In the infamous Salem witch trials of 1692, one peculiar practice gained significant attention – the witch cake. This curious concoction played a prominent role in investigations and accusations of witchcraft during this dark period in American history. The concept of the witch cake originated from English folklore and was brought to the American colonies by settlers. It was believed that by baking a cake infused with urine from the afflicted person, it would somehow reveal the identity of the witch responsible for causing their suffering. The witch cake was then fed to a dog, whose reaction would allegedly expose the culprit. During the Salem witch trials, witch cakes became a key tool used by the afflicted young girls and their families to identify the witches who were supposedly afflicting them.

The Witchcraft Act and its Impact in Scotland, 1563-1736

June marks the passing of the Witchcraft Act of 1563. The Act resulted in a century and a half of witch hunts throughout Scotland. Thousands of people died as the Witchcraft Act called for the death penalty for all offences. Not much is known about the fate of accused witches, but these are some of the stories of the people who were charged under the Witchcraft Act.

In 1560, Scotland’s parliament had made Protestantism the official religion, and morality was high on the agenda. The government and the Church wanted to enforce godliness among the people. They thought that the whole country would suffer if there were malevolent elements within it that they believed to be in league with the Devil. This is the setting in which the Witchcraft Act came into existence.

A pact with the Devil

People believed that the Devil left a mark on his followers when they made a pact with him. So-called ‘witch prickers’ were brought in to prick the accused person with needles numerous times and in intimate places in search of this mark. People believed that the mark would turn the area on the body invulnerable so it couldn’t bleed or feel pain. Often it would have been a birthmark, wart, mole or scar.

© Courtesy of the Trustees of Burns Monument and Burns Cottage. Licensor www.scran.ac.uk

The aim of the torturous method was to get the accused to give in and confess to the alleged crimes. Other evidence used in trials were neighbours’ testimonies. These could come about after quarrels with other accused witches. They would often name the person that had crossed them as their ‘accomplices’ which could land the troubling neighbour in court as well.

Most of the accused and prosecuted were women. The popular belief was that women were ‘weak willed’ and their intellect inferior to that of men. This supposedly allowed the Devil to influence them more easily.

The Witchcraft Act in practice

Curiously, the Witchcraft Act is brief and does not clarify what a witch is and what constitutes witchcraft. Yet, people were able to identify witches within their communities and bring cases against them.

“…na maner of persoun nor persounis of quhatsumever estate, degre or conditioun thay be of tak upone hand in ony tymes heirefter to use ony maner of witchcraftis, sorsarie or necromancie…”

“…no manner of person or persons of whatsoever estate, degree or condition they be of take upon hand in any time hereafter to use any manner of witchcraft, sorcery or necromancy…”

Most accused witches were ordinary people but the one thing they were thought to have in common was ‘smeddum’ – spirit, mettle, resourcefulness and quarrelsomeness – qualities which went against the ideals of femininity.

A family of witches

In 1597, a whole family was embroiled in a witch hunt. It started with the mother, Johnnet Wischert, who faced accusations of witchcraft by her neighbours, servants and even her son-in-law. The accusations covered decades of believed wrongdoings, misfortune, and even described shapeshifting!

Her son, Thomas Leyis, also faced accusations which focussed on the witches’ sabbath: a gathering of witches in which they worshipped the Devil. Other witches, in their confessions, named him as the leader of a sabbath held at Aberdeen’s Mercat Cross. He was also branded as an active accomplice of his mother, and both were burned.

© Robert Gordon University. Licensor www.scran.ac.uk

Johnnet’s husband, a stabler called John Leyis, and their three daughters, Elspet, Janet and Violet Leyis, also faced accusations. However, they were only convicted of associating with known witches – namely their own family members – and were banished from Aberdeen.

Why would people confess to practising witchcraft?

Investigators usually tried to get confessions from witches that would prove interaction with the Devil. This was of importance to the court. To get confessions witches were routinely tortured – often with sleep deprivation, but also with physical torture.

In 1616, Elspeth Reoch was tried in Orkney as a witch. For a while, she was mute and suffered beatings from her brother to encourage her to speak again.

In her confession, she claimed to have the ‘second sight’ and to have had interactions with fairies since she was 12 years old. She was found guilty and was consequently executed.

Visiting wells and springs for healing is recorded in kirk session records, which deemed the practice against the teachings of the Protestant Church.

In 1623, an Issobell Haldane confessed that she had gone to the well of Ruthven to fetch water to use to wash a sick child.The child later died and Issobell admitted to consorting with fairies. She was imprisoned and interrogated at the Tolbooth in Perth, convicted of witchcraft and executed.

Innocent until found a witch

Issobell Fergussone, who was married and lived in Newbattle, was pricked by a professional witch pricker in July 1661. She maintained her innocence and denied all accusations against her.

It seems that she asked to be pricked, probably to prove her innocence. However, the witch pricker was successful in finding the Devil’s mark and she subsequently confessed to a pact and interactions with the Devil. She was tried in August 1661 and eventually executed.

The fate of most accused witches is unknown. The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft estimates that about two-thirds were executed. Most witches were strangled and then their dead body was burned.

Only a very small number are known to have been burned alive. But the experience of being interrogated, possibly tortured then executed would still have been extremely invasive, frightening and painful.

Formal repeal of the Witchcraft Act

The last prosecution for witchcraft was in 1727. In Dornoch Janet Horne’s daughter was allegedly “transformed into a pony and shod by the Devil, which made the girl ever after lame both in hands and feet”, and that Janet rode her daughter like a pony.

