Linder, Douglas O. This database contains information on more than 200 individuals formally accused and put on trial for witchcraft in New England between 1647 and 1697, including those accused in the Salem witch trials. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. The events in Salem in 1692 were but one chapter in a long story of witch hunts that began in Europe between 1300 and 1330 and ended in the late 18th century (with the last known execution for witchcraft taking place in Switzerland in 1782). 1032 Words | 5 Pages. Parriss orthodox Puritan theology and preaching also divided the congregation, a split that became demonstrably visible when he routinely insisted that nonmembers of the congregation leave before communion was celebrated. Its name comes from the Anglo-French phrase oyer et terminer, which literally translates to hear and determine.. In mid-January 1692, Elizabeth Betty Parris, the 9-year-old daughter of the local Reverend Samuel Parris, and Abigail Williams, the reverends 11-year-old niece, became the first to be diagnosed with being afflicted by witchcraft. By the end of the Salem witch trials, 19 people had been hanged and 5 others had died in custody. One exception was Giles Corey, who refused to stand for trialhe believed the court had already decided his fate, and he didn't want his property to be confiscated upon his verdict of being found guilty. The feud was over the fact that Kazan had named communist sympathizers during his testimony to Congress. The Multitude of Salem Witch Trials Descendants. New England Historical Society. No, it doesnt sound that romantic or comic to me either. The Salem trials also went on to become a powerful metaphor for the anticommunist hearings led by U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare of the 1950s, famously in the form of Arthur Millers allegorical play The Crucible (1953). Instead, in 1692, hanging was the preferred form of punishment. Witchcraft was considered a crime against the church and the state. Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. He attempted to save himself by writing to clergy in Boston that mass hysteria had taken over the village, but they acted too slowly to save him: He was executed on August 19, 1692. Miller did not approve of this, and this was one of the things he tried to criticize allegorically through his depiction of the Salem events. When Millers The Crucible was produced, it was in the aftermath of his feud with Elia Kazan, the man who had directed his two earlier hit plays All My Sons and Death of a Salesman. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. They were eventually assumed to be possessed. 4. Besides their descendants, the accused witches of Salem leave another legacy: a rich and fascinating history for us to explore today. For instance, after being accused of witchcraft, Philip and Mary English were held for trial in a Boston jail. "Examination of a witch" by Tompkins Harrison Matteson (1853) Spectral evidence refers to the description of harm committed by the specters of the accused, described by those who were bewitched [PDF]. Because of the similarity in time period, location, and story, people often mix up the Puritans with the Pilgrims, the group of Dutch settlers who created what we now know as the holiday of Thanksgiving. January 1692- Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village's daughter, 9-year-old Elizabeth "Betty" Parris, falls ill, soon followed by his 11-year-old niece, Abigail Williams. Unfortunately for Bishop, that allegation of witchcraft would not be her last. Mysteriously, in 1692, the reverend's 9-year-old daughter, Elizabeth (aka Betty), and 11-year-old niece, Abigail, began having fits. The Salem Witch Trials, the events of 1692 in Salem Village which resulted in 185 accused of witchcraft, 156 formally charged, 47 confessions, and 19 executed by hanging, remain one of the most studied phenomena in colonial American history. Despite being known as the Salem witch trials, some of the trials actually took place in Ipswich and Andover in addition to Salem itself. The Salem Witch Trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 was most defiantly a time when one could attribute "moral panic" to the deaths of 20 people who were hung for being what society deemed as witches. The trials came to an abrupt halt when the Governors wife was accused of witchcraft, causing him to immediately order an end to the trials. They are fascinating as well as scary. They were eventually assumed to be possessed. The girls contorted their bodies into odd positions, made strange noises and spoke gibberish, and seemed to be having fits. William Phips. Wikipedia. The Salem witch trials of the late 17th century were a formative episode in America's early history, and have remained at the forefront of the national consciousness ever since. The story goes that Corey and her husband, Giles, sat in on the trials early on, causing Martha to express scepticism about the legitimacy of the proceedings. Their initial accusations gave way to trials, hysteria, and a frenzy that resulted in further accusations, often between the differing factions. Eventually, the accusations ensnared even