Parts VI and VII trace the moment Salem's local panic becomes a legal machine, and then a colony-wide catastrophe. With the charter revoked and Massachusetts lacking a functioning high court, the early proceedings unfold through improvised inquests run by local magistrates, marked by public spectacle, presumption of guilt, and the dangerous absence of procedural restraints. Accusations multiply, and the evidentiary foundation is dangerously elastic: hearsay, gossip, and rumor flow into the record; defendants have no counsel; and spectral evidence is treated as proof, even though it can only be perceived by the afflicted. Written depositions, often recorded by deeply interested parties, become the backbone of the case file, and the process rewards confession and accusation while punishing denial. The episode follows the key early turning points, i ...