ipl-logo

Salem Witch Trials Essay

528 Words3 Pages

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.

One of the main causes of the salem witch trials was the belief in the Occult. The puritans strongly believed in the existence of witches and warlocks or things from the underworld. All of these creatures were blamed for all of the bad things happening to their crops and lives. Due to this belief, they were inclined to make some of the most improbable explanations to the situations that were occurring.

Multiple cases were filed after the 9-year old Elizabeth and 11-year old Abigail were diagnosed. The behavior consisted of uncontrollable fits and screaming. After the community found out about the first diagnosis, everyone was afraid of the people and their family because they thought they would catch whatever they had. Not much later, the first witch was hung. Her name was Bridget Bishop. She was hung in June, 8-days after she was convicted. But she was just the beginning of …show more content…

Because of a servant telling the children of the town of sorcery and the devil, they began to believe what they had heard. The town was scared of the “possessed” people, thinking that killing them would stop the problem. Sadly, over 24 men, women and children died because they were assumed to have possessed by the devil. Bridget Bishop was the first accused and was hung on June 10, 1692. Many followed, until the court overruled the judgement of the mayor. As you can see, there are many reasons that is where the stories

Show More
Related

  • The Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials

    737 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Salem witch trials was one of the most famous witch hunt in history. More than 200 accused witched occupied the local jail. 19 people executed, were hanged, one pressed with rocks to death and few more died in jail within a year from 1692-1693. It happened in Salem Village, New England in Massachusetts, now known as Danvers. Witchcraft was second among the hierarchy of crimes which was above blasphemy, murder and poisoning in the Puritan Code of 1641.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials

    845 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Salem witch trial was a time about accusing your fellow neighbor or being accused yourself, this all began in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. During this time many people were being accused of being a witch, a majority of the time it was because either someone truly believed that you were a witch and were reeking havoc or they were trying to find someone to take the blame if they were to being accused. So this leads us to question, what began the Salem Witch Trials? There were at least three causes of the Salem witch trials hysteria. These were Betty Parris and Abigail Williams story, Ergotism, and the acknowledgment of hysteria.

    Read More

  • Why The Puritans Were Allowed In The Salem Witch Trials

    1729 Words  | 7 Pages

    In the year of 1630, a group of people known as the Puritans arrived to America and settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in Boston. The Puritans were similar to the Pilgrims in which they were Protestants from England who thought that their reforms of their church were “too Catholic” and needed to be changed further. The Puritans being unhappy with their reforms was the primary reason for leaving England and settling in America, while the Pilgrims stayed behind and were determined to change their reforms. When they came to America, they decided to keep some of their strict rules. For example, church was mandatory and if someone missed a day,

    Read More

  • How Did The Salem Witch Trials Support Mass Hysteria

    817 Words  | 4 Pages

    In late 17th century Massachusetts, there were The Salem Witch Trials. It was a series of prosecutions and hearings of people that were accused of witchcraft, and those who did witchcraft were to be praising the devil. All of this ended up taking place in the year 1692 and 93, it resulted in 20 people being executed during that period. It was mostly women who were too accused of all of it. The big question that's been around for a long period was whether the trials were really about witches or something else, which has been debated by scholars and historians for years.

    Read More

  • Causes Of Salem Witch Trial Hysteria

    354 Words  | 2 Pages

    The lying caused the witch trial hysteria. In 1692,In salem massachusetts. The puritans believed of what they read in the bible and becasue of the fales accusations twenty people died. One of them was a man and he was pressed to death. The three causes of the salem witch trails were the dividing towns,lying,and age.

    Read More

  • How Did The Salem Witch Trials Create A Mass Hysteria

    617 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

    396 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Salem Witch Trials was a chain reaction of girls accused of being witches, when women were given unfair punishments for being “witches.” Witch Trials started when “two young girls began suffering from fits, uncontrollable screaming, and body contortions” (Biography.com). One of these girls was Bridget Bishop. At this time, doctors did not know what was happening

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Salem Witch Trials And Japanese Internment

    371 Words  | 2 Pages

    How does The Salem Witch Trials relate to The Japanese Internment? Did both events happen out of fear or was this meant to be? The Salem Witch Trials and The Japanese Internment were both out of fear, and they are very similar by the events that occurred. The Salem Witch Trials took place in 1692.

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials Research Papers

    721 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Salem Witch Trials The belief of witchcraft can be traced back centuries to as early as the 1300’s. The Salem Witch Trials occurred during 1690’s in which many members of Puritan communities were accused and convicted of witchcraft. These “witch trials” were most famously noted in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Many believe this town to be the starting point for the mass hysteria which spread to many other areas of New England.

    Read More

  • Colonial America Essay

    641 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Salem Witch trials popped up around 1692 and they were a disaster. The reason why they came up was because of their religion. The people in the town of Salem were puritans. This means their religion was very strict and that they believed in the devil. The way this all started was that the people who were accused of being witches were acting funny.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Salem Witch Trials Dbq

    480 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Salem, Massachusetts, Puritans were strong believers in the Bible. The Bible states, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” The Puritans beliefs led to them accusing 20 innocent people of being a witch, this resulted in their deaths in 1692. Even though the Puritans couldn’t see it at the time, their accusations were really based off jealousy, lies, and Salem being divided into two parts. One cause of the Salem witch trial hysteria was jealousy.

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials

    889 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the Salem Witch first instance of witchery is Betty/Elizabeth Parris, along with Abigail Williams when they started to scream and giggle uncontrollably, along with delusions, vomiting, muscle spasms, screaming, and writhing. William Griggs, a physician, diagnosed witchcraftery to the women. Soon, fueled by resentment and paranoia, more and more women were accused of being witches, while the community and system of justice piled up. The Trials had lasted from 1692 to 1693. Some women acted peculiar because of a fungus called “Ergot” that grew on cereals and wheat.

    Read More

  • The Causes And Effects Of The Salem Witch Trials

    1008 Words  | 5 Pages

    Not many people know much about what actually happened in the Salem Witch Trials. Maybe someone would think that it was just about witchcraft and crazy people being hanged, but it is a lot more than that. The Salem Witch Trials only occurred between 1692 and 1693, but a lot of damage had been done. The idea of the Salem Witch Trials came from Europe during the “witchcraft craze” from the 1300s-1600s. In Europe, many of the accused witches were executed by hanging.

    Read More

  • William Barker Sr.: The Salem Witch Trials

    749 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Massachusetts during 1692, Salem Village underwent a time of grief, trial, death, and Witchcraft. The chaos in Salem Village began when young girls would have what they called “fits” and they would scream vey vulgarly and fall onto the ground and shake uncontrollably (Magoon 6). These fits frightened the surrounding people and the Doctors of Salem couldn't find a diagnosis. After studying and trying to understand the illness they had, the people of Salem came to the conclusion that these girls were possessed by the Devil (Magoon 7). The result would lead to one of the most recognized events in American History, the Salem Witch Trials.

    Read More

  • What Are The Causes Of Hysteria During The Salem Witch Trials

    407 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Witches: The Absolutely True Tale Of Disaster In Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer people in the town of Salem were Condemned for being witches. By the end of it all more than 200 people were accused and 20 were executed. Horridly they accused people from all ages, everyone from teenager to ancient was accused. But why? The Salem Witch Trials were caused by hysteria, popularity, and revenge.

    Read More

More about Salem Witch Trials Essay

Open Document