They were eventually assumed to be possessed. Life, woman, life is Gods most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.Arthur Miller, in The Crucible. This caused her to be accused of conspiring on behalf of the witches, and eventually of being a witch herself. One person was even executed for refusing to testify at the hearings. By late February 1692, when traditional medicines and prayers failed to cure the girls, the reverend called upon a local doctor, William Griggs. Based on these girls accusations, the witch hunt began, and the warrants for the apprehension of Tituba, Osborne, and Good were officially signed on February 29, 1692. Villagers killed that second dog and sent the man fleeing for his life. Historically, women were the ones to be called witches, and unfortunately, they were also the . The next time Giles wanted to attend, Martha objected and prevented him from going. Many read Miller's play as a criticism of McCarthyism, the Red Scare, and intolerance. Nineteen were hanged, and one-elderly Giles Corey-pressed to death. Dorothy Good, the 4-year-old daughter of the previously accused Sarah Good, was the youngest to be accused of witchcraft. Facts Did You Know? By May 1693 everyone in custody under conviction or suspicion of witchcraft had been pardoned by Phips. Despite the horrible and senseless loss of life and community divisions that the witch trials caused, some historians believe that the traumatic incident had a silver lining. Directed by Guy Ferland. 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. In 1689, through the influence of the Putnams, Samuel Parris, a merchant from Boston by way of Barbados, became the pastor of the villages Congregational church. 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. 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. Even more interesting, the summer of 1692 was a dry one, and coincided with the apparent end of the bewitchments. Omissions? If you think its all dramatic court rooms and burning at the stake, then you need to see these 25 Disturbing Facts About the Salem Witch Trials! Millers famous play about the Salem witch trials is called The Cruciblebut what is a crucible anyway? Despite the Salem witch trials occurring centuries ago, researchers only just found the execution site for the trials in 2016. 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 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. 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 dog was shot after a girl suffering from convulsions accused the dog of trying to bewitch her. 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. This series of prosecutions and hangings of those accused of practicing witchcraft provoked a major backlash, and the event still haunts us today. All Rights Reserved. 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. How many people were killed during the Salem witch trials? 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. No, it doesnt sound that romantic or comic to me either. Even during the trials, there were many who objected to the whole procedure, even within the religious Puritan community. Squabbles over property were commonplace, and litigiousness was rampant. 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. In addition to the twenty people convicted and executed for witchcraft, two dogs were also accused of and executed for the same crime. Abigail Williams and Betty Parris, the two girls at the very center of the trials, made sure to use every trick in the book to accuse others in the town, leading to people not only being tested, but also pressed to death! Having an angry witch killing your children made sense. 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. 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. 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). 1 Most of the accused were women but men were accusedand executedtoo. To identify witches, authorities used the "touching test", in which victims of witchcraft would become calm upon touching the culprit. 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. Well, many workers and service providers will, Being a nurse isnt easy or ordinarybut these nurses had more difficult, and more bizarre,, Sometimes, you hear a story so wild that you heave a sigh of relief when, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex was the darling of Elizabeths old ageuntil he wasnt., Lets face it: Some people are just rude. History. 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. 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. 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). Some scholars believe that they were of African heritage, while others think that they may have been of Caribbean Native American heritage.). 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. Initially, Tituba also claimed to be blameless, but after being repeatedly badgered (and undoubtedly fearful owing to her vulnerable status as a slave), she told the magistrates what they apparently wanted to hearthat she had been visited by the devil and made a deal with him. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. For instance, after being accused of witchcraft, Philip and Mary English were held for trial in a Boston jail. Another more disturbing theory proposed by researchers like behavioral psychologist Linnda Caporael suggests that Salem suffered from ergot poisoning. People thought that witches used demons to do magic. The governor pardoned the rest of the accused witches and they were released from jail. Spectral evidence was only deemed inadmissible when it was used to accuse Governor William Phipss wife, Mary. Photos and Videos See All Videos and Images Related Topics and References Topics witchcraft It was a time of hysteria, when courts believed in the devil, spectral evidence and teenage girls. 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. This evidence was later banned bythe courts, leading to a sharp drop in accusations. She crafted a tale detailing how the devil had come to her and asked her to do his bidding. The collective delusion of witchcraft took more than a year to loosen its grip on Salem and its surrounding towns. Several episodes of the original Bewitched TV series were actually filmed on location in Salem. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. 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. Even more interesting, the summer of 1692 was a dry one, and coincided with the apparent end of the bewitchments. There were complex political, religious, and racial issues under the crisis. Massachusetts formally apologized for the witch trials in 1957something that Chief Magistrate William Stoughton never did. After that, the next thirty-three witchcraft trials resulted in acquittals. The dog was also supposed to then point to the people who had bewitched the victim. In total, more than 200 people were accused of witchcraft and more than 150 were arrested. George Burroughs had been named the village minister in 1680, but many disapproved of his religious views, and he often wasnt paid his salary. Get ready to pull out your history books as we bring you the most DISTURBING facts about the Salem Witch Trials. The best revenge might be living well, but that doesn't mean we can always turn the other cheek. The witchcraft trials even targeted animals. Ergot causes hallucinations, convulsive fits, and sometimes death, and LSD derives from the substance. However, no one ever embodied the concept of a witch as previously described. When he stopped being paid altogether, he left Salem. His wife, Elizabeth, had been accused of witchcraft and John tried to step in to defend her. Another more disturbing theory proposed by researchers like behavioral psychologist Linnda Caporael suggests that Salem suffered from ergot poisoning. 20 wereexecuted (generally hanged) by the prosecutors, and five died while serving prison time. The process of identifying witches began with suspicions or rumours. 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. Good was imprisoned from March 24, 1692, to December 10, 1692. 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. Here are 42 wicked facts about the Salem witch trials. Parris had shrewdly negotiated his contract with the congregation, but relatively early in his tenure he sought greater compensation, including ownership of the parsonage, which did not sit well with many members of the congregation. However, witch trials are not a thing of the past. Were always looking for your input! 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. Ancestry has made a home for a piece of that history in its online collection, New England, Salem Witches and Others Tried for Witchcraft, 1647-1697. Around the same time, in Salem Village, village girls accused a man of tormenting a different dog with his evil spirit. Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. 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. It was shut down on October 29, 1692. With Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, Malcolm Barrett, Paterson Joseph. One of the most notorious periods of American history, the Salem witch trials of 1692 resulted in the execution by hanging of fourteen women and five men who were accused of being witches during a period of mass hysteria. 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. It is easy to feel like we've long known everything there is to know about it. We want our readers to trust us. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? 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. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. As the trials continued, accusations extended beyond Salem Village to surrounding communities. In addition to the twenty people convicted and executed for witchcraft, two dogs were also accused of and executed for the same crime.

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