What type of evidence was banned after the trials?

Spectral evidence was the type of evidence banned from the later proceedings after the Salem witch trials. It consisted of testimony that an accused person’s spirit or apparition had attacked someone in a dream, vision, or fit.

This evidence was especially dangerous because the alleged specter was invisible to everyone except the afflicted witness. At Salem, accusers described seeing suspected witches torment them, pinch them, bite them, or appear alongside the Devil. Magistrates initially accepted such testimony, even though it could not be independently verified.

Criticism grew when ministers and other observers argued that the Devil might impersonate an innocent person. Increase Mather famously urged caution, arguing that it was better for suspected witches to escape than for one innocent person to be condemned. Governor William Phips dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer in October 1692, and the new court instructed judges to disregard spectral evidence in the remaining cases.

The ban did not instantly erase every conviction or end belief in witchcraft. It changed the legal standard: the visions of accusers could no longer carry the same weight. The resulting trials produced far more acquittals, helping bring the Salem prosecutions to an end.