the most powerful people in Massachusetts. For example, the infamous Putnam family had been one of the earliest settler dynasties to come to the Massachusetts Bay colony and establish themselves there. In 1702, the court declared the trials unlawful. One dog was shot after a girl suffering from convulsions accused the dog of trying to bewitch her. The Salem Witch Trials (1692) Cartoon - YouTube (2:10) https://youtu.be/jJJLy5_DlqY Its time for a Halloween special! With Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, Malcolm Barrett, Paterson Joseph. Even during the trials, there were many who objected to the whole procedure, even within the religious Puritan community. In 1692, when the Salem witch trials began, the United States Constitution did not yet exist. The next time Giles wanted to attend, Martha objected and prevented him from going. Kyle Climans has been a published writer since 2011. In 1635, Plymouth Colony made it a crime to "form a solemn compact with the devil by way of witchcraft." As late as the 19 th century, women were persecuted for cursing butter churns, making animals sick and causing people to die. Animals in the Salem Witch Trials. History of Massachusetts Blog, February 20, 2012. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/animals-in-the-salem-witch-trials/. The panic and fear over witches hiding amongst the colony began when two young girls, Abigail Williams and Betty Parris, developed strange symptoms including having fits and screaming in pain at mysterious moments. The number of trials and executions varied according to time and place, but it is generally believed that some 110,000 persons in total were tried for witchcraft and between 40,000 to 60,000 were executed. The witch trials were held in Salem, Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693. Here are 10 things you need to know about the notorious witch trials. Back in the 17th - century there was a great amount of stress caused by many different things in that era. Thanks for your time! 10 The Symptoms That Gave Witches Away Make No Sense At All All witches are women, but not every woman is a witch. Almost 150 people were accused of being witches and 20 were killed. A period of less than a year caused such turmoil that Salem, Massachusetts, is still widely known for the trials. The best revenge might be living well, but that doesn't mean we can always turn the other cheek. There have been many other instances of this kind of phenomenon sincemost recently in an outbreak of alleged evil clown sightings across the continent and beyond in 2016. Gallows Hill was discovered on a rocky outcropping now located, very unfittingly, near a Walgreens in Salem. A lot was changing in colonial America at the time. They accused several women in their town of being witches. In Salem Massachusetts in 1692 the Salem Witch Trials took place. Looking back with the perspective provided by modern science, some scholars have speculated that the strange behaviour may have resulted from some combination of asthma, encephalitis, Lyme disease, epilepsy, child abuse, delusional psychosis, or convulsive ergotismthe last a disease caused by eating bread or cereal made of rye that has been infected with the fungus ergot, which can elicit vomiting, choking, fits, hallucinations, and the sense of something crawling on ones skin. Did you know this unbelievable witch trial fact: dogs were also major targets of the trials? There was a social divide between the leading families as well as a split between factions that were for and against the villages new pastor, Samuel Parris. Thanks for your help! But not just adult women and men were impacted by the trials. By May 1693 everyone in custody under conviction or suspicion of witchcraft had been pardoned by Phips. For everyone who remains intrigued by Salem, here are a few lesser-known facts about the witchcraft trials. While Wyatt sneaks away from the bunker to face an unbelievable truth, Lucy, Rufus and Flynn chase the Mothership to the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. The Salem witch trials are a defining example of intolerance and injustice in American history. It involved a woman by the name of Tituba, a most likely South American slave from Barbados, who was the first victim of Salems witchcraft accusations. One of the turning points in ending public support and enthusiasm for the trials was the conviction and execution of one of the towns former minsters, George Burroughs, who publicly recited the Lords Prayer at the gallows, which was believed to be impossible for witches to do. The governor pardoned the rest of the accused witches and they were released from jail. Massachusetts formally apologized for the witch trials in 1957something that Chief Magistrate William Stoughton never did. Witches were considered to be followers of Satan who had traded their souls for his assistance. Several episodes of the original Bewitched TV series were actually filmed on location in Salem. The three convicted individuals received pardons. This period of witch trials later came to be known as the Salem witch trials, named after the town of Salem and Salem Village (present-day Danvers). Statistical Analysis of the Accused. Salem Witch Trials . In three days of vivid testimony, she described encounters with Satans animal familiars and with a tall, dark man from Boston who had called upon her to sign the devils book, in which she saw the names of Good and Osborn along with those of seven others that she could not read. At the suggestion of a neighbour, a witch cake (made with the urine of the victims) was baked by Tituba to try to ferret out the supernatural perpetrator of the girls illness. