Dorothy Good

Who is Dorothy Good?

Dorothy Good was the daughter of William Goode and Sarah Goode. Both Dorothy and her mother were accused of practicing witchcraft in Salem at the very beginning of the Salem witch trials in 1692. Only four years old at the time, she was interrogated by the local magistrates and confessed to being a witch, and claimed that she had seen her mother consorting with the devil.

Mary Walcott and Ann Putnam Jr. claimed she was deranged, and repeatedly bit them as if she were an animal. Dorothy, incorrectly written as "Dorcas" on the warrant for her arrest, received a brief hearing in which the accusers repeatedly complained of bites on their arms. She was then convicted and sent to jail, becoming at age five the youngest person to be jailed during the Salem Witch Trials. Two days later, she was visited by Salem officials. She claimed she owned a snake—given to her by her mother—that talked to her and sucked blood from her finger. The officials took this to mean it was her "familiar," which is defined as a witch’s spiritual servant.

Dorothy was in custody for nearly 9 months, from March 24, 1692, when she was arrested until she was released on bond for £50 on December 10, 1692.