Massachusetts settlers led difficult lives; every player in the Salem drama endured hardships barely imaginable today. Mercy Short, one of the €œbewitched€ girls, watched as Indians butchered her parents; Puritan minister Cotton Mather outlived all but three of his fifteen children. Such tragedies shaped behavior and, as Foulds argues, ultimately played a part in the witch hunt€s outcome. A compelling €œwho€s who€ to Salem witchcraft, Death in Salem profiles each of these historical personalities as it asks: Why was this person targeted?