Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts
Bill O'Reilly
With over 19 million copies in print and a remarkable record of #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestsellers, Bill O'Reilly's Killing series is the most popular series of narrative histories in the world. Killing the Witches revisits one of the most frightening and inexplicable episodes in American history: the events of 1692 and 1693 in Salem Village, Massachusetts. What began as a mysterious affliction of two young girls who suffered violent fits and exhibited strange behavior soon spread to other young women. more
291 pages, Hardcover
First published St. Martin's Press
3.76
Rating
6750
Ratings
881
Reviews
Bill O'Reilly
59 books 2892 followers
Bill O'Reilly's success in broadcasting and publishing is unmatched. The iconic anchor of The O'Reilly Factor led the program to the status of the highest rated cable news broadcast in the nation for sixteen consecutive years. His website BillOReilly.com is followed by millions all over the world.In addition, he has authored an astonishing 12 number one ranked non-fiction books including the historical "Killing" series. Mr. O'Reilly currently has 17 million books in print.
Bill O'Reilly has been a broadcaster for 42 years. He has been awarded three Emmys and a number of other journalism accolades. He was a national correspondent for CBS News and ABC News as well as a reporter-anchor for WCBS-TV in New York City, among other high-profile jobs.
Mr. O'Reilly received two other Emmy nominations for the movies "Killing Kennedy" and "Killing Jesus."
He holds a history degree from Marist College, a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University, and another master’s degree from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Bill O'Reilly lives on Long Island where he was raised. His philanthropic enterprises have raised tens of millions for people in need and wounded American veterans.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/billor...
Community reviews
Woo boy, this book is a hot mess. I mean, I can't say that I'm surprised, considering that Bill O'Reilly is a "coauthor" (I use that term quite loosely, because I'm sure he didn't write much except that disgusting "author's note. ") And I know that the "Killing" series is history lite, and that's putting it kindly. These books are not targeted to people who actually know much of anything about the history of the events they purport to discuss. I absolutely despise that this book is written in present tense. more
45% of the book was about the Salem witch trials it was very interesting and what I was interested in. The second 45% of the book was basically a story about the founding fathers the 13 original colonies and the rise to independence. The last 10% of the book was about the original story That inspired the book in the movie the exorcist. While all of it was interesting and worth reading. I was disappointed that only the first 45% approximately was actually about the Salem witch trials. more
"I am no more a witch than you are a wizard. And if you take away my life, God will give you blood to drink. " And so begins the fascinating first half of this book. I am thoroughly impressed with the writing and information presented throughout the first half. It focuses solely on the witch trials themselves and the people most closely involved. more
This felt like the lightning round of facts about the Salem Witch Trials. It was a fairly easy read but it was just so all over the place. Once history had moved far enough along to get beyond the trials it became a history lesson about the founders of our country and their push towards the Declaration of Independece. Finally a strange final telling of demonic possession. I can see the effort to bring it all back around but I was just glad to get to the last page and put it away. more
Should’ve been titled “Killing Five Hours of My Time” (I should have given up after 3). The authors give you the Cliff’s Notes version of the Salem witch trials in a couple of chapters and next thing you know, you’re in Philadelphia with Ben Franklin. There are literally hundreds of excellent books out there about Salem. Keep looking, cuz this isn’t one of them. . more
I just HAD to write a review on this one because it was the most random book I have ever read. It's pretty much split into three parts:1). The Salem Witch Trials (as advertised. )2). An extension of Killing England and all about the Founding Fathers (random)3). more
for a book about the salem witch trials, not a whole lot about the salem witch trials. more
If you are at all versed in the Salem witch trials or even just aware of them at all, stay far far away from this book as it is an abhorrent mess. The chronology of the small section actually about the Salem witch trials jumps back and forth in a way that doesn’t make much sense. It feels odd and a bit suspicious that the title of this book is “Killing the Witches” and yet maybe 30% of the book is about the Salem witch trials. Additionally, the writers of this book make bold assertions about how individuals such as Tituba or the afflicted felt and it ignores a lot of the information or lack thereof in previous texts and documents to support some of the claims made such as motives for accusations. This entire book feels like a weird contrived justification for the ridiculous and unsurprising author’s note at the end. more
As a huge fan of the series, I was so ready to read this that I preordered it and got the audiobook. And it was good… until it wasn’t. It’s easiest to describe in 3 parts: 1: Salem2: Revolutionary War America 3: The ExorcistPart 1 was excellent. I learned a lot about Salem and I even rented The Crucible. It was an excellent read about puritans and witches, the trials, the Mayflower, and societal hysteria. more
