The Salem Witch Trials
What effect did the Trials have on America and government?
Two Young Girls Begin Exhibiting Possesed Behavior
Sunday, Jan 20, 1692, 03:00 PM
Salem, MA, United States
The When and Where
Causes for Accusation
What Happened to the Accused?
141 alleged "witches" were jailed on the account of practicing magic. While they were on trial, evidence known as Spectral Evidence could be used against them. Spectral evidence was when the "afflicted" victim would remember the shape or see an apparition of their attacker. This couldn't be proven, but the courts counted it as reason to find the accused guilty of witchcraft. 19 were executed after their trial. There is four recorded deaths in jail, but there may have been many more. One man who was accused was pressed to death in his trial. No one was found innocent, but when the judges found one person innocent initially, immediately the
accusers starting screaming and rolling on the court floor
until the judges overturned their original statement and found
the "witch" guilty. At the very end of the trials, they released all
the people jailed for witchcraft because they finally realized that
they weren't witches.
All Remaining Witches in Jail Freed
Wednesday, Oct 29, 1692, 12:00 PM
16 Lynde Street, Salem, MA, United States
What was the Purpose of the Trials?
How did the Trials Effect Society and the Way of Life?
Interesting Facts
If an accused person couldn't recite the Lord's Prayer, then it was considered evidence of witchcraft and possession. Another form of evidence was acting unladylike, for instance, yelling at her husband in public.
In the trials, the youngest person accused was Dorcas Good. She was four years old at the time. During the investigations and and executions, no witches were burned in Salem, but in Europe, they did burn convicted witches.