It might be, too, that a witch, like old Mistress Hibbins, the bitter-tempered widow of the magistrate, was to die upon the gallows. In either case, there was very much the same solemnity of demeanour on the part of the spectators; as befitted a people amongst whom religion and law were almost identical . . . — Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
The superstitious mind is a powerful thing. It manages fear and apprehension. (more…)