Devil on the New Hampshire Coast: The "Lithobolia" Incident of 1682 with Marc Callis

On the night of June 11, 1682, the tavern of George and Alice Walton on Great Island, New Hampshire (current-day Newcastle, just outside of Portsmouth) was mysteriously pelted with stones. The pelting continued for the entire night. This would prove not to be an isolated incident – similar assaults occurred throughout the entire summer. No human was ever witnessed throwing stones. But that was not all. Bricks and other objects joined the stones, some of which were red-hot; farm equipment was destroyed; and as if that weren't enough, stones were even reported flying through the air inside the tavern. The locals began to suspect the supernatural. Counter-magic was cast and there was talk of witches and demons. One witness dubbed the phenomenon the "lithobolia" or "the stone-throwing devil." 

During our conversation, we will explore this fascinating, yet little-known incident that took place a full decade before the more famous Salem Witchcraft Hysteria in Massachusetts Bay. We will look into the underlying belief system that led people to dismiss the notion that it had to be humans throwing the rocks, and entertain explanations more ethereal in nature. 

We will explore a community rocked by growing pains, as more and more Europeans crowded the frontier, American Indians began to assert themselves, and, perhaps most importantly, a majority-Anglican community that tolerated other Christian belief systems came under pressure from Puritan settlers who relocated to the colony from Massachusetts Bay–and attempted both to incorporate their new home into Massachusetts Bay politically and force Puritan theological and religious norms onto their new neighbors.