Mistress Hibbins

Mistress Hibbins is Governor Bellingham’s sister and a witch. Anne Hibbins was a real person in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and was executed as a witch in 1656. Whether she was a witch or not remains a question of history, but Nathaniel Hawthorne seems to fall squarely on the yes-she-is-a-witch side. You can learn more about the historical Anne Hibbins here.