Both were imprisoned, tried, and condemned, but the daughter escaped. Janet was the last person in the British Isles to be executed for witchcraft.

By the eighteenth century, there was growing scepticism among the authorities about witchcraft, and prosecutions were less likely to result in execution.

Evidence which before had been essential for conviction – including pricking – was now considered unreliable. In 1736 the British parliament repealed both the Scottish Witchcraft Act of 1563 and the parallel English act.

In 2022 Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, issued an apology for the historic persecution and execution of accused witches, describing it as “injustice on a colossal scale”.

The Church of Scotland then also recognised the terrible harm caused to the thousands of people – mostly women – who had been accused.

During the Salem witch trials, witch cakes became a key tool used by the afflicted young girls and their families to identify the witches who were supposedly afflicting them. The girls would undergo fits and pains, which they claimed were caused by the specters of witches tormenting them. In an attempt to uncover the witches' identities, the afflicted girls and their families turned to Reverend Samuel Parris, the local minister.

About the Authors

Ruth Schieferstein, Nikki Moran and Morvern French work together in the Cultural Resources Team, which researches and interprets the history and archaeology of Historic Environment Scotland’s properties in care. With the increasing attention on Scotland’s history of witchcraft accusations, and the anniversary of the Witchcraft Act on 4 June, we wanted to remember the thousands of people and their lives which the Act impacted.

Salem Witch Trials

Experience the 1692 Salem witch-hunt in a terrifying online trial: Are you a witch? How long have you been in the snare of the devil? Confess!

Credits

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Writer

Designer

Editors

Consultants

Producer

other

Last Updated

October 19, 2023

User Permissions

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

Media

If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

Text

Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

Interactives

Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.

National Geographic Headquarters
1145 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036

The Role of Witch's Cake in Salem

Jone Johnson Lewis is a women's history writer who has been involved with the women's movement since the late 1960s. She is a former faculty member of the Humanist Institute.

In 17th century England and New England, it was believed that a "witch's cake" had the power to reveal whether witchcraft was afflicting a person with symptoms of illness. Such a cake or biscuit was made with rye flour and the urine of the afflicted person. The cake was then fed to a dog. If the dog exhibited the same symptoms as the ill person, the presence of witchcraft was "proven." Why a dog? A dog was believed to be a common familiar associated with the devil. The dog was then supposed to point to the witches who had afflicted the victim.

In Salem Village, in the Massachusetts colony, in 1692, such a witch's cake was key in the first accusations of witchcraft that led to court trials and executions of many who were accused. The practice was apparently a well-known folk practice in English culture of the time.

It was under Reverend Parris' guidance that a witch cake was prepared in February 1692. The cake was made using rye meal and the urine of Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, two of the young girls suffering from afflictions. The belief was that once the cake was consumed by a dog, the witch responsible for the girls' torments would be revealed. The witch cake was given to a dog named Jupiter, owned by Reverend Parris' neighbor, Mary Sibley. As the dog devoured the cake, it was expected that his reaction would indicate the presence of witchcraft. Although the exact details of Jupiter's reaction remain unclear, it is speculated that the dog acted strangely, possibly reinforcing the belief in witchcraft among the Salem community. The witch cake incident marked an early and significant event in the Salem witch trials. It fueled suspicions and heightened anxieties regarding witchcraft in the community. The use of witch cakes as a method of divining witchcraft fell in line with the belief systems of the time, where the supernatural and the devil were thought to have a strong influence in people's lives. The witch cake episode serves as a haunting reminder of the mass hysteria and paranoia that gripped Salem in 1692. It highlights how fear and superstition can lead to the persecution of innocent individuals. The Salem witch trials ultimately resulted in the execution of 20 people, predominantly women accused of practicing witchcraft. Today, the witch cake remains a symbol of the witch trials, serving as a chilling reminder of the consequences of unfounded accusations and the dangers of blind faith in the face of irrational beliefs. It stands as a legacy of a dark chapter in American history, reminding us of the importance of justice, reason, and the protection of individual rights..

Reviews for "Baking with Witchcraft: The History and Tradition of the Salem Witch Cake"

- Amy - 2 stars

I was really excited to try Witch Cake Salem because I love witch-themed things and Salem is such an interesting place. However, I was really disappointed with the experience. The cake itself was dry and lacked flavor. The frosting was overly sweet and didn't complement the cake well. The decor of the bakery also didn't live up to the witch theme, it was just a mishmash of random decorations that didn't create a cohesive and interesting vibe. Overall, I wouldn't recommend Witch Cake Salem if you're looking for a tasty and immersive witchy experience.

- John - 1 star

Witch Cake Salem left a lot to be desired. The service was incredibly slow, even though there were only a few other customers. The staff seemed disinterested and not attentive at all. When my cake finally arrived, it was disappointing to say the least. The cake was dry and lacked any real flavor. The frosting was too sweet and overpowering. The only thing that lived up to expectations was the price, which was way too high for the quality of the product. I won't be going back to Witch Cake Salem and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

- Sarah - 2 stars

I love trying out new bakeries, especially ones with unique themes like Witch Cake Salem. However, I was left underwhelmed by my experience here. The cake itself was mediocre at best, nothing special about the taste or texture. The prices were also quite high for what I got. The decor of the bakery was disappointing, I was expecting a more immersive witchy atmosphere but it was just average. Overall, I wouldn't go out of my way to visit Witch Cake Salem again.

Exploring the Ingredients of a Traditional Salem Witch Cake