25 disturbing facts about the salem witch trials

January 1692- Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village's daughter, 9-year-old Elizabeth "Betty" Parris, falls ill, soon followed by his 11-year-old niece, Abigail Williams. The infant died shortly after her birth, likely due to malnutrition. This database contains information on more than 200 individuals formally accused and put on trial for witchcraft in New England between 1647 and 1697, including those accused in the Salem witch trials. The panic and fear over witches hiding amongst the colony began when two young girls, Abigail Williams and Betty Parris, developed strange symptoms including having fits and screaming in pain at mysterious moments. Another executed man was John Proctor, a wealthy farmer who spoke out against the witch trials, particularly after his wife Elizabeth had been arrested for witchcraft. 20 wereexecuted (generally hanged) by the prosecutors, and five died while serving prison time. Some of the attitudes in the Salem witch trials are still seen today. What historians do know is that Abigail Williams was born on July 12, 1680. Image of The Salem Witch Trials. Full List, Photo Credits, and Sources: https://list25.com/25-disturbing-facts-about-the-salem-witch-trialsSUBSCRIBE - http://bit.ly/2uwq6BJCheck out our store: https://teespring.com/stores/list25-swagFollow us on: List25 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/list25List25 Instagram: https://instagram.com/list25/List25 Twitter - https://twitter.com/list25 List25 Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/list25/See more Top 25 lists on our website:http://list25.comThe Salem witch trials were BRUTAL, but did you know that a big reason for the craziness surrounding the town was the Salem smallpox outbreak shortly before? By the time it was over, the resulting Salem witch trials had claimed the lives of 20 innocent souls. This obviously meant that you must also be a witch. Despite the Salem witch trials occurring centuries ago, researchers only just found the execution site for the trials in 2016. Between 1692 and 1693, more than two hundred people were accused. Initially, Tituba also claimed to be blameless, but after being repeatedly badgered (and undoubtedly fearful owing to her vulnerable status as a slave), she told the magistrates what they apparently wanted to hearthat she had been visited by the devil and made a deal with him. 8. Courts relied on three kinds of evidence: 1) confession, 2) testimony of two eyewitnesses to acts of witchcraft, or 3) spectral evidence (when the afflicted girls were having their fits, they would interact with an unseen assailant - the apparition of the witch tormenting them). T he infamous Salem witch trials of 1692 and 1693 claimed the lives of 20 people. Let those stories inspire you to start your family history research today. An important minister in Boston named Increase Mather was one of these objectors, stating that It were better that ten suspected witches should escape than that one innocent person should be condemned.. Given the subsequent spread of the strange behaviour to other girls and young women in the community and the timing of its display, however, those physiological and psychological explanations are not very convincing. While there was no need to provide evidence for accusing someone of witchcraftjust pointing fingers was enoughspectral evidence was often used during the trials. They found it by following clues in an accused witchs writings and through guesses on where prisoners would be transported. They thought that when witches baked cakes, that they were casting a spell in it. The Salem witchcraft trials, which began in May of 1692 after months of rumors of Satanic influence, still grip the American imagination more than 300 years later. The Salem Witch trials occupy a large space in the American imagination. Witch trials had actually been a fairly common phenomenon in Europe during that period. For more than 300 years, the complex drama of the 1692 Salem witch trials and its themes of injustice and the frailties of human nature have captivated and fascinated the public imagination. Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. Unlike the stereotype surrounding witchcraft that indicates that it is primarily done by women, the people of Salem did not discriminate on the basis of gender. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. The grave of Martha Corey, the wife of Giles Corey . Which, yes, is a little ironic. Move over Montagues and Capulets: You might not be the most vengeful families out there. Spooky stories abound at the Witch House in Salem, Massachusetts. Rebecca Beatrice Brooks Post author October 25, 2017 at 3:28 pm. Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, the 9-year-old daughter and 11-year-old niece of Reverend Parris, started having "fits" described as: "severe convulsions and other strange symptoms.". New Hampshire. The story goes that Corey and her husband, Giles, sat in on the trials early on, causing Martha to express scepticism about the legitimacy of the proceedings. Here are three notable facts about the Salem witch trials: About 42-50 people died being accused of witchcraft over the course of 300 years. In addition, one man was pressed to death by giant stones for refusing to even plea innocent. The first witch trial occurred because the daughter (Betty Parris) and niece (Abigail Williams) of the local Salem Reverend had become violently ill. The Salem trials also went on to become a powerful metaphor for the anticommunist hearings led by U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare of the 1950s, famously in the form of Arthur Millers allegorical play The Crucible (1953). Fourteen women and six men were executed for witchcraft, and five others died in prison during the trials. One exception was Giles Corey, who refused to stand for trialhe believed the court had already decided his fate, and he didn't want his property to be confiscated upon his verdict of being found guilty. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? Descendants of the Salem community have made constant efforts to clear the names of those ancestors and relatives who were falsely accused and convicted back in the 1690s, with some being officially recognized as innocent by the Massachusetts government as recently as the beginning of the 21st-century. Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. 4. Rather, as Salem archivist and historian Richard Trask observes, they also included "second-hand rumors" and "fits of fancy." See Richard B. Trask, Legal Procedures Used During the Salem Witch Trials and a Brief History of the Published Versions of the Records, in Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt (Bernard Rosenthal ed., 2009). It was a time when Christianity was prominent and no one steered away from the biblical beliefs. Although Salem Village was at the heart of the witch trials of 1692, the accused were from a couple dozen towns. The extraordinary series of events in 1692 led to the deaths of 25 innocent men, women and children. If there is any consolation for some of the condemned witches of Salem, it may come from the fact that their families lived on long after them. Thought to have been built in about 1675, it was the residence of Judge Jonathan Corwin, who oversaw many of the witch trials in 1692. The hunts were efforts to identify witches rather than pursuits of individuals who were already thought to be witches. They began in 1692, a full 73 years before the start of the American Revolution and some 40 years before George Washington was even born. Not all of the accused witches who escaped hanging did so through the mercy of the governor. It was a time of hysteria, when courts believed in the devil, spectral evidence and teenage girls. What is the legacy of the Salem witch trials? When all was said and done, 25 people lost their lives because of the trials. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. A crucible is a kind of container used for heating substances at very high temperatures, and the term is often used to describe high pressure situationssuch as the onethe witch trials creates for the accused. Witches were people who followed Satan and traded their souls for his help. But the accusations didnt stop there. Spectral evidence refers to the description of harm committed by the specters of the accused, described by those who were bewitched [PDF]. Although Catherine's successor Queen Anne Boleyn suffered an infamously dark fate, Aragon's own life was somehow even more tragic. Despite being known as the Salem witch trials, some of the trials actually took place in Ipswich and Andover in addition to Salem itself. Ergot causes hallucinations, convulsive fits, and sometimes death, and LSD derives from the substance. Ann Putnam, for example, used spectral evidence to accuse Rebecca Nurse,said, I saw the Apperishtion of [Rebecca Nurse] and she did immediatly afflect me. Such evidence was also used against Bridget Bishop, with many men claiming she had visited them in spectral form in the middle of the night. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Take, Salvador Dali was a man of contradictions. Learn about the Salem witch trials and their legacy. Over the following year many trials were held and many people imprisoned. There have been many other instances of this kind of phenomenon sincemost recently in an outbreak of alleged evil clown sightings across the continent and beyond in 2016. The Salem witch trials are considered one of Americas most noteworthy cases of mass hysteria. For example, the infamous Putnam family had been one of the earliest settler dynasties to come to the Massachusetts Bay colony and establish themselves there. Witches were considered to be followers of Satan who had traded their souls for his assistance. No, it doesnt sound that romantic or comic to me either. A period of less than a year caused such turmoil that Salem, Massachusetts, is still widely known for the trials. The stars of the Salem story were the Puritan community of the Massachusetts Bay colony, a religious groupthat came over to America to escape religious persecution back in England. Just when did the Salem witch trials take place in the timeline of American history? Get ready to pull out your history books as we bring you the most DISTURBING facts about the Salem Witch Trials. Some scholars believe that they were of African heritage, while others think that they may have been of Caribbean Native American heritage.). Regardless of the cause -- whether it was ergot poisoning, a teen prank, a vendetta against past wrongs, a grab for land or mass hysteria -- the Salem witch trials stand as a . Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. One of the most famous victims of the trials was a prominent woman in the local community named Martha Corey. Much of the evidence brought agains the witches, at least at first, was called spectral evidence, where people testified to seeing an apparition of the accused trying to inflict harm on them. The punishment for witchcraft was death. On August 21, 1692, aided by two Boston ministers, Philip and Mary fled for New York, forfeiting a 4,000 bond and leaving their daughter in the care of a friend. 1 Majority Of Victims Were Girls Under Age 20 The Salem witch trials have been studied for centuries, and there is still no clear consensus on what exactly happened. The community, beleaguered with hardships already, then overreacted. In the process Salem divided into pro- and anti-Parris factions. After weeks of informal hearings, Sir William Phips, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, interceded to add some formality to the proceedings. It seems that a shocking number of accusations were made by members of the Putnam family. The most terrifying part, perhaps, was that anyone could be accused of engaging in witchcraft, and there was little they could do to defend themselves. Another famous incident from the trials was the case of John Proctor. The phrase witch hunt, commonly used to refer to an unjustified or falsely conjured-up prosecution, is thought to originate as a reference to this time period in American history. Seven more died in jail. In 1635, Plymouth Colony made it a crime to "form a solemn compact with the devil by way of witchcraft." As late as the 19 th century, women were persecuted for cursing butter churns, making animals sick and causing people to die. Thomas Maule, a Quaker who found himself at odds with the Puritan community at times, was beaten and imprisoned for speaking out against the trials, despite the fact that he himself believed in witches. Credit where credit is due! Fourteen women and six men were executed for witchcraft, and five others died in prison during the trials. Under pressure from the authoritiesand hoping she would get to see her mother if she compliedshe confessed to the claims that Sarah was a witch and Dorothy had been witness to this fact. Ergot causes hallucinations, convulsive fits, and sometimes death, and LSD derives from the substance. Although Massachusetts has given up its fight against witchcraft, there are still places in the world where witchcraft is legitimately feared by the public, sometimes even leading to real modern day witch hunts. When it was all over, 141 suspects, both men and women, were tried as witches. Because of the similarity in time period, location, and story, people often mix up the Puritans with the Pilgrims, the group of Dutch settlers who created what we now know as the holiday of Thanksgiving. So if witchcraft wasnt really happening in Salem, what actually caused those girls to have the fits? They soon spread to individuals regardless of their gender, class, or power in the community. Giles had actually been accused and found guilty of murdering one of his farm hands years earlier, but was let off with just a fine! Between February 1692 and May 1693 in current day Massachusetts, more than 200 people were accused of witchcraft. Life, woman, life is Gods most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.. John Proctors son was born in prison while his wife was imprisoned on witchcraft charges. In 1692, when the Salem witch trials began, the United States Constitution did not yet exist. By May 1693 everyone in custody under conviction or suspicion of witchcraft had been pardoned by Phips. These included "violent contortions and uncontrollable . Despite their obvious Christian commitment, the early American Puritans actually banned Christmas in the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1659, deeming it a sacrilege. The process of identifying witches began with suspicions or rumours. For everyone who remains intrigued by Salem, here are a few lesser-known facts about the witchcraft trials. They found it by following clues in an accused witchs writings and through guesses on where prisoners would be transported. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. It involved a woman by the name of Tituba, a most likely South American slave from Barbados, who was the first victim of Salems witchcraft accusations. The trials came to an abrupt halt when the Governors wife was accused of witchcraft, causing him to immediately order an end to the trials. The Salem Witch Trials begin. Besides their descendants, the accused witches of Salem leave another legacy: a rich and fascinating history for us to explore today. Its sad to think that all of the trials and the numerous deaths could have been caused by ergot poisoning, and no one in the town had any idea. On March 1 two magistrates from Salem Town, John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin, went to the village to conduct a public inquiry. The Salem witch trials marked a seven-month period of mass hysteria in 1692 Colonial America. Corrections? Today, witchcraftis recognized by the government as a protected and legitimate religion under the First Amendment. Apparently they felt that giving gifts took away from ones ability to focus on serious religious thought, and they did not like the pagan origins of some aspects of the holiday. The Multitude of Salem Witch Trials Descendants. New England Historical Society. Back in the 17th - century there was a great amount of stress caused by many different things in that era. His vocal support for his wifewho was also accused of witchcraftand claims that the accusers were lying were among the possible reasons why suspicion fell on him as well. Witch hunts Citizens began to believe that people were practicing witchcraft in their town. He was the first to suggest the girls may be under the evil influence of witchcraft. Even some members of his congregation at the time wanted to see him dismissed from his pew in response to his aggressive prosecuting role in the episode. The Salem witch trials of the late 17thcentury were a formative episode in Americas early history, and have remained at the forefront of the national consciousness ever since. The colony passed a bill in 1711 restoring the rights and good names of those accused and granted 600 restitution to their heirs. Call them ignorant, call them malicious, the, Life, woman, life is Gods most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it., 20 Brave Facts About the House of Gryffindor, 25 Money-Making Facts About Hollywood Industry, Hero to Zero Facts About Robert Devereux, The Rebellious Earl of Essex. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. One of the turning points in ending public support and enthusiasm for the trials was the conviction and execution of one of the towns former minsters, George Burroughs, who publicly recited the Lords Prayer at the gallows, which was believed to be impossible for witches to do. Despite the horrible and senseless loss of life and community divisions that the witch trials caused, some historians believe that the traumatic incident had a silver lining. Arthur Miller, the famous playwright who authored Death of a Salesman, responded to the McCarthy hysteria by writing The Crucible, a play about the Salem witch trials, as a metaphor for what the country was going through in the 1950s. Over 150 people were arrested for allegedly using witchcraft to inflict harm on their fellow townspeople, resulting in the executions of 20 people and the prison deaths of five more. The feud was over the fact that Kazan had named communist sympathizers during his testimony to Congress. The 1692 Salem witch trials are a big blot on American history. In May of 1693, Phips released from prison all remaining accused or convicted witches. Despite the horrible and senseless loss of life and community divisions that the witch trials caused, some historians believe that the traumatic incident had a silver lining. Thanks for your help! The Evil Justice William Stoughton Was the Ultimate Hanging Judge at the Salem Witch Trials and Heres Why. HistoryCollection.com, January 29, 2018. https://historycollection.com/william-stoughton-ultimate-hanging-judge-salem-witch-trials/. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. A complicated and long-lasting feud between the Putnam and Porter families of Salem may have been a motivating factor in some of the witchcraft accusations. Massachusetts formally apologized for the witch trials in 1957something that Chief Magistrate William Stoughton never did. The Salem witch trials of the late 17th century were a formative episode in America's early history, and have remained at the forefront of the national consciousness ever since. Make sure to leave us a comment after you watch this video to tell us what you learned and what video youd like to see next! One man was pressed to death under heavy stones, the only such state-sanctioned execution of its kind. Those people lived in quite a horrific time. They were eventually assumed to be possessed. So if witchcraft wasnt really happening in Salem, what actually caused those girls to have the fits? They are fascinating as well as scary. Additionally, he is an accomplished scriptwriter, having written the successful AA Meeting series for the stage and the award-winning film Depth of Pyaar. The late comedian Lucille Ball is a descendant of Rachel Vinson, who was acquitted in the witch trials. They screamed, made odd sounds, threw things, contorted their bodies, and complained of biting and pinching sensations. My mom never told me how her best friend died. If you think its all dramatic court rooms and burning at the stake, then you need to see these 25 Disturbing Facts About the Salem Witch Trials! Giles had actually been accused and found guilty of murdering one of his farm hands years earlier, but was let off with just a fine! The 1942 romantic comedy filmI Married a Witch, starring Veronica Lake and Frederic March, told the story of two witches from Salem placing a revenge curse on the descendants of their accuser. Here are 10 facts about the witch trials that will surely send chills down your spine. Villagers shot the dog immediately. