25 disturbing facts about the salem witch trials 25 disturbing facts about the salem witch trials

The Salem Witch trials occupy a large space in the American imagination. Many possible answers have been proposed, but one likely explanation is that they were suffering from some kind of natural medical afflictions. They were eventually assumed to be possessed. In response, John found himself accused as well. The Putnams, a prominent family hed borrowed money from, sued Burroughs for unpaid debts and later accused him of witchcraft. Tituba was not the only one who thought animals were capable of engaging in the devils work. Dont feel too embarrassed if you happen to be from Massachusetts, you guys were not the first to do something like this. No, it doesnt sound that romantic or comic to me either. Courts relied on three kinds of evidence: 1) confession, 2) testimony of two eyewitnesses to acts of witchcraft, or 3) spectral evidence (when the afflicted girls were having their fits, they would interact with an unseen assailant - the apparition of the witch tormenting them). Parris, whose largely theological studies at Harvard College (now Harvard University) had been interrupted before he could graduate, was in the process of changing careers from business to the ministry. Interesting Facts about the Salem Witch Trials. The community, beleaguered with hardships already, then overreacted. Despite their obvious Christian commitment, the early American Puritans actually banned Christmas in the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1659, deeming it a sacrilege. They began in 1692, a full 73 years before the start of the American Revolution and some 40 years before George Washington was even born. They are fascinating as well as scary. The Court of Oyer and Terminer was established in June 1692 because the witch trials were overwhelming the local jails and courts. The largest account of witch trials as well as deaths by witch trials occurred in Salem, a village heavily populated with the Puritans. Not all of the accused witches who escaped hanging did so through the mercy of the governor. 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. 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. 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.. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of trial that took place in 1692, when it was believed "witches" were casting spells on people in the village of Salem. The colony passed a bill in 1711 restoring the rights and good names of those accused and granted 600 restitution to their heirs. Despite the Salem witch trials occurring centuries ago, researchers only just found the execution site for the trials in 2016. Squabbles over property were commonplace, and litigiousness was rampant. All Rights Reserved. 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. Learn all about secret burials, door to door witch hunters, the touch test, the swimming test, and the witchcraft act that made all of this possible. In addition to the twenty people convicted and executed for witchcraft, two dogs were also accused of and executed for the same crime. Another more disturbing theory proposed by researchers like behavioral psychologist Linnda Caporael suggests that Salem suffered from ergot poisoning. Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. So if witchcraft wasnt really happening in Salem, what actually caused those girls to have the fits? The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between early 1692 and mid-1693. The witch trials were held in Salem, Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693. Tituba eventually confessed to using witchcraft. The salem witch trials hysteria of 1692 was caused by the Puritans strict religious standards and intolerance of anything not accepted with their scripture. 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.. This resulted in him being accused as well, and in the end it was he who was executed while Elizabeth was instead sentenced to prison so that her unborn baby would not have to die. It seems that a shocking number of accusations were made by members of the Putnam family. Catherine of Aragon was King Henry VIIIs first wife and longest-lasting Queen of England. Twenty people were put to death in Salem for the crime of witchcraft. Although Giles was a wealthy farmer and Martha was a prominent church member, both of them had pasts they werent exactly advertising to the public. Seven more died in jail. Since witches were often shackled in jail . 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. SALEM WITCH TRIALS CHRONOLOGY. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life. 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. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraftthe devil's magic and 20 were executed.. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://famous-trials.com/salem/2078-sal-acct. Image of The Salem Witch Trials. Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, With roles ranging from Miss Congeniality to Gravity, The Heat, and Minions, Sandra Bullock has, "You might belong in Gryffindor / Where dwell the brave at heart / Their daring,, Star-studded premieres, massive advertising campaigns, and big budget blockbusters: The movies are big money. Alexander, Mary Jane. 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. The punishment for witchcraft was death. Around the end of WWII, he surprisingly converted, Its said that the customer is always right. Children were also accused of witchcraft. However, no one ever embodied the concept of a witch as previously described. