Paranormal record / 1688

The Goodwin Children's Possession and the Hanging of Goody Glover

1688 · Boston, Massachusetts Bay (Dominion of New England), United States

30Partially documented Paranormal Other 31 sources 5 videos

Boston. Midsummer, 1688. Martha Goodwin, about 13, accused the family's washerwoman of stealing linen. The washerwoman's mother, an Irish-speaking widow known only as Goody Glover, answered her with "very bad language." Then the fits began. Four Goodwin children went deaf, dumb and blind by turns. Their jaws snapped out of joint. They barked like dogs and purred like cats. They flew like geese, toes barely touching the ground. A physician called it witchcraft. On 16 November 1688, Goody Glover was hanged. The minister Cotton Mather watched the children with his own eyes and wrote it all down. His book became a handbook of what affliction looked like. Four years later, that behaviour reappeared at Salem.

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Key facts

When	1688 to 1689
Time of day	not recorded
Where	Boston, Massachusetts Bay (Dominion of New England),United States
Duration	months (fits began about midsummer 1688 and continued into 1689)
Witnesses	7
Witness roles	other
Found
Evidence	none confirmed
Investigations	Witchcraft trial before the court of the Dominion of New England, Boston, 1688
Status	disputed

The phenomenon

Four children suffered violent fits: deaf, dumb and blind by turns, tongues drawn down their throats, jaws and joints snapping out of place. They barked like dogs, purred like cats, and "would fly like Geese" with toes barely touching the ground. Unseen cudgels left red streaks; one girl rode an invisible horse.

Context

Boston, 1688. Massachusetts was ruled as part of the Dominion of New England, under the royal governor Edmund Andros. John Goodwin was a mason. His eldest son worked beside him at his trade. His youngest was still a baby at the breast.

Sources (31, most influential first)

Ann Glover · Wikipedia · Wiki, blog, podcast · wiki
Cotton Mather, Memorable Providences (excerpt) · Famous Trials · Academic / paper of record · academic
The last witch executed in Boston was an Irish speaker · The Irish Times· 2016-10-24 · Academic / paper of record · news
Ann Glover, Irish last witch hanged in Boston · IrishCentral· 2012 · Press, book, documentary · news
Before 1692: The Trial of Goody Glover · Salem Witch Museum· 2025-03-06 · Press, book, documentary · other

Reputability

30/100Partially documented

Keywords

People

Goody GloverIrish-speaking Catholic widow accused of witchcraft and hanged on 16 November 1688
Martha GoodwinEldest afflicted daughter, about 13, whose fits began the case
John GoodwinBoston mason, father of the afflicted children
Cotton MatherMinister who witnessed the fits, housed Martha and wrote Memorable Providences
Robert CalefBoston merchant and contemporary critic of the conviction
Samuel SewallDiarist whose diary is reportedly the only source dating the hanging
Joshua MoodeyMinister who wrote to Increase Mather about the case on 4 October 1688
Mr. WillisNeighbour in whose house one child flew about 20 foot

Names

Cotton Mather Salem