Mary Webster

Who was Mary Webster?

Mary Webster, a resident of Puritan Hadley, Massachusetts, was accused of witchcraft in 1684, and acquitted. Later, she was hanged from a tree by some residents of Hadley. According to one of several accounts, she was left hanging all night. It is known that when she was cut down she was still alive and lived for another 14 years. Canadian author Margaret Atwood, who believed Mary to be her ancestor, made Webster the subject of her poem "Half-Hanged Mary," and dedicated her novel, The Handmaid's Tale, to her. However, no records exist of her having children.