On Familiar Spirits

But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.—Arthur Miller

It would be tempting to interpret the Arthur Miller classic The Crucible as a parable about those who believe in witches and those who don’t. But, in fact, all the characters in his account of the Salem witch trials accept witchcraft as a reality and fear the spells that witches could cast.

That Abigail Williams is able to concoct her tale of demonic possession and act the part so convincingly is due to the receptivity of her audience to the idea that “the Devil may be among us.” Reverend John Hale, who was summoned to Salem to investigate the claims of sorcery, cautions against superstition yet insists, “The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone.” It is Hale’s arrival that triggers hysteria among the village’s residents...