Elizabeth Howe lived near the Salem-Topsfield border, the same region from which the Towne sisters (Rebecca Nurse, Mary Easty, Sarah Cloyce) came. She was a woman of excellent character and intelligence. Elizabeth, it is believed, was accused because she was related, by marriage, to a family that opposed the Putnams. When Mercy Lewis and Mary Walcott fell into fits and Ann Putnam said she had hurt her three times, Elizabeth replied, "If it was the lst moment I was to live, God knows I am innocent of anything in this nature." She managed to keep her composure while Ann Putnam showed a pin stuck into her hand, Abigail Williams displayed "great prints" on her arm where she had been pinched, and Mary Warren "violently fell down" when Elizabeth glanced at her. She pointed out that she had never heard of any of the girls before her arrest, but this did her no more good than it had done the others who claimed it.

While in jail, a number of despositions were collected from her neighbors, cliaming she had bewitched their cows, horses, and children. Several despositions were gathered in her favor, however, especially on form the minister of Rowley township. The reverend testifies to being in the room while Elizabeth questioned one of the children she had "bewitched." The desposition states that Elizabeth took the girl by the hand and asked whether she had ever done her any hurt, to which the child replied, "No, never, and if I did complain of you in my fits I know not that I did so." Even more revealing, however, is the claim that during the interview, the girl's brother stood outside the window and called, "Say Goodwife Howe is a witch, say she is a witch."

Elizabeth Howe was hanged on Gallows Hill, July 19, 1692.