Mary Webster
Encyclopedia
Mary Webster was accused of witchcraft
in the 1680s in Puritan
Hadley, Massachusetts
, and sentenced to be hanged
from a tree in 1685. According to one of several accounts, she was left hanging all night. It is known that when she was cut down she was still alive and lived for another 11 years. She was an ancestor
of Canadian
author Margaret Atwood
, who made Webster the subject of her poem
"Half-Hanged Mary," and dedicated her novel The Handmaid's Tale
to her.
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
in the 1680s in Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
Hadley, Massachusetts
Hadley, Massachusetts
Hadley is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. The population was 4,793 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area around Hampshire Mall and Mountain Farms Mall along Route 9 is a major shopping destination for the surrounding...
, and sentenced to be hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
from a tree in 1685. According to one of several accounts, she was left hanging all night. It is known that when she was cut down she was still alive and lived for another 11 years. She was an ancestor
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
of Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
author Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
, who made Webster the subject of her poem
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
"Half-Hanged Mary," and dedicated her novel The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel, a work of science fiction or speculative fiction, written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and first published by McClelland and Stewart in 1985...
to her.