Martha Corey, wife of Giles Corey, was the first member of Salem Village Church to be arrested for witchcraft. Sixty-five years of age and known the be pious, she nevertheless had a stain on her reputation. She had once borne an illegitimate, mulatto child. Her husband was forced to testify at her trial about a comment made in passing that Martha's passing had interrupted his prayers. Her outspoken skepticism of the existence of witches in Salem, however, may have been the comment that jogged the memory of Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, as the remark had been made sometime in the past.

Martha Corey was hanged on Gallows Hill, September 22, 1692.