Harvard: A Long History Of Myth and Witchcraft

Folklore and Mythology chair Stephen A. Mitchell says that the courses he offers on witchcraft have strong ties to both Harvard and Cambridge.

Even before the American Folklore Society was founded in University Hall in 1888, folklore and mythology was alive and well in the city and the College, he says.

The witches' walk, which was across the street from where the House of Blues is now located, once served as the jail where suspected witches were held in the 17th century, Mitchell says.

"Witches" imprisoned there were responsible for paying their own room and board, and often where forced to stay longer in jail for non-payment of these bills.

Cotton Mather, son of Harvard President Increase Mather (1685-1701), was "personally responsible" for the hanging of an alleged witch, Mitchell says.

One test that was often used to determine if an accused witch should be executed was the test of the Lord's Prayer.

If the accused could recite the entire prayer without the "devil inside" causing a mistake, he or she was considered innocent. But Mitchell says Cotton Mather convinced the people to hang the "witch" even after he passed the test.

Harvard itself has another connection with the witch trials. Faculty at Harvard College, then a school of divinity, were sometimes called upon to serve as judges for witch trials in the surrounding area, Mitchell says.

It is not the local history that keeps the study of witchcraft alive at Harvard today, however.

Mitchell says that the history of witchcraft has also proven to be an attractive topic for the students interested in women's studies.

The treatment of witches, who were traditionally female, can offer some insight into societal attitudes toward women, he says.