ipl-logo

The Mass Hysteria Of Salem: The Salem Witch Trials

482 Words2 Pages

The Mass Hysteria of Salem

Mass hysteria struck colonial Massachusetts in 1692 when several hearings took place known as The Salem Witch Trials. In this small town of Salem, there were 141 people arrested, 19 people hanged, and one person crushed to death. Why would this take place you ask? They were all accused of witchcraft, the Devil’s magic, and it was not taken lightly..

The Beginning of it all

Several hundred years ago, many Christians and other religious persons, had a strong belief that the Devil could give people, known as witches, the power to harm others in return for their loyalty to him. A "witchcraft craze" spread throughout Europe from the 1300s to the end of the 1600s. Tens of thousands of supposed witches—mostly …show more content…

Many other women followed and were accused of being witches and then hung as well. The council who made the life or death decision wouldn’t listen to the accused people. One reason these pointed fingers were happening was because the people of Salem wanted more land to occupy so they needed a reason to kill the people that owned the land they wanted. Also, they were so afraid of the idea of witch-work that blindly killing an innocent man seemed better than the idea of leaving them to live if they were seen dancing in the woods or living somewhere someone else wanted.

The High Theory of Salem A theory has been proposed to help explain the mass hysteria of the Salem witch trials of 1693. Rye was a staple grain used in bread in the 1600s and there was a fungus called Ergot that infected the rye. Ergot fungus needs a warm and damp weathered environment to grow, which the town of Salem provided. The effects of ingesting the fungus are convulsions, delusions, crawling sensations of the skin, and hallucinations. This would explain why Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams would have felt such sensations and started the accusations that created the Salem witch

Show More
Related

  • Salem Witch Trial Hysteria Of 1692 Essay

    457 Words  | 2 Pages

    So what provoked this tragedy? Evidence shows that the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692 was caused by boredom, personal, and religious bias. One of the most important things to consider is the biases the accusers might have had. When looking at a map of Salem one may observe that more than ninety percent of the accusers lived on the west side of town, and more than eighty percent of the Accused witches

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials In 1692 Salem And The Red Scare Of 1950

    534 Words  | 3 Pages

    There was agitation for what was to come for the colony; everything was strained in aspects of the government, and to add to that, witches were perceived, consequently heightening the hysteria. The colonists became to believe that the devil was accountable for all the hardships they faced. [] Tensions within the colony were so severe that in 1692, Salem was basically dry kindling waiting for a spark to ignite it. The spark was the first appearance of witchcraft in the colony, which began “in Salem… in January of 1692 with a group of young girls” (Brooks). The girls went through the typical states of hysteria, “starting with a preliminary phase of anxious self-reflection or worrying about their “sins”, which led to the onset phase, which is characterized by fainting, wailing, and broken speech.

    Read More

  • How Did The Salem Witch Trials Connect To Mccarthyism

    1010 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a dark time in American history. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were killed during the hysteria. Ever since those dark days ended, the trials have become synonymous with mass hysteria. The witchcraft hysteria in Salem is when a group of young girls, who later came to be known as the “afflicted girls,” fell ill after playing a fortune-tellingdancing in the woods game and began behaving strangely. During this time period, people feared that the Devil was constantly trying to find ways to infiltrate and destroy Christians and their communities.

    Read More

  • Ergot Poisoning Dbq

    1017 Words  | 5 Pages

    The events in Salem were not the first of mass executions of accused witches. The tests in determining if one was a witch were centuries old and based in religion. The explanations for this mass hysteria are mixed. Some scholars blame the strange symptoms and panic on the hallucinogenic effects of ergot poisoning. John Updike theorized in his novel

    Read More

  • Essay On What Caused The Salem Witch Trials Of 1692

    639 Words  | 3 Pages

    What Caused the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 In Salem, Massachusetts there were Witch Trials held during the summer months of 1692. Throughout the seventeenth century in New England, witchcraft was said to be a crime punishable by death. Puritans came to New England in the early 1600’s to practice their Christianity in the purest form possible. They believed every word in the bible and that the words of God were to be followed down to the last sentence there was. Havoc started occurring around the town and 19 women along with men were hanged for witchcraft.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Salem Witch Trials Dbq

    480 Words  | 2 Pages

    For example, hallucinogens (like LSD) could have gotten mixed up in the grain supply. However, with other theories like the hallucinogen theory, the other causes like jealousy, lies, and a town divided have had more evidence that builds up with their case. Even though other theories still have evidence with their side, the ideas of jealousy, lies, and a town divided has evidence rooted from sources recorded with people in 1692, at the time of the Salem witch trial

    Read More

  • Chapter Summary: The Salem Witch Trials

    1223 Words  | 5 Pages

    REVIEW OF LITRATURE A.) SUMMARY SOURCE A Although the whole book had information on the Salem witch trials. The introduction, chapter 1 and 2 and the conclusion had information regarding the research needed • Introduction: states what the Salem witch trials where and who they accused.

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials Essay

    577 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Salem witch trials were a very dark time in the history of the United States. The tragic deaths of the 20 people who died will forever be carved into United States history. There are three main theories about what caused the mass hysteria in Salem. Ergot poisoning, strict rules towards women, and strict religion.

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials Essay

    435 Words  | 2 Pages

    Salem, Massachusetts, USA and occurred between February 1692 and May 1693. Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned and even more accused; but not pursued by the authorities. 29 were convicted of witchcraft but only 19 were hanged. The best known trials were in the Court of Oyer and Terminer.

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials Dbq Essay

    745 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 may have been instigated by religious, social, geographic and even biological factors. During these trials, 134 people were condemned as witches and 19 were hanged. These statistics also include 5 more deaths that occurred prior to their execution date. It is interesting to look into the causes of this stain on American History, when as shown in document B, eight citizens were hanged in only one day.

    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

  • Reasons Behind The Crucible Essay

    624 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Salem Witch Trials accusing others of a feared crime showed definite evidence that mass hysteria was to blame. Salem was a religious settlement, following Puritan beliefs (Miller, 6). A large fear for everyone in Salem was the touch of the Devil (Miller, Arthur). According to Puritan beliefs, if a man or woman was touched by the Devil he would convince them to do witchcraft. Once word was mentioned the Devil had possibly touched Salem, the fear spread.

    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

  • 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

  • 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

More about The Mass Hysteria Of Salem: The Salem Witch Trials

Open Document