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. Ann Putnam testified that Good tried to choke and bite her, a claim that Mary Walcott corroborated. No clan is left untouched, and even families that seem happy and normal on. Even during the trials, there were many who objected to the whole procedure, even within the religious Puritan community. George Burroughs, the Puritan minister, had nine children before being hanged. Far more women than men were among the accused, convicted and executed. The origins of the Salem witch trials are long and complex, but we do our best to break down the most disturbing information about this task. Another famous incident from the trials was the case of John Proctor. Now that Tituba had confirmed that satanic work was afootand that there were other witches aroundthere was no stopping until they were all found. Credit where credit is due! When the first accusations of witchcraft began in Salem Village, they initially targeted women. Gallows Hill was discovered on a rocky outcropping now located, very unfittingly, near a Walgreens in Salem. The Salem witch trials of the late 17thcentury were a formative episode in Americas early history, and have remained at the forefront of the national consciousness ever since. Take, Salvador Dali was a man of contradictions. Most importantly, Stoughton allowed spectral evidence during the trials, so that an accuser could claim that an accused witch had appeared to them in a vision or hurt them within a dream. In fact, there was fear in Europe that an entire group of evil witches were consciously attacking Europeans in order to destroy Christendom. From Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to Hocus Pocus, Arthur Miller to American Horror Story, American pop culture is saturated in retellings of this horrifying episode in colonial history. 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. Mid-February- After a month of fasting, prayer, and home remedies, Betty and Abigail have not improved. Facts: -"At the time of these events Parris was in his middle forties." -"They did not celebrate Christmas, and a holiday from work meant only that they must concentrate even more upon prayer." -"The edge of the wilderness was close by. The litany of odd behaviour also mirrored that of the children of a Boston family who in 1688 were believed to have been bewitched, a description of which had been provided by Congregational minister Cotton Mather in his book Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions (1689) and which may have been known by the girls in Salem Village. 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. 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. One of the most popular points of view was that if you were against the trials, then you were, in fact, an advocate for the witches. They were during the Colonial times. 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. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. The three convicted individuals received pardons. As the most commanding mistress in the French court, she bettered the lives of many and became a beloved figure. For those who are unaware, Salem is located in Massachusetts, which, as you might remember from history class, was New Englands first established colony dating back to the arrival of the Pilgrims of the Mayflower at Plymouth in 1620. Many citizens believed that they way witches will get you is by baking a cake. From 1671 to 1687, he served on the Counsel of Assistants, a judicial and rule-making body for the colony. She stayed out for long hours, had people in her home late at night, and hosted drinking and gambling parties frequently. 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. Several episodes of the original Bewitched TV series were actually filmed on location in Salem. After that, the next thirty-three witchcraft trials resulted in acquittals. Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. Historically, women were the ones to be called witches, and unfortunately, they were also the . Many read Miller's play as a criticism of McCarthyism, the Red Scare, and intolerance. 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! The Salem witch trials marked a seven-month period of mass hysteria in 1692 Colonial America. 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. Move over Montagues and Capulets: You might not be the most vengeful families out there. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a dark time in American history. Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, the 9-year-old daughter and 11-year-old niece of Reverend Parris, started having "fits" described as: "severe convulsions and other strange symptoms.". Bishop was known to rebel against the puritanical values of that time. Bridget Bishop, a woman considered to have questionable morals, was the first to be tried and executed during the Salem witch trials. The Evil Justice William Stoughton Was the Ultimate Hanging Judge at the Salem Witch Trials and Heres Why. HistoryCollection.com, January 29, 2018. https://historycollection.com/william-stoughton-ultimate-hanging-judge-salem-witch-trials/. Log in or try Ancestry 14 days free to start finding the survivors, the outspoken, or the ones who did things differently in your family tree. Nige Tassell explains how hysteria in the village of Salem, Massachusets, gave rise to a horror that bedazzled the world Published: June 10, 2020 at 4:45 pm Subs offer 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. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? The stars of the Salem story were the Puritan community of the Massachusetts Bay colony, a religious groupthat came over to America to escape religious persecution back in England. According to the warrant for her apprehension, she was called for trial on March 23, 1692, under suspicion of witchcraft after being accused by Edward Putnam. There were complex political, religious, and racial issues under the crisis. A lot was changing in colonial America at the time. During the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft. Under pressure from the authoritiesand hoping she would get to see her mother if she compliedshe confessed to the claims that Sarah was a witch and Dorothy had been witness to this fact. Having an angry witch killing your children made sense. Today, witchcraftis recognized by the government as a protected and legitimate religion under the First Amendment. One man was pressed to death under heavy stones, the only such state-sanctioned execution of its kind. Corrections? It is not known why Abigail was living with the Parris family but many historians assume her parents . A complicated and long-lasting feud between the Putnam and Porter families of Salem may have been a motivating factor in some of the witchcraft accusations. 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. 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. Almost 150 people were accused of being witches and 20 were killed. 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. 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. 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. Tituba: The Slave of Salem. History of Massachusetts Blog, January 2, 2013. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/tituba-the-slave-of-salem/. The extraordinary series of events in 1692 led to the deaths of 25 innocent men, women and children. Given the subsequent spread of the strange behaviour to other girls and young women in the community and the timing of its display, however, those physiological and psychological explanations are not very convincing. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. (Salem Witch Trials "History" published on November 4, 2011 and updated on October 5, 2021). It was carried out as such by Sheriff George Corwin. Unlike the others who were hanged, this unfortunate fellow was crushed to death by stones. 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. Some of the families now only remembered for their connection to the trials had actually been important and well-known people before that. John Proctors son was born in prison while his wife was imprisoned on witchcraft charges. One of the most famous victims of the trials was a prominent woman in the local community named Martha Corey. 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. Rather, as Salem archivist and historian Richard Trask observes, they also included "second-hand rumors" and "fits of fancy." See Richard B. Trask, Legal Procedures Used During the Salem Witch Trials and a Brief History of the Published Versions of the Records, in Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt (Bernard Rosenthal ed., 2009). Between 1692 and 1693, more than two hundred people were accused. Not that Salem didnt have its problems to begin with, but the community never fully recovered from the witch trials saga, and the divisions and setbacks to the towns development continued in the years following the trials. Apparently they felt that giving gifts took away from ones ability to focus on serious religious thought, and they did not like the pagan origins of some aspects of the holiday. Accusations followed, often escalating to convictions and executions. 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. 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. T he infamous Salem witch trials of 1692 and 1693 claimed the lives of 20 people. Burroughs was brought back to Salem, tried, and executed. 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. The first witch trial occurred because the daughter (Betty Parris) and niece (Abigail Williams) of the local Salem Reverend had become violently ill. Spectral evidence refers to the description of harm committed by the specters of the accused, described by those who were bewitched [PDF]. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://famous-trials.com/salem/2035-sal-bphi. Because most of the trials were occurring in Salem . Some of the attitudes in the Salem witch trials are still seen today. 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). They began in 1692, a full 73 years before the start of the American Revolution and some 40 years before George Washington was even born. 