Massachusetts Mayhem
Salem Witch Trials By Grace Schroeder
The Start
The Salem, Massachusetts witch trials are a well known historic event in American history. Many people know about it, but not everyone knows the whole story. The hysteria first began when two girls played with a woman named Tituba. She originally came from Barbados and although playing and sharing stories about magic (from her native culture) were highly unethical in the Catholic community they had in Salem, she did those things with the girls anyway. Later on in that year a church was shocked with a surprise of a mass amount of girls including the two beginning to scream, twitch, and bark like dogs right in the middle of it. Caught in confusion, the towns people yelled at at the girls asking them who was doing this to them. After a long time, the girls managed to cough, scream, and tell names of women in Salem. One of them happened to be Tituba. This began the long unnerving havoc that took place in Salem ending more than 20 lives.
Figuring the Worst
Reasons why the people of Salem did not like witches is because of their religion. Being Puritans, people who worshiped the devil were not good in their eyes. Witches were believed to hurt people in order to be loyal to Satan. In order to keep their community out of danger, the hysteria started.
This is the map showing the area where the "Witches" were being accused.
"Arresting a Witch"
"Witchcraft at Salem Village"
The Accused
After the church incident, the townspeople tracked down and persecuted the people that the girls accused. Although it is unknown why the girls and certain other members of the community tried accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Most people were scared and just acted out of context. The economy of the area would give a explanation why they had reasons to accuse. The weather got colder, so worryingly the people of Salem thought Witches were to blame. They didn't have the technology to realized the weather was making people sick and killing crops. Many people used witnesses and the unknown outcomes of bad weather to accuse and bring so called witches to trial.
The way out
Even if you were unlucky enough to be falsely stated as a witch, there were ways to prove your innocence. One way included reciting the Lord's prayer. If you recited the prayer without a mistake, you were not a devil worshiper. That would mean you are not a witch. Many other ways were harsher than that. The scales test and the sinking test were options that you most likely would die before they proved you not guilty. A lot of ways out of being accused as a witch ended in death.
The end
Many people were executed by hanging, getting crushed, and many more torturous ends. Some people even died in jail after the trials stopped. The trials lasted from winter of 1961 - October 1962
The Trails
Fallen "Witches"
No victims are listed that died in jail after the trials ended.
- Bridget Bishop
- Sarah Good
- Elizabeth Howe
- Susanna Martin
- Rebecca Nurse
- Sarah Wild
- George Burroghs
- Martha Carrier
- George Jacobs
- John Proctor
- John Willard
- Martha Corey
- Mary Easty
- Alice Parker
- Mary Parker
- Ann Pudeater
- Margaret Scott
- Wilmot Reed
- Samuel Wardwell
- Giles Cory
Quote
"You're a liar! I'm no more a witch than you are a wizard! If you take my life away, God will give you blood to drink!" -Sarah Good
Citation
"Sarah GoodWritten By Sara Jobe." Salem Witch Trials: Sarah Good. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
"TubeChop - Salem Witch Trials: The Story of the Witch Hunt (05:36)." TubeChop. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
"The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692." The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
"Smithsonian.com." Smithsonian Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.