25 disturbing facts about the salem witch trials 25 disturbing facts about the salem witch trials

Many read Miller's play as a criticism of McCarthyism, the Red Scare, and intolerance. Twenty of those people were executed, most by hanging. He brought to Salem Village his wife, their three children, a niece, and two slaves who were originally from BarbadosJohn Indian, a man, and Tituba, a woman. Let those stories inspire you to start your family history research today. Eventually, the accusations ensnared even the most powerful people in Massachusetts. 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 . The dog was also supposed to then point to the people who had bewitched the victim. On a Saturday night in mid-October, Dmitry and his friend Misha met up to experience The Haunted Witch Trials, a Halloween attraction in which the Salem Witch Trials were re-imagined into a haunted house type of attraction that took place on a 100-acre plot of land. Instead, in 1692, hanging was the preferred form of punishment. One of the people who perished in prison was only an infant. To save his wife, the governor stepped in to stop the trials and disband the court of Oyer and Terminer. Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. At the time of the Salem Witch Trials, Abigail was living with her uncle, Reverend Samuel Parris, his daughter Betty Parris and Parris' slaves Tituba and John Indian. Massachusetts formally apologized for the witch trials in 1957something that Chief Magistrate William Stoughton never did. All Rights Reserved. The Salem witch trials would mark her second time being accused of being a witch. 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. Between February 1692 and May 1693, colonial Massachusetts was the scene of a mass hysteria sparked by false accusations from several young girls. Tituba: The Slave of Salem. History of Massachusetts Blog, January 2, 2013. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/tituba-the-slave-of-salem/. The Salem witch trials are considered one of Americas most noteworthy cases of mass hysteria. The best revenge might be living well, but that doesn't mean we can always turn the other cheek. Interesting Facts about the Salem Witch Trials. The three convicted individuals received pardons. They thought that when witches baked cakes, that they were casting a spell in it. In June 1692, Governor Phips appointed Stoughton as chief judge and prosecutor in the Salem witch trials despite Stoughtons lack of legal experience. Villagers killed that second dog and sent the man fleeing for his life. Another more disturbing theory proposed by researchers like behavioral psychologist Linnda Caporael suggests that Salem suffered from ergot poisoning. The haphazard fashion in which the Salem witch trials were conducted contributed to changes in U.S. court procedures, including rights to legal representation and cross-examination of accusers as well as the presumption that one is innocent until proven guilty. The village itself had a noticeable social divide that was exacerbated by a rivalry between its two leading familiesthe well-heeled Porters, who had strong connections with Salem Towns wealthy merchants, and the Putnams, who sought greater autonomy for the village and were the standard-bearers for the less-prosperous farm families. Family History Proves Bewitching to Descendants of Salem Witches : Colonial America: Three Presidents, Clara Barton, Walt Disney, Joan Kennedy and One Unborn Child Are among Those Whose Ancestors Were Accused of Consorting with the Devil 300 Years Ago. Los Angeles Times. Soon after, other girls including Anne Putnam, Jr., 12, and Elizabeth Hubbard, 17, also started showing similar symptoms. Tituba was not the only one who thought animals were capable of engaging in the devils work. Just when did the Salem witch trials take place in the timeline of American history? Here are 42 wicked facts about the Salem witch trials. Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, These Jerks Had No Idea Who They Were Messing With, Stabbed In The Back: These Real-Life Betrayals Are Straight Up Brutal, "The Bride Kissed The Best Man" And Other Real-Life Wedding Disasters, Everyone Has A Limit: These Moments Made People Say Enough Is Enough, Bloody Facts About Ivan the Terrible, The Mad Tsar Of Russia. Catherine of Aragon was King Henry VIIIs first wife and longest-lasting Queen of England. Some of the families now only remembered for their connection to the trials had actually been important and well-known people before that. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. 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. The Putnams, a prominent family hed borrowed money from, sued Burroughs for unpaid debts and later accused him of witchcraft. These 10 lesser-known facts about the . 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. Learn about the Salem witch trials and their legacy. Life, woman, life is Gods most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.Arthur Miller, in The Crucible. The litany of odd behaviour also mirrored that of the children of a Boston family who in 1688 were believed to have been bewitched, a description of which had been provided by Congregational minister Cotton Mather in his book Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions (1689) and which may have been known by the girls in Salem Village. She was taken into custody the next day and jailed with her mother, Sarah, who had been accused of the same capital crime three weeks earlier. Move over Montagues and Capulets: You might not be the most vengeful families out there. 