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. Another famous incident from the trials was the case of John Proctor. This evidence was later banned bythe courts, leading to a sharp drop in accusations. the devil's army against the Puritans, probably in an effort to protect herself from certain conviction by serving as an informant. Between February 1692 and May 1693, colonial Massachusetts was the scene of a mass hysteria sparked by false accusations from several young girls. While there was no need to provide evidence for accusing someone of witchcraftjust pointing fingers was enoughspectral evidence was often used during the trials. Which, yes, is a little ironic. It seems that a shocking number of accusations were made by members of the Putnam family. Around the same time, in Salem Village, village girls accused a man of tormenting a different dog with his evil spirit. From unbelievable witch swimming tests to the role of Salem smallpox in the trials, this list will bring you every crazy witch trial fact that you never knew existed! The girls are examined by a . Even more interesting, the summer of 1692 was a dry one, and coincided with the apparent end of the bewitchments. Spooky stories abound at the Witch House in Salem, Massachusetts. Its name comes from the Anglo-French phrase oyer et terminer, which literally translates to hear and determine.. Get ready to pull out your history books as we bring you the most DISTURBING facts about the Salem Witch Trials. They argue that the trialscreated a taboo in America against mixing religion and government, and George Lincoln Burr called it, the rock on which the theocracy shattered. There is also no question that the incident remains a constant reminder in our collective minds about the importance of due process in a legal system, and the dangers of premature overreaction and irrational hysteria. The hunts were efforts to identify witches rather than pursuits of individuals who were already thought to be witches. Tituba ultimately survived the saga and was not hanged. 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). List three facts about each and three opinions. Thanks for your help! Fourteen women and six men were executed for witchcraft, and five others died in prison during the trials. 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. 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. She crafted a tale detailing how the devil had come to her and asked her to do his bidding. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. Salem Witch Hunt begins - HISTORY Salem Witch Trials of 1692. In January 1692, two little girls living in Salem began acting strangely. The infant died shortly after her birth, likely due to malnutrition. Music Credit: Spirit of the Dead by Aakash Gandhi#List25 #Didyouknow #WitchTrials Another reason why it sucked that these trials took place before the Bill of Rights existed? His wife, Elizabeth, had been accused of witchcraft and John tried to step in to defend her. Arthur Millers play The Crucible played a large role in popularizing many of the details of the Salem witch trials and dramatizing facts that he uncovered in historical records. 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 people of Salem often ate rye bread,and in wet, swampy conditions (which Salem had at the time), rye can foster a fungus called ergot. This series of prosecutions and hangings of those accused of practicing witchcraft provoked a major backlash, andthe event still haunts us today. Lets just, The Crucible (1996), Twentieth Century Fox, Salem (20142017), 20th Century Fox Television, I Married a Witch (1942), Paramount Pictures, The Truth Always Comes Out: Dark Family Secrets Exposed, Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress, Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIIIs First Wife, Festive Facts About Bing Crosby, The King Of Christmas, Stormy Facts About Sammy Davis Jr., The Worlds Greatest Entertainer, Sorrowful Facts About Alma Rubens, The Silent Film Siren, Daring Facts About Gina Lollobrigida, Golden Hollywoods Last Survivor. Witchcraft was considered a crime against the church and the state. This series of prosecutions and hangings of those accused of practicing witchcraft provoked a major backlash, and the event still haunts us today. The Salem witch trials have gripped American imaginations ever since they occurred in 1692. Please submit feedback to [email protected]. No other mode of punishment was entertained by the Salem puritans. 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. Over the following year many trials were held and many people imprisoned. In fact, there was fear in Europe that an entire group of evil witches were consciously attacking Europeans in order to destroy Christendom. 1032 Words | 5 Pages. Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. It was believed that they employed demons to accomplish magical deeds, that they changed from human to animal form or from one human form to another, that animals acted as their familiar spirits, and that they rode through the air at night to secret meetings and orgies. Some of the families now only remembered for their connection to the trials had actually been important and well-known people before that. 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.. When all was said and done, 25 people lost their lives because of the trials. During the trials, two dogs were killed based on suspicions of witchcraft. 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. "Examination of a witch" by Tompkins Harrison Matteson (1853) Make sure to watch this video all the way to the end to see which crazy witchcraft fact made our top 10! The village itself had a noticeable social divide that was exacerbated by a rivalry between its two leading familiesthe well-heeled Porters, who had strong connections with Salem Towns wealthy merchants, and the Putnams, who sought greater autonomy for the village and were the standard-bearers for the less-prosperous farm families.