(2021, September 9). Native History & Indigenous Acknowledgement, The Journey from 1692 to Salems Modern Witch Community. The infamous Salem witch trials lasted for approximately one year. Some of the suggested theories are: conversion disorder, epilepsy, ergot poisoning, Encephalitis, Lyme disease, unusually cold weather, factionalism, socio-economic hardships, family rivalries and fraud. Got the movie and became more interested in what really happened. She was hanged on June 10, 1692 at a place now called Proctors Ledge, which is a small hill near Gallows Hill, making her the first official victim of the witch trials. Samuel Parris of Salem Village. Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. Ever since those dark days ended, the trials have become synonymous with mass hysteria and scapegoating. it was extremely helpful thank you so much! How twisted is that? When we think of witches today, we think of girls with crystals and hats who like to listen to Stevie Nicks. As the cart bumps its way towards a hill on the outskirts, the five contemplate their mortality. It disgusts me but at the same time interests me, and makes me want to learn more. I have all the other bibliographies from some other websites but I still need one from this one and I cant find it could you help me?? And if you take away my life, God will give you blood to drink.. 10 Unsettling Facts About The Witch Trials, The Symptoms That Gave Witches Away Make No Sense At All, Women Could Save Themselves By Pointing A Finger (At Someone Innocent), Witch Trials In Germany Took Thousands Of Lives, It Wasn't Just Women Who Suffered Because Of The Trials, The Witch Tests Often Had No Way Of Getting Out Alive, As If They Didn't Suffer Enough, Social Outcasts Had It The Worst, Scary Stories: 10 Places For Stephen King Fans To Visit, 10 Scary Churches From Around The World That Will Creep You Out, Spooky Places: 10 Destinations For Fans Of Witches. Presumptions whereupon persons may be committed, and, much more, convictions whereupon persons may be condemned as guilty of witchcrafts, ought certainly to be more considerable than barely the accused person's being represented by a specter unto the afflicted; inasmuch as it is an undoubted and notorious thing, that a demon may, by God's permission, appear, even to ill purposes, in the shape of an innocent, yea, and a virtuous man. 2, no. Why do you think there are so little primary sources on the Salem Witch Trials? After Nurses execution on July 19th, the residents of Salem started to seriously question the validity of the trials. Learn all about the origin, history, and significance of the Salem witch trials. Note: it is expensive. As in complaints upon witchcrafts, there may be matters of inquiry which do not amount unto matters of presumption, and there may be matters of presumption which yet may not be matters of conviction, so it is necessary, that all proceedings thereabout be managed with an exceeding tenderness towards those that may be complained of, especially if they have been persons formerly of an unblemished reputation. In short, Spanos and Gottlieb believe that the ergotism theory is off-base for several reasons. Often, that conversation shifts over towardsSalem, Massachusetts, and the famous trial in 1692that resulted in twenty executions. "Examination and Evidence of Some the Accused Witches in Salem, 1692. Susannah Martin was my 10th great grandmother and John Proctor was my 11th great uncle. One of these days itll happen lol. Wigington, Patti. Her initial verdict was, in fact, not guilty, but upon hearing the verdict the afflicted girls began to have fits in the courtroom. One freezing day in January of 1692, something strange happened inside the Parris household of Salem Village, Massachusetts. Glanvill, Joseph. Luckily ann putnum jr lived to apologize. Estimates suggest that over 200 women were executed during this period as a direct result of the investigations of Hopkins and his associates. Wigington, Patti. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Do not lay more stress on pure spectral evidence than it will bear, he cautioned. The three women were thrown in jail to await trial for practicing witchcraft. Letters of Governor Phips to the Home Government, 16921693, "Woman condemned in Salem witch trials on verge of pardon 328 years later", "Indictment of Sarah Good for Afflicting Sarah Vibber", "Indictment of Abigail Hobbs for Covenanting", "The Devil's Specter: Spectral Evidence and the Salem Witchcraft Crisis", Narratives of the Witchcraft Trials, p. 342, "Role of skin lesions in the Salem witchcraft trials", "329 years later, last Salem 'witch' who wasn't is pardoned", Cornell University Library Witchcraft Collection, Salem Massachusetts Salem Witch Trials The Stones: July 10 and July 19, 1692, Salem Village Witchcraft Victims' Memorial, etext.virginia.edu, Chapter 122 of the Acts of 2001, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Actual Site Of Salem Witch