Salem Witch Trials: The Accused Witches Of 1692

Do you know what affected America the most? The Salem witch trials had a great affect on America; so great that Christianity had to change their ways. This also was one of the great mistakes America had made at the time. The salem witch trials began as a misdiagnosis on a woman named Betty Parris in Salem, she was ‘strangely’ sick.

In today’s society, the idea of witches have generally become a common topic. When Halloween arrives, we see people dressed up to mimic witches in fun spirit. However, during the Salem Witch Trials, witches were considered evil and against God, which caused fear to strike out amongst the people who religiously followed the Bible and believed in God. Thus, the accusations of citizens being involved with witchcraft struck out, and the persecutions began. When the topic of the Salem Witch Trials is mentioned, we think about how creepy it was and how the people were killed.

This book the Crucible, it takes place in Salem in which a series of problems have come up. In addition, a girl named Abigail persuaded and intimidated people to get what she wanted, which is John Proctor. However, Danforth accused Proctor for working with the devil and gets hanged for it with Sarah Good. These events caused people to take revenge on others and killed, out of greed. To begin with, the Salem witch trials had a negative impact to the people, Judges, and the people of the Church.

Having converted from a pagan to a catholic I have been ridiculed by peers and called a devil worshipper. I find it funny that when people hear the words witch or magic they automatically think there is an association with the devil. At a certain point I started to feel like it was 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts the only things missing were a noose and giant cross. What’s funny is that my interest in the Salem Witch Trials is what began my obsession with all things Wiccan. Unbeknownst to my family I started practicing and I started to become addicted.

The Salem witch trials took place because of people practicing witchcraft and they were not witches. This resulted in the imprisonment /execution of more than 200 people. Centuries ago many Christians and those who practiced other religions believed that the Devil gave certain people known as witches power to bring harm to other people in exchange for their loyalty to him. From 1300 to the end of 1600 raged in Europe.

The Salem Witch Trials were one of the most dreadful times in the history of Massachusetts; many people got put to death for absurd reasons. The trials began because a few teenage girls essentially bored with their puritan lives; they wanted to do something different. Therefore; they forced many people to believe that there was an evil power among them, encased in friends, neighbors, and even family members. This preposterous theory that the girls brought to the small, quaint, puritan town of Salem, turned out to be extremely devastating to the town and the people who inhabited it.

The Accusation and Punishment of Witches in Salem In the late 1600s in Salem, dozens of people were accused of practicing witchcraft and working with the Devil to torment people. It all started when a child grew ill for seemingly no reason, causing the people of Salem to believe a witch was among them. Children started accusing men and women of witchcraft, and those men and women would pay for their alleged crimes. They were thrown in disgusting jails, chained to the walls, drowned, lit on fire, and hanged for crimes they did not commit.

The witch trials in Salem in the year 1692 was a scowling time in American history. The New York Post explains about The Crucible play that “... at a time when America was convulsed by a new epidemic of witchhunting, The Crucible brilliantly explores the threshold between individual guilt and mass hysteria, personal spite and collective evil.” In The Crucible, John Proctor and his wife are hit with many situations which burdens their relationship. While this is going on, many people were being accused as witches for little incidents which they thought would add up to witchcraft. During this time period, the grudges and personal rivalries between people makes these witch trials immoral and unethical.

In her writings, Emily Oster noted, “Beginning in the thirteenth century, it became widely accepted that witches existed, and were capable of causing physical harm to others and could control natural forces” (216). The word “witch” comes from old English “wicca or wicce”, meaning “a woman (or man) thought to have evil magic powers”. Witches were rebels against the church and society, and were often described as healers and guides who survived a cult.

Mayhem, madness, and chaos are some adjectives that describe the Salem witch Trials era. It was a time of confusion and fear for the thought of witches had invaded the town of Salem. However, there are some scientific explanations for the outbursts. Some theorist believe there was a ergot poisoning epidemic within the town. Consuming a grain of rye that is contaminated ergot fungus can lead to convulsions and hallucinations.

When someone in the town noticed someone practicing different religions or not going to church then they were accused of being a witch. Some may argue that the Puritan Society had first hand evidence of people being witches. For example, someone in the town would blame another person for witchcraft

The Salem witch trials are trials in which took place in Salem, Massachusetts between 1692-1693. These witch trials have been described as court trials for those accused of witchcraft. The supposed practice of witchcraft caused fear and paranoia to spread throughout several different towns in massachusetts. The accusers, of those people who were thought to be practicing witchcraft, were under the impression that these “witches” were the reason for crops failing, drought, and people to become ill. These people were considered to posses the power of the devil.

On hearing the crossing had been abandoned, Witches were accused of attempting to drown James by calling up a storm while he was at sea with his new wife. Other charges include trying to kill James by melting a wax effigy of him. They were also accused of performing depraved rituals in a church in Berwick Anne’s visit to Denmark, a country familiar with witch-hunts, may have inspired James interest in the study of witchcraft. Following his return to Scotland, in 1590 he personally oversaw the North Berwick witch trials, the first major persecution of witches in Scotland under the Witchcraft Act of 1563. While the witches were accused of classic witchcraft, the main issue as far as James was concerned was the plan to murder him – treason.

The Salem Witch trials were started in 1692. According to History.com, a group of girls claimed to be possessed with the devil and that they were practicing witchcraft. This event may have caused the trials to begin. With the mix of the belief of the underworld and witches, the rumors began and spread like wildfire. Many people believed the girls and demanded for the people who were “possessed” to be killed a the spirit removed from the body and let free.

Throughout the course of America’s history there are many events of injustice: the mistreatment of Native Americans, using African Americans as personal property, and accusing men and women in Salem, Massachusetts of witchcraft. The Salem witch trials occurred many years ago in 1692. In the Puritan community, religion was a huge part of life. It controlled most of people’s everyday activities and was a way to find hope in their difficult, unglamourous lives. According to History.com, “Puritans were portrayed by their enemies as hair splitters who slavishly followed their bibles as guides to daily life” (Delbanco).