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. You . One of the most famous victims of the trials was a prominent woman in the local community named Martha Corey. Arthur Millers play The Crucible played a large role in popularizing many of the details of the Salem witch trials and dramatizing facts that he uncovered in historical records. When all was said and done, 25 people lost their lives because of the trials. Due to its association with the supernatural and the haunted, Salem is now a popular destination for Halloween festivities, which run throughout the month of October. The legacy of the trials has far outlasted their duration, even . Unlike the others who were hanged, this unfortunate fellow was crushed to death by stones. Facts Did You Know? In 1692, when the Salem witch trials began, the United States Constitution did not yet exist. Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, With roles ranging from Miss Congeniality to Gravity, The Heat, and Minions, Sandra Bullock has, "You might belong in Gryffindor / Where dwell the brave at heart / Their daring,, Star-studded premieres, massive advertising campaigns, and big budget blockbusters: The movies are big money. 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. This series of prosecutions and hangings of those accused of practicing witchcraft provoked a major backlash, and the event still haunts us today. Music Credit: Spirit of the Dead by Aakash Gandhi#List25 #Didyouknow #WitchTrials 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. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_of_the_Salem_witch_trials. 4. 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. Witches were considered to be followers of Satan who had traded their souls for his assistance. Despite being known as the Salem witch trials, some of the trials actually took place in Ipswich and Andover in addition to Salem itself. In fact, there was fear in Europe that an entire group of evil witches were consciously attacking Europeans in order to destroy Christendom. Based on these girls accusations, the witch hunt began, and the warrants for the apprehension of Tituba, Osborne, and Good were officially signed on February 29, 1692. In addition to the twenty people convicted and executed for witchcraft, two dogs were also accused of and executed for the same crime. According to the warrant for her apprehension, she was called for trial on March 23, 1692, under suspicion of witchcraft after being accused by Edward Putnam. The Salem Witch Trials Victims: Who Were They? History of Massachusetts Blog, August 19, 2015. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/salem-witch-trials-victims/. The second slain dog was actually thought to be a victim of witchcraft whose tormentors fled Salem before they could be tried in court. Ergot causes hallucinations, convulsive fits, and sometimes death, and LSD derives from the substance. Some scholars believe that they were of African heritage, while others think that they may have been of Caribbean Native American heritage.). The girls contorted their bodies into odd positions, made strange noises and spoke gibberish, and seemed to be having fits. Arthur Millers play The Crucible played a large role in popularizing many of the details of the Salem witch trials and dramatizing facts that he uncovered in historical records. On March 23, 1692, a warrant was issued for the arrest of four-year-old Dorothy Good of Salem Village on "suspition of acts of Witchcraft.". When Millers The Crucible was produced, it was in the aftermath of his feud with Elia Kazan, the man who had directed his two earlier hit plays All My Sons and Death of a Salesman. In three days of vivid testimony, she described encounters with Satans animal familiars and with a tall, dark man from Boston who had called upon her to sign the devils book, in which she saw the names of Good and Osborn along with those of seven others that she could not read. Which, yes, is a little ironic. After Governor Phips's wife faced accusations of witchcraft, he outlawed spectral evidence in October 1692. After months of trials, the governor finally decided to put an end to the trials with the last trials being held in May of 1693. With Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, Malcolm Barrett, Paterson Joseph. After some young girls of the village (two of them relatives of Parris) started demonstrating strange behaviours and fits, they were urged to identify the person who had bewitched them. The Court of Oyer and Terminer was established in June 1692 because the witch trials were overwhelming the local jails and courts. 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. 