How Did The Number One Cause Of Hysteria During The Salem Witch Trials

In the small town of Salem, Massachusetts, there lived a group of people called the Puritans. They lived strictly by the Christian church’s laws and beliefs. They wanted to purify the Church and their own lives. When the talk of witches came about they knew it was the work of the Devil and that he was present in the Community. They believed that God would protect them always. Religion was the number one cause of hysteria in the Salem Witch Trials. The Puritans clothing represented their religion and beliefs. They believed everything should be plain. They dressed with modesty and decorum. They wore very dull colors which included, russet, black, gray, brown, green, dull pale yellow, and blue. The Puritans came to America for religious freedom. Under Archbishop William Laud, head of

If you didn’t follow God’s law you would receive harsh punishment, which included hanging, public whippings, cutting off ears, boring holes in tongues, stockades, etc. The Salem Witch Trials began during the spring of 1692. A group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil. They accused several women of being witches, and causing their afflictions. Witchcraft was a crime punishable by death. Some of the afflictions included life threatening fits and bizarre contortions. No one could explain their visions of dark apparitions and bright lights; their temporary paralysis; their blindness and deafness. They claimed they were being pinched, choked, bitten, scratched, sat upon, or pricked with pins. (Schanzer, 23) The Salem Witch Trials began during the spring of 1692, but the the first girls afflictions began in early January. It started in the Parris household. On a freezing day in January his daughter Betty and niece Abigail began to twitch, choke, and contort their bodies into strange abnormal shapes, crouch beneath the furniture, and speak in words that made no sense. (Schanzer,