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIIIs rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history. From the role of Abigail Williams to the invention of witch cakes and the devils mark, get ready to learn all you ever wanted to know (and more) about the dark past of the Salem witch trials. Music Credit: Spirit of the Dead by Aakash Gandhi#List25 #Didyouknow #WitchTrials Check out the top history lists on the internet all in one place. Although Massachusetts has given up its fight against witchcraft, there are still places in the world where witchcraft is legitimately feared by the public, sometimes even leading to real modern day witch hunts. However, witch trials are not a thing of the past. There was a social divide between the leading families as well as a split between factions that were for and against the villages new pastor, Samuel Parris. The Salem witch trials would mark her second time being accused of being a witch. The salem witch trials hysteria of 1692 was caused by the Puritans strict religious standards and intolerance of anything not accepted with their scripture. During 1692, in the city of Salem, a little colony in Massachusetts, US, a horrifying trial started against several neighbors accused of witchcraft. At the suggestion of a neighbour, a witch cake (made with the urine of the victims) was baked by Tituba to try to ferret out the supernatural perpetrator of the girls illness. Ancestry has made a home for a piece of that history in its online collection, New England, Salem Witches and Others Tried for Witchcraft, 1647-1697. Kyle Climans has been a published writer since 2011. They were eventually assumed to be possessed. In the late 1600s the Salem Village community in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Danvers, Massachusetts) was fairly small and undergoing a period of turmoil with little political guidance. The governor pardoned the rest of the accused witches and they were released from jail. Salem witch trials, (June 1692May 1693), in American history, a series of investigations and persecutions that caused 19 convicted witches to be hanged and many other suspects to be imprisoned in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Danvers, Massachusetts). Photo Credit: https://bit.ly/39AhFc2 Los Angeles Times, August 29, 1993. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-08-29-mn-29128-story.html. As the most commanding mistress in the French court, she bettered the lives of many and became a beloved figure. One was pressed to death by heavy stones. His wife, Elizabeth, had been accused of witchcraft and John tried to step in to defend her. They were also used for identifying witches in Salem, using the Witch Cake test. The Salem witchcraft trials, which began in May of 1692 after months of rumors of Satanic influence, still grip the American imagination more than 300 years later. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. In the midst of all this religious and political controversy, there was also a major racial incident. Life, woman, life is Gods most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.Arthur Miller, in The Crucible. The girls are examined by a . Squabbles over property were commonplace, and litigiousness was rampant. The witch trials were held in Salem, Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693. Despite the Salem witch trials occurring centuries ago, researchers only just found the execution site for the trials in 2016. The Salem witch trials and executions came about as the result of a combination of church politics, family feuds, and hysterical children, all of which unfolded in a vacuum of political authority. Were always looking for your input! (The hallucinogen LSD is a derivative of ergot.) It was actually the local doctor, likely William Griggs, who first diagnosed the girls as having been bewitched when he couldnt find anything medically wrong with them to explain the strange behavior. The community, beleaguered with hardships already, then overreacted. Several episodes of the original Bewitched TV series were actually filmed on location in Salem. So if you celebrate Christmas and live in Massachusetts today, be happy you were born when you were! Salem Witch Trials: 25 DISTURBING Facts About The Salem Witch Trials | Salem Witch Trial Full Documentary The Geographic Channel | Samuel Parris | Dorothy Good | Familiar | Giles Corey | Salem Witch Trials - Events, Facts & Victims - HISTORY | George Corwin | Haunted Salem - Where Are the Most Haunted Sites?

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