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. Parris, whose largely theological studies at Harvard College (now Harvard University) had been interrupted before he could graduate, was in the process of changing careers from business to the ministry. Salem witch trials, (June 1692-May 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). Its name comes from the Anglo-French phrase oyer et terminer, which literally translates to hear and determine.. Episode 44 Danvers State Mental Hospital & Salem Witch Trials: Carol checks herself in with the lunatics at the legendary Danvers asylum while Holly confesses to witchcraft on the stand in Salem, Massachusetts. In 1689, through the influence of the Putnams, Samuel Parris, a merchant from Boston by way of Barbados, became the pastor of the villages Congregational church. 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. 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. Since witches were often shackled in jail . Some of the families now only remembered for their connection to the trials had actually been important and well-known people before that. So if you celebrate Christmas and live in Massachusetts today, be happy you were born when you were! Directed by Guy Ferland. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were killed during the hysteria. Seventeenth century Salem also gave birth to stories of courageous stands for reason, hopeful births, and acts of clemency and mercy. My mom never told me how her best friend died. Please let us know if a fact weve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect its inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. The episode is heavily ingrained in American history and perpetuated through pop culture, but the souls lost and persecuted during that time aren't just present in our literature, media, and popular culture. Witches were people who followed Satan and traded their souls for his help. It is easy to feel like we've long known everything there is to know about it. Part of the escalation of theSalem trials included investigators literally going door to door and asking homeowners to rat out any suspected witches in their midst. Even more interesting, the summer of 1692 was a dry one, and coincided with the apparent end of the bewitchments. From unbelievable witch swimming tests to the role of Salem smallpox in the trials, this list will bring you every crazy witch trial fact that you never knew existed! Accessed May 6, 2021. https://salemwitchtrials.com/accusedstats.html. In January of 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village became ill. William Griggs, the village doctor, was called in when they failed to improve. List three facts about each and three opinions. How many people were killed during the Salem witch trials? Here are 10 things you need to know about the notorious witch trials. Although Giles was a wealthy farmer and Martha was a prominent church member, both of them had pasts they werent exactly advertising to the public. Of them, thirty were found guilty, and nineteen of whom were executed. Many possible answers have been proposed, but one likely explanation is that they were suffering from some kind of natural medical afflictions. Witch trials had actually been a fairly common phenomenon in Europe during that period. What is the legacy of the Salem witch trials? Children were also accused of witchcraft. The process of identifying witches began with suspicions or rumours. The punishment for witchcraft was death. According to her testimony, she had seen four women and a man, including Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good, asking her to hurt the children. The Salem Witch Trials, the events of 1692 in Salem Village which resulted in 185 accused of witchcraft, 156 formally charged, 47 confessions, and 19 executed by hanging, remain one of the most studied phenomena in colonial American history. This series of prosecutions and hangings of those accused of practicing witchcraft provoked a major backlash, andthe event still haunts us today. It was believed that witches had animal helpers that could take almost any animal form and do their dirty work for them. Even during the trials, there were many who objected to the whole procedure, even within the religious Puritan community. Witches could change from human to animal form or from one human form to another. This is the event that Salem is most known for, in only three months' time 19 innocent people, 14 women and 5 men, were hanged, and one man was pressed to death. Factinate is a fact website that is dedicated to finding and sharing fun facts about science, history, animals, films, people, and much more. There were complex political, religious, and racial issues under the crisis. Even more interesting, the summer of 1692 was a dry one, and coincided with the apparent end of the bewitchments. One of the most popular points of view was that if you were against the trials, then you were, in fact, an advocate for the witches. When you think of the Salem witch trials, you probably think of a bunch of confused villagers who didnt know any better, but there is so much more to the story. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. As the weeks passed, many of the accused proved to be enemies of the Putnams, and Putnam family members and in-laws would end up being the accusers in dozens of cases. In addition to the twenty people convicted and executed for witchcraft, two dogs were also accused of and executed for the same crime. The 1692 Salem witch trials are a big blot on American history. (There is uncertainty regarding the relationship between the slaves and their ethnic origins. The Salem Witch Trials (1692) Cartoon - YouTube (2:10) https://youtu.be/jJJLy5_DlqY Its time for a Halloween special! 