13. You talked to yourself: As the Salem Witch Trials showed, simply muttering under your breath could be seen as being a sign of black magic
Lots of people talk to themselves on occasion. At most, it’s seen as a harmless affliction. Not so in the 17th century. Back then, being seen muttering to yourself may be taken as evidence of being possessed by evil spirits or of casting spells on your neighbors. This was the case with Sarah Good, one of the women accused of practicing black magic during the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Good, the grand jury was told, would frequently be spotted walking around her small village muttering to herself. So, when some local girls accused her of being one of several witches who had attacked them with evil spirits, she was bound to be found guilty.
And found guilty she was. Despite the fact that Good was pregnant at the time of the farcical trial, she was sentenced to death by hanging. She was allowed to give birth in prison, but then, within a matter of days, she was brought before the hangman alongside several of her co-accused. Good maintained her innocence to the very end. Interestingly, her last words were directed at the judge, Revered Nicholas Noyes. She warned him that, if she were to hang, “God will give you blood to drink.” Some 25 years later, Noyes died a violent death – choking on his own blood.