Signing the Devil's Book

In Puritan theology, a person made a covenant with the Devil by signing, or making their mark, in the Devil's book "with pen and ink." Only with such signing did a person actually become a witch and gain demonic powers, such as appearing in spectral form to do harm to another. In testimony in the Salem witch trials, finding an accuser who could testify that the accused had signed the Devil's book, or getting a confession from the accused that she or he had signed it, was an important part of the examination.