Learn about U.S. history, ancient Egypt, the deadliest wars, historical photos, and so much more. She added a hog, a great black dog, a red rat, a black rat, and a yellow bird, among other animals, to her storys cast. Los Angeles Times, August 29, 1993. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-08-29-mn-29128-story.html. The Salem Witch Trials begin. Kyle Climans has been a published writer since 2011. But by October 1692, his wife Mary found herself the target of sorcery accusations. The Salem Witch Trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 was most defiantly a time when one could attribute "moral panic" to the deaths of 20 people who were hung for being what society deemed as witches. Significantly, those that they began identifying as other witches were no longer just outsiders and outcasts but rather upstanding members of the community, beginning with Rebecca Nurse, a mature woman of some prominence. The Court of Oyer and Terminer was established in June 1692 because the witch trials were overwhelming the local jails and courts. They thought that when witches baked cakes, that they were casting a spell in it. 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. Salem witch trials, (June 1692May 1693), in American history, a series of investigations and persecutions that caused 19 convicted witches to be hanged and many other suspects to be imprisoned in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Danvers, Massachusetts). Credit where credit is due! After Governor Phipss wife was accused, he again interceded and ordered that a new court be established that would not allow so-called spectral evidence. 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. 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. the devil's army against the Puritans, probably in an effort to protect herself from certain conviction by serving as an informant. Millers famous play about the Salem witch trials is called The Cruciblebut what is a crucible anyway? 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. 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. Corrections? The most famous witch trial in history happened in Salem, Massachusetts, during the winter and spring of 1692-1693. Music Credit: Spirit of the Dead by Aakash Gandhi#List25 #Didyouknow #WitchTrials 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. The Salem Witch Trials, 1692 17th Century Pocahontas Saves John Smith, 1608 Aboard the Mayflower, 1620 The First Thanksgiving, 1621 The Price of Adultery in Puritan Massachusetts, 1641 Living Among the Mohawks, 1644 The Execution of Charles I, 1649 The Great Fire of London, 1666 Inside the Court of Louis XIV, 1671 New York City, 1679 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. Witches have been the origin of many myths and legends. One of the turning points in ending public support and enthusiasm for the trials was the conviction and execution of one of the towns former minsters, George Burroughs, who publicly recited the Lords Prayer at the gallows, which was believed to be impossible for witches to do. It was a time of hysteria, when courts believed in the devil, spectral evidence and teenage girls. In October 1692, a girl in Andover accused a neighbors dog of trying to bewitch her. Although Salem Village was at the heart of the witch trials of 1692, the accused were from a couple dozen towns. 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. Tituba was not the only one who thought animals were capable of engaging in the devils work. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from Life to Compact Cars and Trucks to A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius. Well get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics youre interested in. This evidence was later banned bythe courts, leading to a sharp drop in accusations. 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. Top 10 Events In History Scarier Than The Salem Witch Trials Subscribe To Most Amazing Top 10: http://bit.ly/2Ibyk6iMost Recent Videos: https://www.youtube.c. Because he refused to comply with the court, he was given the sentence of being pressed to death. 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. Tituba ultimately survived the saga and was not hanged. Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. 25 DISTURBING Facts About The Salem Witch Trials 429,208 views Sep 12, 2018 6.3K Dislike Share Save List 25 2.51M subscribers Get ready to pull out your history books as we bring you the most. Ergot causes hallucinations, convulsive fits, and sometimes death, and LSD derives from the substance. My mom never told me how her best friend died. 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). Another reason why it sucked that these trials took place before the Bill of Rights existed? Because of the similarity in time period, location, and story, people often mix up the Puritans with the Pilgrims, the group of Dutch settlers who created what we now know as the holiday of Thanksgiving. Large rocks and boulders were then laid on the planks, which slowly crushed him., After Governor Phips put an end to the witch trials, many involved in the proceedings expressed guilt and remorse about the events that occurred, including judge Samuel Sewall and the governor himself. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 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. He was the first to suggest the girls may be under the evil influence of witchcraft. Unlike the others who were hanged, this unfortunate fellow was crushed to death by stones. 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. 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. 