Witch Hunting from Salem to San Jose: Dorothy Good and Arely Proctor

The Stories of Two Children, Dorothy Good and Arely Proctor, Wrongfully Accused of Diabolical Alignment in 1692 and 2021

Winifred Benham and her daughter also named Winifred of Wallingford Connecticut were the last persons wrongfully accused of the felony crime of witchcraft under Colonial laws of that time in the colonies of Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut in 1697. However, accusations of “witchcraft” against innocent people thought to be in league with the devil have continued in differing forms throughout the centuries, often with sad and deadly consequences. There exists striking parallels between those accused and their circumstances in the modern day and those who suffered centuries ago.

One such parallel includes the superstitious belief that a person has a spirit or demon that can come forth from their physical body. People who lived in colonial times in New England believed that if a person had signed the devil’s book, then, with the devil’s permission, that person would be able to send their spirit, image or specter to affect another person or manipulate their environment. The specter could, as was believed, cause sickness or death to another person, their animals or wreak havoc to their harvest. Though Doctors were available at that time, they did not have knowledge of the myriad of diagnoses that we do today. If a doctor couldn’t make a diagnosis, he said the person was bewitched. Bewitchment was a reality to the English immigrants who lived over 300 years ago. This belief was ingrained in the most educated and members of the highest social class to the lowest social class. Today, there remains a belief in many religions and cultures that a person’s physical body can be invaded by an evil spirit. This demon could cause them to behave in a way detrimental to themselves and to another person’s physical body. Those who believe another person to be possessed are definitely missing a valid, alternative reason for this person’s behavior: a medical diagnosis on those they believe suffer from demonic possession. Rather than search for the actual cause, they seek to expel that demon with often dire consequences.

Then there are the traumatic circumstances causing an aftermath for persons accused which are heartbreaking beyond comprehension.

Let’s travel back to 1692 at Massachusetts Bay Colony in the county of Essex, New England.

Salem Village, though still a part of the bustling merchant seaport town of Salem, Massachusetts Bay, was a smaller section located more inland and inhabited by about 550 farmers. Today, Salem Village is known as the busy town of Danvers, housing the 385 year old pear tree, named for John Endecott, former Governor of Massachusetts Bay. It currently sits in a small fenced area off the side of a roadway too busy for travellers to notice today.

Endecott PearTree Without its Pears.
Photo by the Author

In 1692 one can picture Salem Village as a vast area including 20 square miles of meadows, valleys, swamps and woods too scary to travel at night alone, even with a lantern.

More importantly, Danvers is home to the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, the only house that survives from 1692 where someone lived who was hanged for witchcraft in that year.

Rebecca Nurse Homestead
Danvers, Massachusetts, USA
Photo by the Author

Dorothy Good was between the ages of 4 and 5 when she was arrested for the capital crime of witchcraft in March of 1692 at Salem. You see, men drew up legal complaints against Dorothy for unknown reasons. However, her Mother, Sarah, a beggar who was the victim of dire circumstances through no fault of her own was also arrested for the same crime as her young child. When Dorothy was arrested on March 23rd, her Mother had already been sent to the Boston jail. So Dorothy had to defend herself by herself after being delivered to the local Tavern in Salem Village. It was there where she awaited her pre-trial examination.

Nathaniel Ingersol Tavern
Danvers, Massachusetts, USA.
Photo by the Author

Dorothy was questioned before the magistrates the following day. Most definitely a frightening experience for someone so young and alone. Dorothy’s accusers flailed about and screamed accusations against her, saying that Dorothy gave the devil permission to send her spirit to bite, choke and pinch them as her physical being stood by the front of the room. One can imagine the magistrates’ booming voices as they asked her leading questions which Dorothy was forced to answer, probably scared half to death.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the actual transcript of Dorothy’s first examination, but we know the magistrates believed there was enough evidence against her to hold her over for trial. This is because of an existing document which states that Dorothy was questioned a 2nd time at the jail keepers house after she was sent to the Salem jail. Dorothy was most likely questioned this time by the same magistrates.