Hangings Discovered", "The Real Salem Witch Hanging Site Was Located", Salem Witchcraft Trials: The Perception Of Women In History, Literature And Culture, Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project, SalemWitchTrials.com Essays, biographies of the accused and afflicted, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salem_witch_trials&oldid=1142737002. Acts and Resolves, Public and Private, of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, vol. I wonder how many people ran away from The Salem Witch Trials. No one cared about minorities or "loners" anyway. On May 27, 1692, after weeks of informal hearings accompanied by imprisonments, Sir William Phips (also spelled Phipps), the governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, interceded and ordered the convening of an official Court of Oyer ("to hear") and Terminer ("to decide") in Salem Town. There is no documentation of where she may have gone after the trials. I thought witchcraft only existed in Africa. Witch hunts The theory first came to prominence in the 1970s, when Linnda R. Caporael wrote Ergotism: The Satan Loosed in Salem? The initial article took me a few days to write and then I have been slowly adding to it and expanding it over the years. I last updated this article on March 26, 2016. After my greaty great uncle Israel Porter formed political group to gather support against putnums, putnums responded by accusing supporters n friends of Porter Family of witchcraft (esp their daughters). The devil had won. Get ready to pull out your history books as we bring you the most DISTURBING facts about the Salem Witch Trials. Other victims include two dogs who were shot or killed after being suspected of witchcraft. The two communities were three hours apart, by foot, which was the most common method of transportation at the time. Massachusetts Only Apologized in 1957 Salem Witch Trials have haunted Salem, now known as Danvers and the entire state of Massachusetts for centuries. The first case brought before the grand jury was that of Bridget Bishop, a woman around the age of 60 who faced a plethora of accusations: that she could pass through doors and windows without opening them; that she had made holes in the road suddenly open up, into which carts would fall before the holes would instantly disappear; that she had summoned a black pig with the body of a monkey and the feet of a cockerel. After Bishops execution and the courts endorsement of the indictments against Rebecca Nurse and John Willard, a local constable who, doubting the allegations, refused to bring the accused to court the grand jury adjourned for almost three weeks. For everyone who remains intrigued by Salem, here are a few lesser-known facts about the witchcraft trials. Device reportedly admitted an act of bewitchment, as well as accusing another woman of undertaking similar practices. No more restricting property ownership and voting rights to only church members. The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of Having initially set up the Court of Oyer and Terminer, Governor William Phips having returned from fighting in King Philips War in Maine voiced concerns about what danger some of [his] innocent subjects might be exposed to and dissolved the court, in the process pardoning those remaining in custody. What source other than A Story of Witchcraft would you recommend to look up more information about the trials? Legal Legacy of the Salem Witch Trials. Ancestry is the easiest way. Seven more died in jail. Europe, on the other hand, was super into dramatic flames. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. 1, pp. Im using this for my History project. If these individuals had never written these books or helped record the proceedings, we wouldnt know half of what we know about the witch trials. propably in like 1-3 weeks away. In addition to this constant sense of fear, Salem residents were also under a great deal of stress during this period due to a number of factors. Cant wait to visit this place! The following are some facts about the Salem Witch Trials: Did the Salem Witch Trials have any affect on the way that the American court systems were designed once the United States became a country? The Salem jail was located at the corner of Federal Street and St. Peter Street. Let me know if you are related to story too. When the first inquiry is made into the circumstances of such as may lie under the just suspicion of witchcrafts, we could wish that there may be admitted as little as is possible of such noise, company and openness as may too hastily expose them that are examined, and that there may no thing be used as a test for the trial of the suspected, the lawfulness whereof may be doubted among the people of God; but that the directions given by such judicious writers as Perkins and Bernard [be consulted in such a case]. Farms were mortgaged or sold, first to pay prison fees, then to pay taxes; frequently they were abandoned. 