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Phips. Now that Tituba had confirmed that satanic work was afootand that there were other witches aroundthere was no stopping until they were all found. Unlike the stereotype surrounding witchcraft that indicates that it is primarily done by women, the people of Salem did not discriminate on the basis of gender. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/salem-witch-trial-descendants/. From the role of Abigail Williams to the invention of witch cakes and the devils mark, get ready to learn all you ever wanted to know (and more) about the dark past of the Salem witch trials. She was taken into custody the next day and jailed with her mother, Sarah, who had been accused of the same capital crime three weeks earlier. Maybe theres another reason that people still find themselves intrigued with the Salem witchcraft trials, besides the possibility of sorcery or the specter of mass delusions convulsing into violence. (There is uncertainty regarding the relationship between the slaves and their ethnic origins. Check out the top history lists on the internet all in one place. Part of the escalation of theSalem trials included investigators literally going door to door and asking homeowners to rat out any suspected witches in their midst. While Miller maintained that he kept everything historically accurate, some have noted that he made changes to the real record for the sake of the play. New Hampshire. After her second husband died, Bishopwho had been married three timeswas accused of bewitching him to death, though she was later acquitted due to a lack of evidence. John Proctors son was born in prison while his wife was imprisoned on witchcraft charges. Interesting Facts about the Salem Witch Trials. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. When he stopped being paid altogether, he left Salem. Many possible answers have been proposed, but one likely explanation is that they were suffering from some kind of natural medical afflictions. This series of prosecutions and hangings of those accused of practicing witchcraft provoked a major backlash, and the event still haunts us today. Even during the trials, there were many who objected to the whole procedure, even within the religious Puritan community. Upon interrogation, the girls named Tituba (an Indian woman enslaved by the Parris family), Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne as witches. Large rocks and boulders were then laid on the planks, which slowly crushed him., After Governor Phips put an end to the witch trials, many involved in the proceedings expressed guilt and remorse about the events that occurred, including judge Samuel Sewall and the governor himself. When all was said and done, 25 people lost their lives because of the trials. The madness of the witch trials eventually resulted in 200 people accused of witchcraft, 140 to 150 arrests for witchcraft, and the hangings of thirteen women and six men. Villagers shot the dog immediately. So if you are a witch, no need to worry about this ever happening again! Life, woman, life is Gods most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.Arthur Miller, in The Crucible. Gallows Hill was discovered on a rocky outcropping now located, very unfittingly, near a Walgreens in Salem. The most terrifying part, perhaps, was that anyone could be accused of engaging in witchcraft, and there was little they could do to defend themselves. Here are 10 facts about the witch trials that will surely send chills down your spine. An important minister in Boston named Increase Mather was one of these objectors, stating that It were better that ten suspected witches should escape than that one innocent person should be condemned.. One of the people who perished in prison was only an infant. Some have suggested that the man who was truly responsible for initiating the witch trial debacle was Reverend Samuel Parris, the father and uncle of the afflicted girls. 