed writer Katie Kennedy offers a fresh new take on the greatest true-crime story in American history.

Katie Kennedy once caught her then-nine-year-old daughter sneak-reading the Constitution under the covers with a flashlight. As an American history professor and fan, Katie has never been prouder. She is the author of The Constitution Decoded: A Guide to the Document That Shapes Our Nation, The Presidents Decoded: A Guide to the Leaders Who Shaped Our Nation, and the forthcoming Voting Decoded: A Guide to the Right That Shapes Our Nation, as well as two young adult novels, Learning to Swear in America and What Goes Up. Katie has taught college history and American government for thirty years. She lives in Iowa with her husband and son. Visit her online at katiekennedybooks.com.