5 Facts About the Salem Trials. Giles Corey, the husband of Martha Corey, refused to enter a plea and was subjected to a particularly gruesome form of torture where the accused is crushed under heavy stones until they either respond or die a tactic known as peine forte et dure, (until he either answered or died). Now I know it is not only there that it existed. There were many critics of the witch hunt, such as a local farmer John Proctor, who scoffed at the idea of witchcraft in Salem and called the young girls scam artists. The Salem witch trials resulted in the arrest of over 150 people, 19 of whom were ultimately convicted and executed. 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 has so many details that I need. They all died on the same day so its hard to pinpoint who you are talking about. Fresh witchcraft cases continued to come before the new Superior Court of Judicature that, while again presided over by William Stoughton, was ordered not to accept spectral evidence. They were part of a long story of witch hunts that began in Europe in the 14th century. Since some families of the victims did not want their family member listed, not every victim was named. Hi Sarah, I find the Salem Witch trails to be the most interesting event in the colonization of whats now US. Titubas confession was the trigger that sparked the mass hysteria and the hunt for more witches in Salem. Text adapted from the National Geographic book Witches! my question for the project was what was the history of the salem witch trials. Sarah Wildes was my 8th great grandmother. They basically played the trump card of the times. The charter was revoked because the colonists had violated several of the charters rules, which included basing laws on religious beliefs and discriminating against Anglicans. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a dark time in American history. TDR / The Drama Review, 2018, Vol. Although the infamous persecution of witches . Since the accused witches were considered dangerous prisoners, they were kept in the dungeon and were chained to the walls because jail officials believed this would prevent their spirits from fleeing the jail and tormenting their victims. Despite its power as a cautionary tale, Salem remains an enigma that continues to fascinate and beguile more than three centuries later. The other most notorious case of witchcraft in England came during the British Civil Wars when Matthew Hopkins the son of a Puritan clergyman and the self-styled Witch Finder General scoured East Anglia in search those suspected of making covenants with the Devil. At the time, Salem Village was a small New England town populated mostly by Puritans, or religious individuals with a belief in the devil. The Salem Witch Trials: Facts & History. The Salem Witch Trials: Facts & History. They hanged the poor souls instead. A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials. Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Institute, 23 Oct. 2007, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-salem-witch-trials-175162489/. King William's War (war in the America colonies against the French) ended with many people having to be relocated so there were many strangers moving into town. The day of prayer and fasting was held on January 15, 1698, and was known as the Day of Official Humiliation. Ergot contains lysergic acid, a precursor for synthesis of LSD; certainly the visions of shape-shifting devils reported by the afflicted might be consistent with the experiences of an acid trip. Although I just found it, it has helped me with what I needed on my Salem Witch Trials report for History. Alden spent 15 weeks in jail before friends helped break him out and he escaped to New York. To understand the events of theSalem Witch Trials, it is necessary to examine the times in which accusations of witchcraft occurred. thanks, mike turner, The 1692 Salem Village map can now be purchased on zazzle: http://www.zazzle.com/salem_village_map_poster-228789587972988887?rf=238784808055391622. Another five were executed exactly a month later on 19 August, four of whom were men. On October 29, Phips dismissed the Court of Oyer and Terminer. You have been so helpful! His diagnosis of bewitchment put into motion the forces that would ultimately result in the hanging deaths of 19 men and women. When the first accusations of witchcraft began in Salem Village, they initially targeted women. As the trials and executions continued, colonists began to doubt that so many people could actually be guilty of this crime. I need to cite this for my reference sheet. By May 1693 . The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a dark time in American history. Thanks! It is voluminous and comes in paperback and hardcover. An Account of the Life, Character, & C., of the Rev. A fear-ridden society always finds scapegoats. A. Preston, VK. This illustration shows him speaking at Witches Hill, the site of his execution. I lasted