Did Cotton Mather Believe In Witchcraft?
Did Cotton Mather Believe In Witchcraft? He combined a mystical strain (he believed in the existence of witchcraft) with a modern scientific interest (he supported smallpox inoculation). The son of Increase Mather and the grandson of John Cotton and Richard Mather, Cotton Mather lived all his life in Boston. Why did the Puritans fear witchcraft?