The murky mystery of Tophet Swamp

Swamps were not only dwelling places for Indians, but were also places of Shaman ritual, and during these rituals there would be shouting and yelling as well as beating of drums accompanied by singing and dancing, he said. The fire from the swamps could be due not only to bonfires but also to swamp gas, which produces luminous, floating lights, he added. For Minister Cotton Mather, son of Increase, all this activity taking place in fiery swamps convinced him that these rituals were “diabolical” and a form of devil worship, he said.