in the late 1600s a series of
accusations resulted in nearly two dozen
people in New England being put to death
for supposedly practicing witchcraft
this incident has become known as the
Salem witch trials who were the accused
witches what caused this to occur in
1600s colonial America belief in the
supernatural was very common many people
attributed failing crops family
illnesses or death to witchcraft for
example if the family's livestock had
unexpectedly died this might have been
seen as a sign that a witch had cursed
their family it was these beliefs that
helped fuel the hysteria in Salem
Massachusetts in 1692 in late January
and early February 1692 two girls living
in Salem Village Betty Parris aged nine
and Abigail Williams aged eleven began
exhibiting very unusual behavior the
girls threw things
screamed wedge themselves underneath
furniture made bizarre sounds and
twisted themselves into unusual
positions
they also complained of odd sensations
such as the feeling that they were being
pricked with pins other girls within the
village also began displaying similar
symptoms
yet the doctor who examined each of them
could find no known physical ailment
afflicting them certain individuals
within the community became convinced
that the girls had been cursed by
witchcraft various efforts were made to
identify who the witch might be for
example a touch test was used while one
of the victims was having a fit
a group of accused women were asked to
lay their hands on her one at a time if
the fit subsided whoever was touching
her at that moment was accused of being
the witch who had cursed her another
method used to identify the witch was
known as a witch cake a cake was made
using rye meal and urine from the
afflicted girl the cake was then fed to
a dog the belief was that the witch
would experience intense physical pain
when the cake was eaten and this would
identify her as a witch
Sarah good Sarah Osborne and a slave
woman in Tituba were the first three to
be arrested Sarah Goode was a homeless
woman who had probably been accused
simply because of her reputation in the
community Sarah Osborne rarely attended
church and the townspeople believed she
only had her own self-interest in mind
it has long been believed that Tituba
had entertained the local girls with
stories about witches and
fortune-telling games the citizens of
Salem Village and nearby Salem town
began seeing witchcraft everywhere in
March of 1692 for more women were
arrested one was arrested simply because
she dared to question whether the girl's
symptoms were real or if they were just
pretending another was accused because
she wore black clothing and other
outfits which the villagers deemed odd
a 1692 continued more accusations were
made and more individuals were arrested
the homes of the accused women were
searched and any evidence was seized
upon as witchcraft if pointment s-- for
healing herbs were found this was sure
evidence that they might be a witch of
course many of these women did have such
items because they acted as midwives
nurses or assisted villagers who were
sick those who were accused were placed
on trial if they were found guilty the
punishment was death by the time the
hysteria ended 19 people had been hanged
14 women and five men and one man was
crushed beneath a pile of heavy stones
no one is quite sure what caused the
sudden panic over witches in Salem
Village and nearby Salem town in 1692
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some have simply attributed the panic to
mass psychogenic illness or mass
hysteria rampant accusations and fear
fueled the frenzy which eventually led
to the executions deeply held religious
beliefs and the superstitions of the day
also helped drive the events forward
mass hysteria could also help explain
the mysterious affliction of the village
girls
seeing friends exhibit certain
unexplained behaviors might have led to
other girls believing that they too were
suffering the same symptoms others
suggest that the real cause of the Salem
witch trials was a long-standing feud
between different families in Salem
Village the little community was
strongly divided into different groups
who struggled with each other for
dominance within the village it is
possible that the parents of the
afflicted girls manipulated the
situation in order to remove opposing
forces within the town other theories
have been suggested as well some have
speculated that the townspeople had been
poisoned by eating large amounts of
moldy rye which contains a chemical
which can cause hallucinations and
erratic behavior still others have
suggested that perhaps the afflicted
girls simply enjoyed the power they held
over the entire village since others
would do anything to avoid having an
accusatory finger cast in their
direction
regardless of the cause the hysteria
surrounding the trials continued into
the next year but eventually reached a
conclusion in May of 1690 320 people had
lost their lives and Salem Village had
forever earned its mark in the history
books
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