"And now nineteen persons having been hanged, and one pressed to death,
and eight more condemned, in all twenty and eight ... about fifty
having confessed ... above an hundred and fifty in prison, and above two
hundred more accused; the special commission of oyer and terminer comes
to a period...."

During the summer of 1692 the disastrous material and financial results
of the reign of terror became so evident that the shrewd business sense
of the colonist became alarmed. Harvests were ungathered, fields and
cattle were neglected, numerous people sold their farms and moved
southward; some did not await the sale but abandoned their property. The
thirst for blood could not last, especially when it threatened
commercial ruin. Moreover, the accusers at length aimed too high;
accusations were made against persons of rank, members of the governor's
family, and even the relatives of the pastors themselves. "The killing
time lasted about four months, from the first of June to the end of
September, 1692, and then a reaction came because the informers began to
strike at important persons, and named the wife of the governor. Twenty
persons had been put to death ... and if the delusion had lasted much
longer under the rules of evidence that were adopted everybody in the
colony except the magistrates and ministers would have been either hung
or would have stood charged with witchcraft."[32]

The Puritan clergymen have been severely blamed for this strange wave of
fanaticism, and no doubt, as leaders in the movement, they were largely
responsible; but even their power and authority could never have caused
such wide-spread terror, had not the women of the day given such active
aid. The feminine soul, with its long pent emotions, craved excitement,
and this was an opportunity eagerly seized upon. As Fisher says, "As