Salem Witches the Focus of Bill O’Reilly ‘Killing’ Book

Much has been said and written about the gruesome witch trials and executions in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 and 1693 and now Bill O'Reilly has had his say.

The 12th installment in the Killing series by radio, TV and internet journalist Bill O'Reilly and co-author Martin Dugard is Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts.

The book, released by MacMillan Publishers in September 2023, will likely be a success, just like the others in the series.

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For all of you Bill O'Reilly haters, the man is a noted and respected historian with over 19 million copies of his Killing series books in print. According to Google Books, "Bill O'Reilly's Killing series is the most popular series of narrative histories in the world."

Google Books writes, "Killing the Wtiches revisits one of the most frightening and inexplicable episodes in American history: the events of 1692 and 1693 in Salem Village, Massachusetts." 

Google Books says "more than 200 people were accused" of being witches. Of them, "Thirty were found guilty, twenty were executed, and others died in jail or their lives were ruined."

Killing the Witches traces the irrational fear of witches to 16th century Scotland, across the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Mayflower, and into the "new world" as Puritans from Europe established colonies in what would become Massachusetts.

Because of its history, Salem, Massachusetts, has become a tourist draw, especially around Halloween. The Salem witch has become a caricature but remember, those who perished, many burned alive, were real people.

The books in the Killing series are generally quick and easy to read but are always exciting, making them page-turners. 

I'm not pitching books for Bill O'Reilly here, I'm just simply alerting you to a new book and local history that I think you will find interesting.

The O'Reilly Update can be heard on weekdays at noon on WBSM.