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. Full List, Photo Credits, and Sources: https://list25.com/25-disturbing-facts-about-the-salem-witch-trialsSUBSCRIBE - http://bit.ly/2uwq6BJCheck out our store: https://teespring.com/stores/list25-swagFollow us on: List25 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/list25List25 Instagram: https://instagram.com/list25/List25 Twitter - https://twitter.com/list25 List25 Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/list25/See more Top 25 lists on our website:http://list25.comThe Salem witch trials were BRUTAL, but did you know that a big reason for the craziness surrounding the town was the Salem smallpox outbreak shortly before? 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. Tituba, an enslaved person born to a South American indigenous tribe, became the first person accused of witchcraft in Salem after Betty, the daughter of Salems minister, Samuel Parris, began acting erratically. While Miller maintained that he kept everything historically accurate, some have noted that he made changes to the real record for the sake of the play. They found it by following clues in an accused witchs writings and through guesses on where prisoners would be transported. On March 1 two magistrates from Salem Town, John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin, went to the village to conduct a public inquiry. 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. 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. Many read Miller's play as a criticism of McCarthyism, the Red Scare, and intolerance. Witch trials had actually been a fairly common phenomenon in Europe during that period. 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. Between 1692 and 1693, more than two hundred people were accused. After her second husband died, Bishopwho had been married three timeswas accused of bewitching him to death, though she was later acquitted due to a lack of evidence. Gallows Hill was discovered on a rocky outcropping now located, very unfittingly, near a Walgreens in Salem. The Start of the Salem Witch Trials. 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. Its name comes from the Anglo-French phrase oyer et terminer, which literally translates to hear and determine.. They had seizures, hid under chairs, talked in gibberish, and ran fevers. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://salemwitchtrials.com/accusedstats.html. One man was pressed to death under heavy stones, the only such state-sanctioned execution of its kind. 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. Witches were people who followed Satan and traded their souls for his help. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Despite being known as the Salem witch trials, some of the trials actually took place in Ipswich and Andover in addition to Salem itself. While there was no need to provide evidence for accusing someone of witchcraftjust pointing fingers was enoughspectral evidence was often used during the trials. Despite the Salem witch trials occurring centuries ago, researchers only just found the execution site for the trials in 2016. They accused several women in their town of being witches. 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. Sarah Good also gave birth to a daughter, Mercy, while in custody. She crafted a tale detailing how the devil had come to her and asked her to do his bidding. 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. Burroughs was brought back to Salem, tried, and executed. 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. 02. 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. He brought to Salem Village his wife, their three children, a niece, and two slaves who were originally from BarbadosJohn Indian, a man, and Tituba, a woman. 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. Despite the Salem witch trials occurring centuries ago, researchers only just found the execution site for the trials in 2016. Perhaps some training in the law would have constrained Stoughtons more extreme actions. Please let us know if a fact weve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect its inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. Even more interesting, the summer of 1692 was a dry one, and coincided with the apparent end of the bewitchments. Check out the top history lists on the internet all in one place. The hunts were efforts to identify witches rather than pursuits of individuals who were already thought to be witches. After Governor Phips's wife faced accusations of witchcraft, he outlawed spectral evidence in October 1692. Witches could change from human to animal form or from one human form to another. One person was even executed for refusing to testify at the hearings. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. Little is known about Tituba besides her role in the witch trials. 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. Descendants of the Salem community have made constant efforts to clear the names of those ancestors and relatives who were falsely accused and convicted back in the 1690s, with some being officially recognized as innocent by the Massachusetts government as recently as the beginning of the 21st-century. Mid-February- After a month of fasting, prayer, and home remedies, Betty and Abigail have not improved. The Salem witch trials are considered one of Americas most noteworthy cases of mass hysteria. Linder, Douglas O. The witchcraft trials even targeted animals. For instance, after being accused of witchcraft, Philip and Mary English were held for trial in a Boston jail. Some three-fourths of those European witch hunts took place in western Germany, the Low Countries, France, northern Italy, and Switzerland. Between February 1692 and May 1693 in current day Massachusetts, more than 200 people were accused of witchcraft. Credit where credit is due! Because most of the trials were occurring in Salem . 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 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. 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. Some of the attitudes in the Salem witch trials are still seen today. Even more interesting, the summer of 1692 was a dry one, and coincided with the apparent end of the bewitchments. 