1) Don't forget King Phillips War 1676, in which perhaps 10% of the approx. 70,000 New England settlers lost their lives, while around 50% of their homes were destroyed (meanwhile, the New England Native American population was decimated). This first and foremost put everyone on edge. It was a shocking violation of the 50 year peace between Massasoit's confederation and the Puritans (m.o.l. represented by the "First Thanksgiving")
2) In those times, marriage and large families were seen as the highly desired norm, means to salvation, and "sexy", while spinsters were viewed w mistrust. Pilgrims "hedged their bets" by beliefs in pagan witchcraft, right alongside Christianity. Archeologists in Plymouth found jars of urine buried beneath doorsteps (to scare witches). For some reason, some 1400s-1600s spinsters were dragged into court for "bewitching" farm animals etc (you can look this up). Most received a kind of suspended sentence, as magistrates seemed to partly laugh it off.
3) Its interesting that Cotton Mather was a kind of proto "scientist" (he was among first to administer smallpox "inoculations", experimented w plant hybridization). Apparently, he thought there was some scientific mechanism for Satan's manifestations (perhaps not unlike today's "possession" and "exorcism"), and took one of the affected children into his home for study. He was not directly involved in the Witch Trials, but his reputation suffered more than anyone's.
4) Mass hysteria, yes, but perhaps also the prelude to the "First Great Awakening" in early 1700s (the beginnings of the sort of big-tent "hallelujah" stuff that America is famous for). Mather and others were concerned that the world was going to Hell, and Christianity was losing its grip. In genealogy, one can see that the meticulous record-keeping of the 1600s gives way to relatively haphazard 1700s stuff...indeed, Christianity was losing its grip, about to give way to a sort of modern faith-based Evangelicalism (counter to Puritanism, which was "works" based, about to be eclipsed).
5) Yes, interesting the parallels to today, many falling back on conspiratorial Evangelical snake-oil as a supposed response to feminism/LGBT (the kind of spinster/witch of yore?). I note that Alex Jones and others are pushing questionable remedies on the side.
https://scottvern.medium.com/trump-republicans-are-a-front-for-snake-oil-salesmen-dbe4af972f0b
https://scottvern.medium.com/smallpox-prevention-was-feared-in-1721-today-its-mrna-44b69b2529a3
https://medium.com/p/da6d9fbefd0f
https://scottvern.medium.com/were-early-american-colonists-living-in-a-blue-zone-5f3e233cf462