I really liked this book. It reads like a Stephen King horror novel, only it’s true. Salem, Mass. 1692, pre-teen and teenage girls start accusing townspeople of being witches. Mainly women at first. more
So this one is tough to rate. I totally get what the negative reviewers are saying. The title is a little misleading in the fact that the whole book does not cover the Salem witch trials. Only the first half of the book is about that topic. I'd say the book as a whole is more about religion and beliefs and how extreme those things can become. more
I originally thought this wasn't bad. However, once I got past the ACTUAL Salem Witch Trials, I was left wondering, "SO WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES THE US REVOLUTION HAVE TO DO WITH THIS. " Sure, I read it, but it's not what I expected. The present-tense writing style wasn't my favorite either. And then we get the most random part of all: the real-life story of The Exorcist. more
I’ve known about the Salem witch trials, but O’Reilly has researched and explained it all in one book. I was shocked and amazed at what happened due to unreliable accusations. The last part of the book is about the colonies break from England, the fight for religious freedom, and the Constitution. There’s also a chapter of the basis for The Exorcist. For all the info to be learned from this book, the most important quotes are found in the Author’s Note at the end…“ Today there is a new kind of witch hunt. more
This book was an absolute disappointment. I teach The Crucible, so I was excited to learn even more actual history than I already know. A third of the way through the book that ended, and I was back in US History class/watching Hamilton and then segued into The Exorcist. Where were the transitions. Why was it called Killing the Witches when that was only one-third of the book. more
Fascinating read. Only about 100 pages are about the actual witch trials as he adds in so much history leading up to them, then after telling how religion continued to shape government and policies. The witch trials of 1692 are rather horrific as over 200 people were imprisoned and 20 hung because they would not admit they were a witch. Young girls claimed they were tormented by these people’s ghosts and the girls would convulse and thrash during the trials. The book doesn’t talk much about why these girls were doing this, but some say they were suffering from hysteria and no one knew how to deal with it. more
A very interesting history of the Salem witch trials… truly unbelievable it happened. . more
Disappointing to be honest. For a book named after and advertised as about the Salem Witch Trials, that only took up half the story. It was also information that is widely known…. So I really learnt nothing new. The third quarter was all about Benjamin Franklin and what he was doing and then somehow changed again about a quarter from the end and gave the story of the boy who inspired the book and movie The Exorcist 🤷🏼♀️In the Author’s Note, they tried to bring everything together by mentioning certain “modern witch trials”, i. more
Very comprehensive and thought provoking. Links the witch hunts to modern times. more
Only half of the book is on the Salem Witch Trials. The Author's Note is asinine. more
How. HOW was this allowed to be published and printed as is. The first 144 pages, WERE indeed about the Salem Witch Trials, and were well-written, thought-provoking, and all served as informative take on a subject most know very little about. Then, it felt as if writers O'Reilly and Duggard said, "OH shit. Are we done already. more
The witches were done dirty AGAIN. The first half of this book was great, and then it ventured into old president territory. more
Very very interesting read. For those who love American history and the witch trials this is 100% the read for you. I enjoyed the deep dive into the witch trials themselves and then in the back half of the book it goes into more detail about how the trials shaped America and our constitution. I didn’t realize the lingering impact the trials had on the nation long after they were done. . more
Ok, so this book is called Killing the Witches, but while the first two hours were about Salem, the following five are about Ben Franklin and the Founding Fathers with some mentions of “oh look at this connection to Salem,” and concluding with the backstory of demonic possession and The Exorcist. Let’s not forget that in his Author’s Note O’Reilly casually remarks on the connections to modern “witch hunts” and “cancel culture” (of which he himself has been subjected to). Don’t say this book is about Salem and the witch hunts when you give that time period a visceral treatment at best. Boy, bye. . more
This book is full of information and detail. A very interesting read. . more
This has been my favorite non-fiction book I've read in a long time. I actually feel like I learned a lot of facts that I either don't remember from school-or was never taught. It held my attention and I read it in one day. more
I am related to half the people in this book I think. more
DNF Stopped somewhere in the Revolutionary War section and came to look at reviews because I was so confused as to why this book suddenly stopped being about the Salem Witch Trials. Turns out, I’m not the only one confused. This book gives a brief history of the Salem Witch Trials at a head-spinning pace before turning to a completely different topic of the Revolutionary War. . more
Ok. Alright. I’ve been sitting at 45% on this one for days…. Why. Because I don’t want my husband to be right. more
2. 5 I listened to the audio, and I thought this book was all over the place. Many of the facts and events I already knew, and I felt like you could learn them from more comprehensive and engaging sources. . more