They thought that when witches baked cakes, that they were casting a spell in it. 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. 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. 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. The haphazard fashion in which the Salem witch trials were conducted contributed to changes in U.S. court procedures, including rights to legal representation and cross-examination of accusers as well as the presumption that one is innocent until proven guilty. After some young girls of the village (two of them relatives of Parris) started demonstrating strange behaviours and fits, they were urged to identify the person who had bewitched them. The Salem Witch Trials began in spring 1692 and lasted for seven months, during which more than 150 people where arrested, 19 were hanged and one was tortured to death. By the end of the Salem witch trials, 19 people had been hanged and 5 others had died in custody. It was a time when Christianity was prominent and no one steered away from the biblical beliefs. 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. Ever since those dark days ended, the trials have become synonymous with mass hysteria and scapegoating. When it was all over, 141 suspects, both men and women, were tried as witches. In total, more than 200 people were accused of witchcraft and more than 150 were arrested. They are fascinating as well as scary. Tituba eventually confessed to using witchcraft. 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 punishment for witchcraft was death. So if witchcraft wasnt really happening in Salem, what actually caused those girls to have the fits? Spooky stories abound at the Witch House in Salem, Massachusetts. What gave witches away were body marks, such as scars and moles. According to her death warrant, through her witchcraft, Bishop had caused bodily harm to five women, including Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and Elizabeth Hubbard. So if witchcraft wasnt really happening in Salem, what actually caused those girls to have the fits? One person was even executed for refusing to testify at the hearings. Updates? It was actually the local doctor, likely William Griggs, who first diagnosed the girls as having been bewitched when he couldnt find anything medically wrong with them to explain the strange behavior. But the accusations didnt stop there. The Salem witch trials are considered one of Americas most noteworthy cases of mass hysteria. After weeks of informal hearings, Sir William Phips, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, interceded to add some formality to the proceedings. Arthur Miller, the famous playwright who authored Death of a Salesman, responded to the McCarthy hysteria by writing The Crucible, a play about the Salem witch trials, as a metaphor for what the country was going through in the 1950s. Other girls and young women began experiencing fits, among them Ann Putnam, Jr.; her mother; her cousin, Mary Walcott; and the Putnamss servant, Mercy Lewis. When he stopped being paid altogether, he left Salem. Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark historyor the chilling secret shared by her and Louis. This often led to panicked citizens pointing out their innocent neighbors, adding to the rising toll of victims. 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. Another reason why it sucked that these trials took place before the Bill of Rights existed? 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. The second slain dog was actually thought to be a victim of witchcraft whose tormentors fled Salem before they could be tried in court. 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. Even during the trials, there were many who objected to the whole procedure, even within the religious Puritan community. The infant died shortly after her birth, likely due to malnutrition. (There is uncertainty regarding the relationship between the slaves and their ethnic origins. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://famous-trials.com/salem/2035-sal-bphi. The witch trials were held in Salem, Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693. Accusations followed, often escalating to convictions and executions. One particularly disturbing fact about the witch hunt in Salem is that animals could be found guilty of participating in witchcraft as well as humans, and they could be (and were) sentenced to death for it. During the trials, two dogs were killed based on suspicions of witchcraft. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. At the end of the 17th century, after years of mostly resisting witch hunts and witch trial prosecutions, Puritans in New England suddenly found themselves facing a conspiracy of witches in a war against Satan and his minions. The girls contorted their bodies into odd positions, made strange noises and spoke gibberish, and seemed to be having fits. If a dog was fed a cake made with rye and the urine of an afflicted person, and it displayed the same symptoms as the victim, it indicated the presence of witchcraft. Some of the attitudes in the Salem witch trials are still seen today. The girls were having a type of epileptic fit and would scream out . William Phips. Wikipedia. The witchcraft trials even targeted animals. 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). Witches have been the origin of many myths and legends. Although Massachusetts has given up its fight against witchcraft, there are still places in the world where witchcraft is legitimately feared by the public, sometimes even leading to real modern day witch hunts. Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. The magistrates then had not only a confession but also what they accepted as evidence of the presence of more witches in the community, and hysteria mounted. This caused her to be accused of conspiring on behalf of the witches, and eventually of being a witch herself. Check out the top history lists on the internet all in one place. They were eventually assumed to be possessed. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. It is not known why Abigail was living with the Parris family but many historians assume her parents . So if you are a witch, no need to worry about this ever happening again! A crucible is a kind of container used for heating substances at very high temperatures, and the term is often used to describe high pressure situationssuch as the onethe witch trials creates for the accused. The salem witch trials hysteria of 1692 was caused by the Puritans strict religious standards and intolerance of anything not accepted with their scripture. The Enemy of My Enemy. However, after the dogs death, the local Minister reasoned that if the devil had possessed the dog, it would not have been so easily killed with a bullet. the devil's army against the Puritans, probably in an effort to protect herself from certain conviction by serving as an informant. His vocal support for his wifewho was also accused of witchcraftand claims that the accusers were lying were among the possible reasons why suspicion fell on him as well. 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. In February, unable to account for their behaviour medically, the local doctor, William Griggs, put the blame on the supernatural. John Proctors son was born in prison while his wife was imprisoned on witchcraft charges. Little is known about Tituba besides her role in the 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 1692, when the Salem witch trials began, the United States Constitution did not yet exist. That May release included Elizabeth Proctor, who had been found guilty of witchcraft in August of the previous year and sentenced to death,but had her execution postponed due to pregnancy. 02. The most famous witch trial in history happened in Salem, Massachusetts, during the winter and spring of 1692-1693. In January of 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village became ill. William Griggs, the village doctor, was called in when they failed to improve. It was a time of hysteria, when courts believed in the devil, spectral evidence and teenage girls. As the most commanding mistress in the French court, she bettered the lives of many and became a beloved figure. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. They screamed, made odd sounds, threw things, contorted their bodies, and complained of biting and pinching sensations. The Salem Witch Trials (1692) Cartoon - YouTube (2:10) https://youtu.be/jJJLy5_DlqY Its time for a Halloween special! 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. Bridget Bishop, a woman considered to have questionable morals, was the first to be tried and executed during the Salem witch trials. 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. Witches could change from human to animal form or from one human form to another. The 1942 romantic comedy filmI Married a Witch, starring Veronica Lake and Frederic March, told the story of two witches from Salem placing a revenge curse on the descendants of their accuser. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. She was an enslaved woman believed to have been from Central America, captured as a child from Barbados, and brought to Massachusetts in 1680 by Reverend Parris. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. 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. 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. His wife, Elizabeth, had been accused of witchcraft and John tried to step in to defend her. For everyone who remains intrigued by Salem, here are a few lesser-known facts about the witchcraft trials. Three presidents William Howard Taft, Chester Arthur, and Gerald Ford have been said to descend from one of Salems executed witches or their siblings. Unfortunately for Bishop, that allegation of witchcraft would not be her last. The 1692 Salem witch trials are a big blot on American history. (Salem Witch Trials "History" published on November 4, 2011 and updated on October 5, 2021). A period of less than a year caused such turmoil that Salem, Massachusetts, is still widely known for the trials. He was the first to suggest the girls may be under the evil influence of witchcraft. Animals in the Salem Witch Trials. History of Massachusetts Blog, February 20, 2012. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/animals-in-the-salem-witch-trials/.