Editing Puritans (section)

=== Demonology and witch hunts ===
{{Further|Christian demonology}}
Like most Christians in the [[early modern period]], Puritans believed in the active existence of the [[Devil in Christianity|devil]] and [[demon]]s as evil forces that could possess and cause harm to men and women. There was also widespread belief in [[European witchcraft|witchcraft]] and witches—persons in league with the devil. "Unexplained phenomena such as the death of livestock, human disease, and hideous fits suffered by young and old" may all be blamed on the agency of the devil or a witch.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|p=30}}

Puritan pastors undertook [[Exorcism in Christianity|exorcisms]] for [[demonic possession]] in some high-profile cases. Exorcist [[John Darrell]] was supported by [[Arthur Hildersham]] in the case of Thomas Darling.{{Sfn|Bremer|Webster|2006|p=584}} [[Samuel Harsnett]], a sceptic on witchcraft and possession, attacked Darrell. However, Harsnett was in the minority, and many clergy, not only Puritans, believed in witchcraft and possession.<ref>{{Cite DNB|wstitle=Scott, Reginald|display=Scott, Reginald}}</ref>

In the 16th and 17th centuries, thousands of people throughout Europe were accused of being witches and executed. In England and Colonial America, Puritans engaged in [[witch hunt]]s as well. In the 1640s, [[Matthew Hopkins]], the self-proclaimed "Witchfinder General", whose career flourished during Puritan rule, was responsible for accusing over two hundred people of witchcraft, mainly in [[East Anglia]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Robbins |first=Rossell Hope |chapter=Hopkins, Matthew|title=The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology |location=New York |publisher=Crown Publishers |year=1959 |ref=ASIN:B0006AW066}}</ref> Between 1644 and 1647, Hopkins and his colleague [[John Stearne (witch-hunter)|John Stearne]] sent more accused people to the [[gallows]] than all the other witch-hunters in England of the previous 160 years.<ref>{{cite book |last=Notestein |first=Wallace |title=A History of Witchcraft In England from 1558 to 1718 |year=1911 |ref=Witchcraft |author-link=Wallace Notestein |publisher=American Historical Association 1911 (reissued 1965) New York [[Russell & Russell]] |page=195}}</ref> In New England, few people were accused and convicted of witchcraft before 1692; there were at most sixteen convictions.{{sfn|Bremer|2009|pp=31–32}}

The [[Salem witch trials]] of 1692 had a lasting impact on the historical reputation of New England Puritans. Though this witch hunt occurred after Puritans lost political control of the [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts colony]], Puritans instigated the judicial proceedings against the accused and comprised the members of the court that convicted and sentenced the accused. By the time Governor [[William Phips]] ended the trials, fourteen women and five men had been hanged as witches.{{Sfn|Bremer|2009|pp=30–32}}