The jails in those days were no Hilton Hotels, for sure. The Salem jail was a wooden structure and like the jails of that time in Massachusetts, had floors covered in dirt and human excrement, windows covered with iron bars. Mice and lice were Dorothy’s roommates with adults pleading to God and conversing with each other. Sickness prevailed along with the horrid smell of stale tobacco. It was bitter cold in the winter and extremely hot in the summer.

Salem Witch Jail Marker
Salem, Massachusetts, USA
Photo by the Author

Very low grade food was provided. However, If Dorothy wanted something half way decent to eat, it would have had to have been delivered to her by a family member, along with other necessities as blankets, or a stool. No evidence exists that this happened for her, probably because her father was too poor to offer such provisions.

Since it was believed that iron contained magical properties that prevented those believed to be “witches” from being able to send their images to bewitch others, Little Dorothy wore iron shackles that were specially made for her; her father was expected to pay that expense.

With no more room at the Salem jail to house the influx of people accused of witchcraft, Dorothy was transferred to the Boston jail on April 12th. The only good thing was that she was reunited with her mother. Dorothy would have probably witnessed the death of Roger Toothaker, a middle aged man awaiting trial accused for the same crime. A man who could not withstand the conditions of the jail. Then suddenly, Dorothy’s mother was ripped away from her for the final time. Sarah was brought back to the Salem jail just before she was hanged on July 19th. The gut wrenching fear as her mother left Dorothy for the final time is something one can only imagine, if they dare.

Sarah Good Memorial Marker
Proctor’s Ledge,
Salem, Massachusetts, USA
Photo by the Author

Dorothy languished in jail until December 10th when Samuel Ray posted a 50 pound bond for her release, promising to ensure her appearance at a future court date. That appearance, thankfully, never happened, and Dorothy’s life was spared.

Did she go live with Samuel Ray for a short time? One can’t be sure.

Twenty years later, William stated in his petition for restitution for Sarah, Dorothy and her infant, unnamed sister who died in the Boston jail was that Dorothy was “so hardly used and terrified that she hath ever since been very chargeable having little or no reason to govern herself.” The £30 the court chose to award William in 1712 was to be paid to Deacon Benjamin Putnam, with whom Dorothy had most likely resided beginning four years prior.

Though Dorothy’s physical body survived, her spirit, no doubt, was transformed in ways that became a detriment to herself and her children, for sure. When she wasn’t contained within the Putnam, Hutchinson and Batchelder households respectively, she wandered. Dorothy found her way to Concord, Massachusetts where she gave birth to her son, William, before most likely making her way to New London, Connecticut where a woman with her name was found dead by a bog meadow in 1746.

Similarly, one can only imagine the life of Arely Proctor today, if she had not died in May of 2021.

Arely lived with her mother in San Jose. San Jose is the 3rd largest city with the most people living within its boundaries in the state of California. Housed in Silicon Valley located just southeast of San Francisco, San Jose is known for its high tech industry and considered a safe place to live.

Like Dorothy Good centuries before, 3 year old Arely was believed to have been aligned with the devil. The reason was because she started to exhibit strange behavior.

As with Dorothy, Arely was not protected by the adults whom she counted on for survival. Instead of getting the girl the immediate care she needed, Arely’s mother, Claudia Hernandez Santos, who had no medical training and lacked proper decision making to help her child, decided to take matters into her own hands. This was done with the assistance of Arely’s equally incapable uncle, Rene Hernandez Santos Jr.

But here lies the problem.

During police interviews, neither Claudia nor Rene Jr described detailed physical symptoms of what Arely actually experienced. Both simply said, particularly her mother, that Arely behaved as usual when she ate dinner at a local restaurant earlier that evening. After returning home, the usually calm Arely turned quick tempered when she screamed that she wanted a shirt. Arely then opened her closet door and tossed all of her shirts out in the open.

Claudia placed Arely in the shower when she noticed that something in Arely’s eyes didn’t seem quite right. Arely’s eyes, as Claudia informed the police, had gone blank. Even after her mother told the girl she loved her, Arely responded with a blank stare.

After Arely was washed, she unexpectedly fell asleep, nestled between Claudia and Rene Jr in her mother’s bed.

This was unusual for Arely because she never drifted off immediately after being put to bed. It’s not known why Rene Jr was sleeping in the same bed as Claudia. Court documents suggest that Rene stayed with his sister to help Claudia on her spiritual journey.

