promised to resolve them. The unfaithful Rebecca Eames contended that he had assured her that “she should not be brought out or even discovered” if she would join him (Boyer and Nissenbaum, 1977, p. 282). To most, however, the Devil offered material rewards for their allegiance: “fine clothes” for Mary Bridges, Jr., Hannah Post, and Sarah Wardwell; and Sarah Hawkes “should have what she wanted.” (Boyer and Nissenbaum, 1977, p.135). Elizabeth Johnson and Mary Marston anticipated “happiness & joy.” (Boyer and Nissenbaum, 1977, 502). Mary Toothaker would no longer have to worry about Indian attacks; and Mary Lacey, Jr., expected “crowns in Hell.”(Boyer and Nissenbaum, 1977, p.768).
Joining the Devil, according to the confessors, involved two important rituals — signing his covenant and being baptized by him. The recruits provided their signatures in a variety of ways. Mary Lacey, Jr., and Mary Marston simply signed “with a pen dipped in ink.” (Boyer and Nissenbaum, 1977, p. 201). Sarah Hawkes made “a black scrawl or mark with a stick as a confirmation of the covenant.” (Boyer and Nissenbaum, 1977, p. 387). Once they had signed, the Devil took them either to a pond or a river and baptized them into the cult (Boyer and Nissenbaum, 1977, p. 71). Mercy Wardwell said that she had experienced the opposite extreme. The Devil baptized her in her home “in a pail of water in which he dipped her face.” (Boyer and Nissenbaum, 1977, p. 781). Regardless of the mode or place of baptism, the confessors agreed to renounce Christ and yield to Satan “soul & body.” (Boyer and Nissenbaum, 1977, p. 387).
Once in the Devil’s “Company,” the recruits were obligated to attend witch meetings. Several testified that they had met in Salem Village