September 18, 1692
I look up at the Sheriff Corwin, my tongue hanging from my mouth. I muster all of my energy and hatred while staring up at the man executing my sentence.
"More weight"
The darkness envelops me.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
I Welcome the Darkness
September 16/17, 1692
The days have gone by; how many I do not know. The light and dark is all the same to me. I can feel my bones breaking, it is impossible to breath. My eyes bulge from their sockets and my brain is about to explode. Something is oozing from my sides; maybe it is blood or my internal organs slowly leaking out or both. I want it all to end, I refuse to plead. I don't even know if I can speak. They come, they always come with more stones. When will the weight finally crush the life out of me? I wonder if Martha is still alive and if she is praying for me after all that I have done...
The days have gone by; how many I do not know. The light and dark is all the same to me. I can feel my bones breaking, it is impossible to breath. My eyes bulge from their sockets and my brain is about to explode. Something is oozing from my sides; maybe it is blood or my internal organs slowly leaking out or both. I want it all to end, I refuse to plead. I don't even know if I can speak. They come, they always come with more stones. When will the weight finally crush the life out of me? I wonder if Martha is still alive and if she is praying for me after all that I have done...
Pein Forte et Dure
September 9, 1692
I have finally been removed from my jail cell. The light of day is brilliant and I have renewed hope for the future. The jail has been filled to the brim over the past few months and many have grown ill. In my old age, I have developed a slight cough. I have not seen Martha for nearly a month now. She looks haggard and sickly; I almost feel bad, as though it is my fault we have gotten entangled in this mess. Due to the backlog of arrested witches, the Court of Oyer and Terminer has decided to remove large group of people to try. I have decided that at my trial I will refuse to plead, it is the only way to not confess to false-guilt. I will show them!
NO! NO! How can this be!? After standing mute at my trial those Judges, those evil men, have decided that I must suffer under pein forte et dure. If I do not plead, I will slowly be crushed to death by stones. What is this madness, this illegal torture!? I refuse to bend to their whims, I am an old man and have lived my life. It is my duty to all of the other accused to show these terrible liars that they are wrong and innocence shall prevail! I have also acquired a large amount of property in addition to my estate as a mere farmer. I refuse to allow them to take it from me by confessing to false guilt. Sure, it may spare my life but it will not spare my life's work! I would rather die than willingly give up my property.
x
I have finally been removed from my jail cell. The light of day is brilliant and I have renewed hope for the future. The jail has been filled to the brim over the past few months and many have grown ill. In my old age, I have developed a slight cough. I have not seen Martha for nearly a month now. She looks haggard and sickly; I almost feel bad, as though it is my fault we have gotten entangled in this mess. Due to the backlog of arrested witches, the Court of Oyer and Terminer has decided to remove large group of people to try. I have decided that at my trial I will refuse to plead, it is the only way to not confess to false-guilt. I will show them!
NO! NO! How can this be!? After standing mute at my trial those Judges, those evil men, have decided that I must suffer under pein forte et dure. If I do not plead, I will slowly be crushed to death by stones. What is this madness, this illegal torture!? I refuse to bend to their whims, I am an old man and have lived my life. It is my duty to all of the other accused to show these terrible liars that they are wrong and innocence shall prevail! I have also acquired a large amount of property in addition to my estate as a mere farmer. I refuse to allow them to take it from me by confessing to false guilt. Sure, it may spare my life but it will not spare my life's work! I would rather die than willingly give up my property.
x
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
I feel violated.
April 19, 1692
I feel violated. They came for me last night without warning, bound me, and knocked me out. I still have this cursed bruise on my head... I awoke in a dark room, when they promptly led me into the main hall of the Court of Oyer and Terminer. For one of the only times I can remember in my entire life, I felt genuinely nervous. I know I'm an old man, but damn it, I was just starting to have fun again! What with Martha in death's grasp, I had planned to buy myself a fine horse and move to a house in Boston. Now, however, my death will be not peaceful, but rather savage and abrupt. How dare they...
The questions began and continued with the force of one thousand waterfalls. I endured question after question, the interrogation unceasing for an eternity. When it was finally over, I felt dirty. I felt invaded, wrong, and robbed of my dignity. What's more is that the questions they asked...? Absolutely pointless! I've not the faintest idea why they asked me why I "was frightened in the cow-house." Why would anybody be frightened by cows? Was it even necessary to ask that?
I tell you, the system is corrupt. Everyone makes these frequent occurrences of witch accusations into a huge fiasco, but I see through their lies. It's really just a corporate scheme for the church to get more money and to scare little girls children into behaving. Not to place the blame directly on the church, however, the girls are downright brats. They simply lie, left and right! Just today, in fact, Elizabeth Hubbard broke down into a so-called "fit" when proposed the question "Did Giles Corey hurt you?" A "fit," my ass... She's a liar. They're all bloody liars.
