Killing the Witches

The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts

De: Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard

Narrado por: Robert Petkoff

With over 19 million copies in print and a remarkable record of #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestsellers, Bill O'Reilly's Killing series is the most popular series of narrative histories in the world.

Killing the Witches revisits one of the most frightening and inexplicable episodes in American history: the events of 1692 and 1693 in Salem Village, Massachusetts. What began as a mysterious affliction of two young girls who suffered violent fits and exhibited strange behavior soon spread to other young women. Rumors of demonic possession and witchcraft consumed Salem. Soon three women were arrested under suspicion of being witches—but as the hysteria spread, more than 200 people were accused. Thirty were found guilty, twenty were executed, and others died in jail or their lives were ruined.

Killing the Witches tells the dramatic history of how the Puritan tradition and the power of early American ministers shaped the origins of the United States, influencing the founding fathers, the American Revolution, and even the Constitutional Convention. The repercussions of Salem continue to the present day, notably in the real-life story behind The Exorcist and in contemporary “witch hunts” driven by social media. The result is a compulsively listenable audiobook about good, evil, community panic, and how fear can overwhelm fact and reason.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2023 Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Very interesting

Informative and entertaining, lots of facts and history, recommend the book to everyone interested in US history

The witches of Salem versus the cancel culture of today

I’ve listened to every killing book that Bill O’Reilly has written, I have found each one both informational and entertaining.

I have to say without question that this book turns some corners that I did not expect, and was very surprising in both a good way and an interesting way.
I think the most impressive part was the connection of how the witches in Salem were arrested convicted, and hung on no real evidence. And comparing to today’s cancel culture that you’re not hanging someone physically, but you destroy their lives you take their income they lose everything they work for Strictly based on a baseless accusation

So what makes us as a society accepting the cancel culture in destroying peoples lives on purely an accusation. One of the great parts of being a citizen of the United States and even if you’re visiting here, you have the presumption of innocence,

With a cancel culture, you can accuse somebody they have to spend an exorbitant amount of money on lawyers they may not have they have to lose their life savings just not to be put in jail, or to pay out a frivolous lawsuit of an accusation that cannot be proved.

I think in my lifetime the glaring accusation made with justice Kavanaugh that he abused a woman over 25 years ago and these accusations no proof no police report. Nothing almost destroyed this man’s career and life. What did this do to his family to his children that had to sit in the gallery behind him , while he was being accused of what would be a heinous crime.

He may have survived it, but it will always be a dark shadow following him. And because our laws with him, being a public figure, he cannot even turn around and sue this woman for her accusations that destroyed and came close to destroying his character and his life

The same thing in my world holes true of Bill O’Reilly, he has been fortunate enough to have a following, that was an educational eye understands that a high profile person like Mr. O’Reilly sometimes will settle a lawsuit because it’s cheaper and your life can move on by paying out a fee.

And because of him being a public person famous on television he doesn’t have the same rights as Justice Kavanaugh doesn’t have the rights to go after somebody for them

So we truly are living in a time or accusations are enough to murder a persons life, and sometimes I think the living after those type of events is worse than death itself. At least one death is brought about you. The pain is suffering ends like a cancer,

Thank you for writing such an insightful book one more time and bring attention to how we as of people today are really know better than the people of Salem in the 1600s

Excellent witch discussion

Excellent discussion of Salem witch hysteria. But disappointing discussion of “possession “ in the last chapters

O'Reilly and Dugard Do it Again!

Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard do it again with this next "Killing" book. It's absolutely one of their best. Besides the history of the Salem Witch Trials in the 1600s, they tell the history of a modern-day witch that spawned the movie "The Exorcist". Believe me it was scarier than the movie.

Love the witches!

The was a surprising recount of the witch killings and the historic facts. I love how its history is connected with present day events. My husband recommended this book because of my interest in the Witch trails. I would recommend this book for lovers of both witches and American History.

Recommended and I learned a lot

I learned a great deal of facts. The narrator has a pleasant voice. Definitely recommended!

Well done history of witches and hunts

While the subject matter is not particularly up my alley, I was interested in the historical aspects of witches and demons. Messrs. O’Reilly and Dugard researched the history and wrote a riveting narrative about the subject.

I consider the tying in the current day’s witch-hunt activities in cancel culture interestingly helpful. As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun.

I recommend the book.

Interesting but divergent.

Read well and had a lot of very interesting facts but it lost me after about two thirds of the way in and became quite a different book. Also expected more information on the European witch hunts and executions. Was touched on and then “Salem”
I’ve read all of O’Reilly’s ‘Killing’ books and this seemed thrown together FOR HIM which still makes it a good book but not his best.

Witch Trials

335 years! Somewhere it’s likely you have a witch in your family.

The author is great lots of details.

Captivating and informative!

I have no idea what to expect, but after reading, “killing the heroes” I was determined to read this book. Sincerely, I could not put it down.. It’s not a “Halloween“ book. Lol! It is a fascinating read, filled with facts and history that is written and narrated in a most intriguing way. I’m definitely going to be reading the rest of the “killing“ series of books.