How Did The Salem Witch Trials Create A Mass Hysteria

Call upon the gods! Cast your circle! It’s time to perform the ritual! The Salem Witch Trials were a major part of the world’s history. These trials created a mass hysteria and caused many people grief. Hysteria was a reason behind the trials, which caused the death and accusations of many innocent people. Many of the townspeople believed in evil spirits and demons. First, an event occurred in the early 1690s that started up the trials in Salem. A group of young girls got around a bowl and performed some magical rites that they learned from their slave, Tituba (“Salem Witch,” Gale). Then, the girls leaned into the bowl to see the egg whites. To their surprise, it had transformed into a coffin (“Salem Witch,” Gale). This was a definite sign of grave danger advancing. Afterward, the girls began to “behave strangely, complain of physical maladies, report visions, lapse into trances, and tremble without restraint” (Billings and Manning). The villagers were confused

It was the peoples’ reactions to their children being possessed that led to one of the most horrifying parts of history, the Salem Witch Trials (Chadwick 20). To begin with, the children diagnosed with witchery thought that they could jail anyone and started to target certain people due to the hysteria (Chadwick 22). As they started to see the wave of hysteria sweeping across of Salem, they “began to confess to the crazy charges in order to avoid hanging” (Chadwick 22). Consequently, suspected witches could confess to their sins and be welcomed back into the community, but some people couldn’t bear to lie, even to rescue their own lives. Soon after, many sent pleads to the court were sent: however, they were ignored due to the hysteria that reached the judges (Chadwick 22). With these details, readers can conclude that the trials were a result of the