It's dark in this jail cell. I dream of the day that I make it out of here, but my prospects aren't looking good. Until next time,
--Giles Corey
My Accusation
April 18th, 1692
What in God's name is this?! This is utter bullshit! Those despicable girls—Ann Putnam Jr. and Mercy Lewis—accused me of practicing witchcraft! Those lying, deceiving little... Maybe they're right, though. In my fit of rage, I failed to see the obvious – it's Martha's fault. Her evil witchcraft that she practiced in the house left residual traces of black magic on my person. Yes... that's exactly what I'll tell them during my examination tomorrow.
I may be a crazy old coot, but at least I'm well-minded enough to understand that these "witch accusations" are nothing but a bunch of snotty brats feeling angsty. The public buys into their contagiously macabre games, blows it out of proportion, and look at the result: I get accused of being a bloody witch! I swear, there will be hell to pay...
I may be a crazy old coot, but at least I'm well-minded enough to understand that these "witch accusations" are nothing but a bunch of snotty brats feeling angsty. The public buys into their contagiously macabre games, blows it out of proportion, and look at the result: I get accused of being a bloody witch! I swear, there will be hell to pay...
--Giles Corey
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
My Word Against My Wife
24 March 1692
It's done! It's finally done! I have testified against my wife, and now she is gone forever! Oh, happy days... Herein lies the ingenious words that I fed to the jury:
"Last Saturday evening I was sitting by the fire when my wife suddenly asked me to go to bed. I told her I was going to pray first. When I went to do so, however, I found that I could not open my mouth to speak; as hard as I tried, no sound would come out! Then Martha, out of nowhere, came toward me, closing the space between us. At that moment, I feared for my soul as the darkness enveloped us both. I have no further memory of that night.
Sometime last week, I fetched an ox out of the woods in order to plow the fields. After taking a piss break, however, I found the animal lying down in the yard, moaning pitifully. When I attempted to make him stand, but him he could not rise. Instead, he dragged his hind legs as if they were broken or inhabilitated by some invisible force... It must have been Martha. She had to have known I was trying to get work done. The bitch was using black magic to hinder my production!
My cat was acting strangely last week as well, as if it were going to drop dead. Martha begged me to hit her in the head and put her out of her misery as if she were possessedd... I refused to comply, and the cat promptly recovered.
Yet again, I was trying to pray, when I was interrupted by some strange force. At the same time, my wife suddenly stood from the bed and knelt as if to pray. I heard nothing from her lips, yet the room seemed darker than usual as if the blackness was swallowing us, whole."
Those idiots drank in my stories like parched alcoholics. I sense happy times in the future, I tell you. Now that my dreadful wife is out of the picture, I can be my true reckless self again! Nothing can go wrong in life now!
It's done! It's finally done! I have testified against my wife, and now she is gone forever! Oh, happy days... Herein lies the ingenious words that I fed to the jury:
"Last Saturday evening I was sitting by the fire when my wife suddenly asked me to go to bed. I told her I was going to pray first. When I went to do so, however, I found that I could not open my mouth to speak; as hard as I tried, no sound would come out! Then Martha, out of nowhere, came toward me, closing the space between us. At that moment, I feared for my soul as the darkness enveloped us both. I have no further memory of that night.
Sometime last week, I fetched an ox out of the woods in order to plow the fields. After taking a piss break, however, I found the animal lying down in the yard, moaning pitifully. When I attempted to make him stand, but him he could not rise. Instead, he dragged his hind legs as if they were broken or inhabilitated by some invisible force... It must have been Martha. She had to have known I was trying to get work done. The bitch was using black magic to hinder my production!
My cat was acting strangely last week as well, as if it were going to drop dead. Martha begged me to hit her in the head and put her out of her misery as if she were possessedd... I refused to comply, and the cat promptly recovered.
Yet again, I was trying to pray, when I was interrupted by some strange force. At the same time, my wife suddenly stood from the bed and knelt as if to pray. I heard nothing from her lips, yet the room seemed darker than usual as if the blackness was swallowing us, whole."
Those idiots drank in my stories like parched alcoholics. I sense happy times in the future, I tell you. Now that my dreadful wife is out of the picture, I can be my true reckless self again! Nothing can go wrong in life now!
--Giles Corey
Bye Bye Martha
19 March 1692
Today, an arrest warrant was sent out for my overly-pious witch-wife, Martha. Good riddance, I say... That woman has not permitted me to do a single fun thing since we married. Hmph. She, my main source of annoyance over the past two years, will finally be put away, just as she deserves. Will I miss her? I might... but the one true woman I love is not Martha, but rather my young, adventurous life as a criminal. She changed me into somebody who I am not, and that is unforgivable. Hmph.
Today, an arrest warrant was sent out for my overly-pious witch-wife, Martha. Good riddance, I say... That woman has not permitted me to do a single fun thing since we married. Hmph. She, my main source of annoyance over the past two years, will finally be put away, just as she deserves. Will I miss her? I might... but the one true woman I love is not Martha, but rather my young, adventurous life as a criminal. She changed me into somebody who I am not, and that is unforgivable. Hmph.
--Giles Corey
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