I love digging into the original court transcripts and the town’s ledgers—they’re surprisingly clear about the names, the dates, and the little details that modern retellings often gloss over. The numbers line up: 20 people were executed, 7 hanged, 7 pressed, 2 died of disease, and a handful were imprisoned. What most sensational stories add is the dramatic flair: the spectral evidence, the “witch light” in the woods, the idea that a single accusation could bring down an entire community. Those elements were real to some, but they’re also amplified by later writers and movies looking for a ghostly plot. So the core facts are solid, but the mythos around them is much taller than the original records would suggest.