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. 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. In January 1692, two little girls living in Salem began acting strangely. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. Updates? But men were accused (and executed) as well. Here are three notable facts about the Salem witch trials: About 42-50 people died being accused of witchcraft over the course of 300 years. How many people were killed during the Salem witch trials? One man, Giles Corey, was killed over three days as increasingly heavier rocks were set atop his body. Nineteen were hanged, and one-elderly Giles Corey-pressed to death. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Here's what we know about the original witch hunt: 1. 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. Several episodes of the original Bewitched TV series were actually filmed on location in Salem. The dog was also supposed to then point to the people who had bewitched the victim. 10 The Symptoms That Gave Witches Away Make No Sense At All All witches are women, but not every woman is a witch. One of the most famous victims of the trials was a prominent woman in the local community named Martha Corey. Soon after, other girls including Anne Putnam, Jr., 12, and Elizabeth Hubbard, 17, also started showing similar symptoms. 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. 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. A total of 25 people died because of the Salem witch trials. What is the legacy of the Salem witch trials? When you think of the Salem witch trials, you probably think of a bunch of confused villagers who didnt know any better, but there is so much more to the story. 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. 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 1692 Salem witch trials are a big blot on American history. 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. However, witch trials are not a thing of the past. Seventeenth century Salem also gave birth to stories of courageous stands for reason, hopeful births, and acts of clemency and mercy. 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. 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. 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. 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. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Phips. Parriss orthodox Puritan theology and preaching also divided the congregation, a split that became demonstrably visible when he routinely insisted that nonmembers of the congregation leave before communion was celebrated. By late February 1692, when traditional medicines and prayers failed to cure the girls, the reverend called upon a local doctor, William Griggs. 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. 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. 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. One of the turning points in ending public support and enthusiasm for the trials was the conviction and execution of one of the towns former minsters, George Burroughs, who publicly recited the Lords Prayer at the gallows, which was believed to be impossible for witches to do. 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. Bridget Bishop, a woman considered to have questionable morals, was the first to be tried and executed during the Salem witch trials. So if witchcraft wasnt really happening in Salem, what actually caused those girls to have the fits? Bishop was known to rebel against the puritanical values of that time. Over the following year many trials were held and many people imprisoned. 9 Things You Might Not Know About the Salem Witch Trials, The world's largest online family history resource - Start now, New England, Salem Witches and Others Tried for Witchcraft, 1647-1697, 6 Unusual Last Names You Wont Believe Exist, The Experience of an Ancestral Home Visit, Discovering African American Heroes in My Family Tree. Animals were the "familiar spirits" of witches. 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/. When the first accusations of witchcraft began in Salem Village, they initially targeted women. In February, unable to account for their behaviour medically, the local doctor, William Griggs, put the blame on the supernatural. The girls are examined by a . 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. Gallows Hill was discovered on a rocky outcropping now located, very unfittingly, near a Walgreens in Salem. No, it doesnt sound that romantic or comic to me either. The Enemy of My Enemy. After months of trials, the governor finally decided to put an end to the trials with the last trials being held in May of 1693. Which, yes, is a little ironic. Were always looking for your input! Of them, thirty were found guilty, and nineteen of whom were executed. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraftthe devil's magic and 20 were executed.. 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. In the late 1600s the Salem Village community in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Danvers, Massachusetts) was fairly small and undergoing a period of turmoil with little political guidance. 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). 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. It seems that a shocking number of accusations were made by members of the Putnam family. In the midst of all this religious and political controversy, there was also a major racial incident. The feud was over the fact that Kazan had named communist sympathizers during his testimony to Congress. Ergot causes hallucinations, convulsive fits, and sometimes death, and LSD derives from the substance. According to her testimony, she had seen four women and a man, including Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good, asking her to hurt the children.