Then Arely woke up screaming and asked for milk, which she refused to drink once it was offered. This also was a red flag to her mother that all was not right with Arely.

The cycle of falling asleep and waking up screaming continued for Arely.

Instead of calling for medical assistance, Claudia and Rene Jr, both on a spiritual journey to return to God, believed that they needed to “pray” to rid the perceived demon from Arely’s body.

These prayer sessions, which were actually violent exorcisms, started at Claudia’s apartment as she and Rene Jr emptied the bedroom of all furniture, except the bed and a trashcan. Why the bed remained is unknown. Based on a movie that Claudia and Rene Jr had seen, they took on the belief that objects could also become possessed. However, they retrieved the trashcan and held Arely parallel to the floor as they both stuck fingers down her throat so she would vomit out the demon. Which she didn’t. Not that evening, anyhow.

The duo continued to try to pull the demon from Arely until the early morning with Arely fighting hard, screaming “No!” countless times, biting their fingers, refusing to vomit and fighting to stay alive. In fact, they noticed that her face was turning red with what was probably broken blood vessels, and that she was unresponsive at times.

Between 6 and 7AM the following morning, Claudia and Rene Jr decided to take Arely to the church to continue the exorcisms, eventually calling for Claudia’s father, Rene Trigueros Hernandez Sr, the pastor of that church, to come and assist the violence. The reason he was called was because Arely was too strong for them to restrain so they could induce her vomiting. Also, since she had nothing to eat since the previous night at the restaurant, there was nothing for her to vomit.

Sadly, upon his arrival, Rene Sr didn’t intervene to stop the Excorcism, which he very easily could have done and saved his Granddaughter. Instead of using reason to stop the madness, he joined in. All three adults subscribed to the belief that they were attacking the demon inside Arely. Not Arely herself.

At about 6PM that night, Arely succumbed to her injuries, after other family members and friends were contacted and before the paramedics arrived. Her death was ruled by the coroner as Homicide by asphyxiation, after hours of having her neck, torso and legs restrained, while fingers were forced down her throat. Breaks taken were only long enough for the adults to contemplate their actions and change positions.

One can also question the whereabouts of both Arely’s father during her last hours, and Dorothy’s father when she needed him the most.

Based on William’s testimony against his own wife, Sarah Good, as stated earlier, there seemed to be no love lost between them just before Sarah hanged. Afterall, Sarah is described in many sources as having a temper, cursing those under her breath when they didn’t offer the charity for which she asked, as she made her way from house to house and barn to barn around town to keep herself and her children safe. However, one might surmise that Sarah took out her anger at William and blamed him for not providing for his family.

Based on the existing court documents in 1692 regarding Dorothy’s case, one might gather that William did not provide for Dorothy while she was in jail. In fact, His whereabouts seem to be unknown at the time of this article. What we know based on the existing documents is that her own father most likely did not rescue Dorothy from jail, as stated earlier.

As with Dorothy, Arely’s father, Shamar Proctor, was not present when Arely needed her most. Court documents don’t offer an explanation as to why he was absent. In fact, court documents don’t even slightly hint of his whereabouts during the exorcism. What the records do reveal is that Shamar had a conversation with Rene Jr telling him the details of his daughter’s death, which was recorded by the police. Unfortunately, we probably won’t know anymore regarding Shamar’s involvement, or lack thereof, until this case goes to trial.

Claudia, Rene Jr and Rene Sr have all been charged with Causing great bodily injury to a child under 8 years old resulting in a comatose like state and death. They each face 25 years to life with the possibility of parole.

The next court date is set for March 19th, 2025 when Judge Hanley Chew sets the trial date.

One can only imagine the life Arely would be living today.

Maybe Arely, who would now be in second grade, would have been placed in a loving home with adults who would have given her the needed foundation to grow and make a difference in the world.

In the same way, one can only imagine how differently Dorothy’s life would have turned out if someone cared enough to save her from the horrific abuse she suffered early on. Maybe she would have married and had more children, which might have kept her grounded and increased her social status.

Sources:

Trask, Richard, What a Pear: A Brief History of the Endecott Pear Tree. Online beginning October, 2013.