Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses murder, death by suicide, torture, and anti-Indigenous racism.

In Sutton, Connecticut in 1666, an ancient being in a pit at the base of a tree is awoken by whispering voices. This is the being who is later named Samson.

Meanwhile, Abitha, a farmer’s wife, chases Samson, a wayward goat. The goat eventually falls into a dark pit; when Abitha approaches the pit, she’s unnerved by the feeling that there’s a dark presence within, and she hears voices. She’s followed by her husband, Edward, who consoles her about the loss of the goat. They head back to their home, where they find Edward’s brother, Wallace, waiting for them. The conniving Wallace explains that he’s losing money on the tobacco he’s tried to grow, and in order to make the money back, he’s sold Edward’s farm to his lender, Lord Mansfield. Edward will, for the next 20 years, have to give half of his yields to Mansfield. Wallace is able to do this because the farm is technically in his name—he sold it to Edward, and Edward is still one season away from fully repaying his brother. Abitha is horrified by this and by her husband’s seeming passivity; she berates Wallace and is eventually forced to apologize for overstepping her place as a woman.