Salem Witch Trials Compare And Contrast Essay

According to Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage and Hartman (2014), hundreds of people faced accusations of witchcraft, while dozens had to stay and suffer in jail for months without trials. This was known as the Salem Witch Trials. This signaled the erosion of the religious confidence and assurance. Witchcraft was defined as “entering into a compact with the devil in exchange for certain powers to do evil” (Sutter, 2000). During this time period, Puritans believed in witches and that they had the ability to harm others. Witchcraft was considered a sin and a crime, because it denied God’s superiority, and the witch could use the Devil in his or her shape to perform malicious acts against others. Puritans also believed that in order to become bewitched,

The first of the evidence was the accused needed to pass a test, such as reciting the Lord’s Prayer. This test was used because usually if the accused person was actually a witch, then in the middle of the test, the person would be known to scream and writhe on the floor. The second type of evidence was physical evidence, which could be any warts, moles, birthmarks, or any other blemishes on the body. These were thought to be places where the devil entered into the body. The third type of evidence was witness testimony, in which any person that observed the accused person doing any type of witchcraft or sorcery could testify in court. The fourth was spectral evidence, in which if anyone saw a ghost or a spirit in the accused individual, than the person must be a witch. This was evidence because Puritans believed that the devil could not take form in any unwilling person. The final type of evidence was the confession, which was usually the only way out. If a person confessed, even if they thought they were innocent, then they would promise repentance, and a person who confessed was never convicted (Witchcraft in Salem,