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. Around the end of WWII, he surprisingly converted, Its said that the customer is always right. It seems that a shocking number of accusations were made by members of the Putnam family. Other proof was the touch test, where if a witch who cursed someone touched the cursed person in the midst of a fit, theit fit would stop. In the process Salem divided into pro- and anti-Parris factions. But the accusations didnt stop there. But men were accused (and executed) as well. One dog was shot after a girl suffering from convulsions accused the dog of trying to bewitch her. During 1692, in the city of Salem, a little colony in Massachusetts, US, a horrifying trial started against several neighbors accused of witchcraft. What historians do know is that Abigail Williams was born on July 12, 1680. Before she was hanged for witchcraft, Sarah Good gave birth to a daughter, Mercy Good, while detained. On March 1 two magistrates from Salem Town, John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin, went to the village to conduct a public inquiry. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from Life to Compact Cars and Trucks to A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius. Well get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics youre interested in. The Enemy of My Enemy. In these records you can find the year the accused stood trial, first and last name, town or village where the trial took place, and the outcome of the trial. Fourteen women and six men were executed for witchcraft, and five others died in prison during the trials. 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. Hoffer, who has written extensively on the Salem witch trials, is one of those who believes the girls who accused their neighbors of witchcraft were carrying out a prank. 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 Salem Witch Trials were a series of trial that took place in 1692, when it was believed "witches" were casting spells on people in the village of Salem. The extraordinary series of events in 1692 led to the deaths of 25 innocent men, women and children. The Salem Witch Trials, 1692 17th Century Pocahontas Saves John Smith, 1608 Aboard the Mayflower, 1620 The First Thanksgiving, 1621 The Price of Adultery in Puritan Massachusetts, 1641 Living Among the Mohawks, 1644 The Execution of Charles I, 1649 The Great Fire of London, 1666 Inside the Court of Louis XIV, 1671 New York City, 1679 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). 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. Just when did the Salem witch trials take place in the timeline of American history? 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. Witches have been the origin of many myths and legends. It was shut down on October 29, 1692. 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. They soon spread to individuals regardless of their gender, class, or power in the community. In addition, one man was pressed to death by giant stones for refusing to even plea innocent. Move over Montagues and Capulets: You might not be the most vengeful families out there. Back in the 17th - century there was a great amount of stress caused by many different things in that era. To identify witches, authorities used the "touching test", in which victims of witchcraft would become calm upon touching the culprit. So if witchcraft wasnt really happening in Salem, what actually caused those girls to have the fits? Their initial accusations gave way to trials, hysteria, and a frenzy that resulted in further accusations, often between the differing factions. They found it by following clues in an accused witchs writings and through guesses on where prisoners would be transported. Additionally, he is an accomplished scriptwriter, having written the successful AA Meeting series for the stage and the award-winning film Depth of Pyaar. 1 Most of the accused were women but men were accusedand executedtoo. Lets just, The Crucible (1996), Twentieth Century Fox, Salem (20142017), 20th Century Fox Television, I Married a Witch (1942), Paramount Pictures, The Truth Always Comes Out: Dark Family Secrets Exposed, Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress, Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIIIs First Wife, Festive Facts About Bing Crosby, The King Of Christmas, Stormy Facts About Sammy Davis Jr., The Worlds Greatest Entertainer, Sorrowful Facts About Alma Rubens, The Silent Film Siren, Daring Facts About Gina Lollobrigida, Golden Hollywoods Last Survivor. Spectral evidence was only deemed inadmissible when it was used to accuse Governor William Phipss wife, Mary. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. William Phips. Wikipedia. Make sure to watch this video all the way to the end to see which crazy witchcraft fact made our top 10! After her second husband died, Bishopwho had been married three timeswas accused of bewitching him to death, though she was later acquitted due to a lack of evidence. 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.