I thought about that, too, MB, that Phyllis didn't have the clothes and charm bracelets and wild stories like Vicki did. But Angelique, being a witch, would turn the attention to the new girl in town, using her powers, spells and wiles to plant things and thoughts. The odd-girl-out, although totally innocent, had no defense against that.
What I always hated against the story was the convoluted plot of some obscure law from Massachusetts against witchcraft still in force. All anti-witchcraft laws were repealed 100 years earlier after the Salem horror. What the writers could've gone with is that while witchcraft is no longer illegal, using it to kill is. It would be like saying having and using guns is legal, but using them to murder someone is. And then they did the same faux pas with the 1840/41 plot,'
Gerard