Witch's Bridle

Warning! Although this article is based on canonical information, the actual name of this subject is conjectural.

Witch's Bridle
General Information
Type	Torture device
Belonging	Rev. Cotton Mather
Use	Restrain a possessed person from harming themselves or others

“	Though she cannot speak a name, she will show us the witch!	”
	— Cotton Mather inciting Mercy against the crowd

Witch's Bridle (also known as Scold's Bridle) is a torture device used for the purpose of restraint on people suffering from spectral attack.

Description

Witch's Bridle is a device used by witch hunters to prevent those possessed by demonic entities from the biting themselves and others, especially in public. The headpiece is an iron cage placed around the head of the unfortunate, tied and narrow with leather bindings like a muzzle. This hideous muzzle is then accompanied by a leather corset tied to a chain leash that is used by the witch hunter to restrain the prisoner, like a dog on a leash.

Throughout the Salem series

Season One

Cornered by the need to find new accused and quench the bloodlust fomented by witch-panic, Cotton Mather decided to use the bridle on Mercy Lewis when the latter became unable to disclose the names of witches through sorcery. This, however, did not keep her from pointing her finger and the reverend unleashed her on the streets of Salem where Mercy - under the influence of Mary Sibley - pointed the finger at Giles Corey after having torn with a bite the fingertip. (The Vow)

Mercy chained to the wooden beam

Exhausted and in the hands of terrible torments, Mercy Lewis was later hung from one of the Salem Church's beams, used as a witch-detector during interrogation. It was during the process of Bridget Bishop, who previously had shown compassion for the girl and disapproval toward the witch hunt, that Mary Sibley forced the chained girl to vomit blood and nails on the accused, condemning her to the gallows. (The Stone Child)

Following these traumatic events and the apparent recovery of Mercy Lewis, she is visited at home by her friends including Dollie Trask and Emily Hopkins, who convinced her to wear the bridle again to shake the citizens once more, and to accuse Emily's father out of revenge. At the public square, while imitating the possession and the girls held her on a leash, Mercy took a little revenge too by making Mary Sibley believe that she is going to accuse her before turning abruptly to run like a possessed towards Mr. Hopkins. (Lies)

Memorable Quotes

Emily Hopkins: "What's it like? To point your finger and make them shake and tremble with fear."

Dollie Trask: "It's like the great flowing robe of the Pope."

Elizabeth: "Or the jeweled-up crown of a king."

Mercy Lewis: "Well, it's quite disagreeable on... I assure you."

Mercy's peers (mocking Cotton's words): "Though she cannot speak a name, she will show us the witch!"

Mary Sibley (to Cotton Mather): "That girl has gone mad with power. Encouraged by her peers, influenced by petty dispute. The selectmen fear that she's no longer reliable."

— Lies

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Gallery

Trivia

• Although this device was never named on the show, nor in any other way, Scold's Bridle, Witch's Bridle and Brank's Bridle are common names historically used to refer to the said object.
• A Scold's bridle was a torture device used against women accused of adultery, witchcraft, etc. The woman’s tongue was pressed down by a spiked plate that prevented her from speaking or eating while wearing the headpiece. Once locked by a padlock, the muzzle forced the condemned to swallow her own blood gushed from the tongue wounded by the hook. She would then be led across the streets on a chain leash (normally held by her husband) while being humiliated and beaten by townsfolk.
  • A similar device was known as "Mask of Infamy", and was used as a form of humiliation for criminals in both Europe and the Colonies.
  • In North America, according to the testimony of Olaudah Equiano, an iron muzzle with bridle was used on the plantations as a coercive measure for African slaves throughout the XVIII century.
• In one of the promos released for the second season, Mercy Lewis beats with a hammer on the mask, obtaining a disturbing crown that she eventually wears.
• During an interview at San Diego Comic Con 2016, Seth Gabel told how difficult it was to shoot scenes of Mercy on a leash. Elise Eberle, in fact, was in danger of being hit by a frightened goat except that he had handled the leash as he held in check the fence with his foot.
• Adam Simon and Brannon Braga were both impressed by the acting abilities of Elise Eberle in working the scenes while she was bridled. At first they had thought to hire a stunt double for those scenes or even hire a contortionist. This, too, has been recently revealed at San Diego Comic Con.