To Cry Witch centers around the Carrier Family of Andover, Massachusetts, whose lives were irrevocably entangled with a devastating period of history in colonial New England: the Salem witch trials of 1692.

Martha Carrier (née Allen) was born in the mid-17th century and married Thomas Carrier, a Welsh immigrant, in 1674. Together, they had five children: Richard, Andrew, Sarah, Thomas Jr., and Hannah. The family is known to have lived on the margins of Puritan society, both geographically and socially. Thomas, previously known as Thomas Morgan, was rumored to be 6 ft 7, and was supposed to have fled to America after acting as the executioner of King Charles I. Martha, strong-willed and outspoken, is noted to have taken on responsibilities and voiced opinions uncommon for women of the time. In a rigid, patriarchal culture that prized conformity and silence, especially from women, this alone made her suspect.

Leading up to the events of 1692, the Carrier family endured tragedy at the hands of a smallpox outbreak that ravaged Andover, killing Martha’s father, her two brothers, and so many other family and neighbors. In a community desperate to explain disease, death, and misfortune, Martha’s strong nature and sharp tongue were twisted into evidence of malice and supernatural threat. When accusations of witchcraft spread outward from Salem into surrounding towns, Andover became one of the hardest hit, and Martha Carrier was quickly named.

Today, the story of the Carrier family stands as a harrowing tale of a family pushed beyond its limits.