edited this page on October 18, 2015. Thirteen womenand five men from all stations of life followed her to the gallows onthree successive hanging daysbefore the court was disbanded by Governor William Phipps in October of that year. The governor released the last few prisoners the following May. The Salem Witch Trials offered a salutary lesson not only to the colony of Massachusetts Bay but also to the new nation that would be forged in the following century. I see that you told someone quite a while ago but I dont think that is up to date. In 1711, the colony passed a bill restoring some of the names of the convicted witches and paid a total of 600 in restitution to their heirs. Also, when was his last updated? If the accused was indicted, they were not allowed a lawyer and they had to decide to plead guilty or not guilty with no legal counsel to guide them. Get 6 issues for 19.99 and receive a 10 gift card* PLUS free access to HistoryExtra.com, Save 70% on the shop price when you subscribe today - Get 13 issues for just $49.99 + FREE access to HistoryExtra.com. Sources:Upham, Charles W. Salem Witchcraft: With an Account of Salem Village and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft. A large proportion of the case against Bishop also focused on her lifestyle, especially her rumoured promiscuity and un-Puritan ways. On 2 June, the specially convened Court of Oyer and Terminer (oyer meaning to hear, terminer meaning to decide) sat for the first time, presided over by William Stoughton, the newly appointed lieutenant governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. This was no more notable than when playwright Arthur Miller chose to dramatise the trials in his 1953 play The Crucible. [State v. Dustin, 122 N.H. 544, 551 (N.H. A secondary source would be a book, journal or article written long after the event by someone who didnt experience it first hand. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were killed during the hysteria. The accused was thrown into a river and if they made it out alive, it was because they were a witch. I am the author and publisher of this blog. During that time, 19 people were hanged and one person was pressed to death. Massachusetts Archives Collection, vol. Salem witch trials, (June 1692-May 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). These spirits could inhabit any human or any creature. In additionone man was pressed to death; several others died in prison, and the lives of many were irrevocably changed. . Its pretty hard to show any sort of concrete, tangible evidence that someone is in league with the Devil or fiddling around with spirits. Porters never forgot about this n intermarried with many of the families afterwards. The Salem Witch Trials occurred in the settlement of Salem in colonial Massachusetts in 1692 and 1693, and resulted in the executions of twenty people accused of witchcraft, most of them women. To complicate matters further, within Salem Village itself, there were two separate social groups. With a 1562 act now permitting the death penalty for acts of witchcraft, they were hanged. Salem Witch Trials Mass hysteria, social ignorance, and religious intolerance all describe the chaos that took place in Massachusetts during the year 1692. It seems like an easier thing to do than just sit there and be accused. At the center of the Salem witch trials were a core group of accusers, all girls and young women ranging in age from nine to 20, who screamed, writhed, barked and displayed other horrifying. All rights reserved. As chief justice, Stoughton believed that spectral evidence presented to the court that is, evidence gathered from dreams and visions would form a central plank of the prosecutions. Hi Indigo, Im assuming you mean eyewitness accounts. In May, as the number of cases grew, Governor William Phips set up a special court, known as the Court of Oyer and Terminer (which translate to hear and determine) to hear the cases. "Maleus Maleficarum Part I.". The eight-point response, penned by Cotton Mather, advised prudence when it came to procedure, cautioning that hastiness shouldnt overwhelm lawfulness. Related: Scary Stories: 10 Places For Stephen King Fans To Visit. I just found this out. It was last edited on September 8, 2013 at 4:52 pm, Thank you, Rebecca, recently I have been down and this is a paper for a class Im failing, Thank you for helping me get an A, What is the publisher for this website? Lets look at some important historical evidence that people often forget about the Salem witch trials. This is basically what got me an A on my history fair assignment, I appreciate all the time and effort put into writing this! The girls were having a type of epileptic fit and would scream out . Where did theses trials take place were there anymore places then Massachusetts Bay. He is recorded to have recited a prayer uttered with such composedness from many, so that it seemed to some that the spectators would hinder the execution.