25 DISTURBING Facts About The Salem Witch Trials 429,208 views Sep 12, 2018 6.3K Dislike Share Save List 25 2.51M subscribers Get ready to pull out your history books as we bring you the most. The colony passed a bill in 1711 restoring the rights and good names of those accused and granted 600 restitution to their heirs. The Court of Oyer and Terminer was established in June 1692 because the witch trials were overwhelming the local jails and courts. Norman Rockwell, the famous painter and illustrator who created the cover illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post magazine for nearly five decades, was a descendant of Esther Dutch Elwell, accused of wickedly and feloniously sundry acts of witchcraft upon the body of Mrs. Mary Fiche.. Another famous incident from the trials was the case of John Proctor. This often led to panicked citizens pointing out their innocent neighbors, adding to the rising toll of victims. In January 1692 Bettys and Abigails increasingly strange behaviour (described by at least one historian as juvenile deliquency) came to include fits. Make sure to watch this video all the way to the end to see which crazy witchcraft fact made our top 10! Which, yes, is a little ironic. Upon Governor William Phipss return from England, he realized the need for a new court for the witch trials. How Rye Bread May Have Caused the Salem Witch Trials, Order in the Court: 10 Trials of the Century, https://www.britannica.com/event/Salem-witch-trials, Bill of Rights Institute - The Salem Witch Trials, World History Encyclopedia - Salem Witch Trials, Salem Witch Trials - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Salem witch trials - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). In late May 1692, Sir William Phips, the first royal governor of Massachusetts established the criminal court to conduct the Salem witch trials. Ever since those dark days ended, the trials have become synonymous with mass hysteria and scapegoating. The town of Andover in northeastern Massachusetts, not Salem Village, had the highest number of accused (42 accused in Andover versus 26 accused in Salem Village).However, it was Salem Village where the witch trials were taken to such drastic lengths. The Start of the Salem Witch Trials. Tituba initially denied the claim that she was a witch, but notoriously later decided to confess that it was true and accused two other women as well in the process. In October 1692, a girl in Andover accused a neighbors dog of trying to bewitch her. Ergot causes hallucinations, convulsive fits, and sometimes death, and LSD derives from the substance. In response, John found himself accused as well. The Salem witch trials were also the subject of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, written in the 1950s. His wife, Elizabeth, had been accused of witchcraft and John tried to step in to defend her. To save his wife, the governor stepped in to stop the trials and disband the court of Oyer and Terminer. In May of 1693, Phips released from prison all remaining accused or convicted witches. Seventeenth century Salem also gave birth to stories of courageous stands for reason, hopeful births, and acts of clemency and mercy. In fact, there was fear in Europe that an entire group of evil witches were consciously attacking Europeans in order to destroy Christendom. Family History Proves Bewitching to Descendants of Salem Witches : Colonial America: Three Presidents, Clara Barton, Walt Disney, Joan Kennedy and One Unborn Child Are among Those Whose Ancestors Were Accused of Consorting with the Devil 300 Years Ago. Los Angeles Times. The trials came to an abrupt halt when the Governors wife was accused of witchcraft, causing him to immediately order an end to the trials. Much of the evidence brought agains the witches, at least at first, was called spectral evidence, where people testified to seeing an apparition of the accused trying to inflict harm on them. This evidence was later banned bythe courts, leading to a sharp drop in accusations. Life, woman, life is Gods most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.Arthur Miller, in The Crucible. At the time of the Salem Witch Trials, Abigail was living with her uncle, Reverend Samuel Parris, his daughter Betty Parris and Parris' slaves Tituba and John Indian. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were killed during the hysteria. George Burroughs, the Puritan minister, had nine children before being hanged. Salem Witch Hunt begins - HISTORY 9 Things You Might Not Know About the Salem Witch Trials, The world's largest online family history resource - Start now, New England, Salem Witches and Others Tried for Witchcraft, 1647-1697, 6 Unusual Last Names You Wont Believe Exist, The Experience of an Ancestral Home Visit, Discovering African American Heroes in My Family Tree. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_of_the_Salem_witch_trials. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. In addition to the twenty people convicted and executed for witchcraft, two dogs were also accused of and executed for the same crime. Some of the attitudes in the Salem witch trials are still seen today. Even some members of his congregation at the time wanted to see him dismissed from his pew in response to his aggressive prosecuting role in the episode. Music Credit: Spirit of the Dead by Aakash Gandhi#List25 #Didyouknow #WitchTrials Many possible answers have been proposed, but one likely explanation is that they were suffering from some kind of natural medical afflictions. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from Life to Compact Cars and Trucks to A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius. Well get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics youre interested in. William Stoughton, who presided over the Salem witch trials, studied theology at Harvard College and Oxford, but never became a minister and chose to enter politics instead. Because he refused to comply with the court, he was given the sentence of being pressed to death. Many parallels have been drawn between the events of Salem and the tactics used by the government during the Red Scare of the 1950s, in which Senator Joseph McCarthy very harshly interrogated and went after anyone suspected of being a communist sympathizer. Here are 12 Salem witch trials facts that will send chills down your spine. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraftthe devil's magic and 20 were executed.. Pressured by Parris to identify their tormentor, Betty and Abigail claimed to have been bewitched by Tituba and two other marginalized members of the community, neither of whom attended church regularly: Sarah Good, an irascible beggar, and Sarah Osborn (also spelled Osborne), an elderly bed-ridden woman who was scorned for her romantic involvement with an indentured servant. The Salem witchcraft trials, which began in May of 1692 after months of rumors of Satanic influence, still grip the American imagination more than 300 years later. For everyone who remains intrigued by Salem, here are a few lesser-known facts about the witchcraft trials. Seven more died in jail. The first witch trial occurred because the daughter (Betty Parris) and niece (Abigail Williams) of the local Salem Reverend had become violently ill. Over the following year many trials were held and many people imprisoned. Millers famous play about the Salem witch trials is called The Cruciblebut what is a crucible anyway? The punishment for witchcraft was death. Over 150 people were arrested for allegedly using witchcraft to inflict harm on their fellow townspeople, resulting in the executions of 20 people and the prison deaths of five more. In the midst of all this religious and political controversy, there was also a major racial incident. In addition, one man was pressed to death by giant stones for refusing to even plea innocent. Soon after, other girls including Anne Putnam, Jr., 12, and Elizabeth Hubbard, 17, also started showing similar symptoms. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. On January 14, 1697five years after the trialsthe General Court ordered a day of fasting and prayers for the tragedy of Salem, stating, That so all God's people may offer up fervent Supplications unto him for ye preservation & prosperity of his Majtys.. They were during the Colonial times. Hoffer, who has written extensively on the Salem witch trials, is one of those who believes the girls who accused their neighbors of witchcraft were carrying out a prank. The crisis in Salem, Massachusetts took place partly because the community lived under an ominous cloud of suspicion. Call them ignorant, call them malicious, the, Life, woman, life is Gods most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it., 20 Brave Facts About the House of Gryffindor, 25 Money-Making Facts About Hollywood Industry, Hero to Zero Facts About Robert Devereux, The Rebellious Earl of Essex. The Salem Witch trials occupy a large space in the American imagination. Due to its association with the supernatural and the haunted, Salem is now a popular destination for Halloween festivities, which run throughout the month of October. They found it by following clues in an accused witchs writings and through guesses on where prisoners would be transported. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Tackling the same twisted subject as Stacy Schiff's much-lauded book The Witches: Salem, 1692, this Sibert Honor book for young readers features unique scratchboard illustrations, chilling primary source material, and powerful narrative to tell the true tale.In the little colonial town of Salem Village, Massachusetts, two girls began to twitch, mumble, and contort their bodies into strange shapes. The episode is heavily ingrained in American history and perpetuated through pop culture, but the souls lost and persecuted during that time aren't just present in our literature, media, and popular culture. This caused her to be accused of conspiring on behalf of the witches, and eventually of being a witch herself. Here are 42 wicked facts about the Salem witch trials. I wonder if what the prescription is for that. Some have suggested that the man who was truly responsible for initiating the witch trial debacle was Reverend Samuel Parris, the father and uncle of the afflicted girls. Spooky stories abound at the Witch House in Salem, Massachusetts. George Burroughs had been named the village minister in 1680, but many disapproved of his religious views, and he often wasnt paid his salary. Giles had actually been accused and found guilty of murdering one of his farm hands years earlier, but was let off with just a fine! Having an angry witch killing your children made sense. Other proof was the touch test, where if a witch who cursed someone touched the cursed person in the midst of a fit, theit fit would stop. The phrase witch hunt, commonly used to refer to an unjustified or falsely conjured-up prosecution, is thought to originate as a reference to this time period in American history.
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25 disturbing facts about the salem witch trials