The Salem Witch Trials: Yesterday And Today

Salem Witch Trials Colonial times; a time without the technology we have today. It was a simpler time, with log cabins and woven clothes galore. It would seem like an ordinary, peaceful day, with the townsfolk doing their whereabouts. Nothing would seem to ever go wrong in this placid village. However, things took a turn for the worst. Groups of people began to suffer violent contortions and uncontrollable outburst of screaming. Later, these people would claim to be under the spell of witchcraft and accused several people of bewitchment. These people were later hung for their “crimes” and no one expected that a mass of hysteria would break out. Brother turned on brother; the word “trust” had no more meaning in Salem Village. The Salem Witch
During the 14th century in colonial New England, a widespread of diseases, such as smallpox and measles, broke out, and to the people of this era, they considered this as a sign of bewitchment, not of disease. One such example of this case revolves around Elizabeth Kelly, an 8-year old girl who died of smallpox. She had come home after visiting her neighbor when her parents heard her cries for help, exclaiming that something was “choking” her, and making her “black and blue” (Klein). When she died, her parents immediately accused their neighbor, Alse Young, of bewitching their daughter. During these times, many of the colonial people solidly believed in the Bible, and they followed two biblical passages if such cases happened: Exodus 22:18 (“Thou shall not suffer a witch to live”) and Leviticus 20:27 (“A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death”) (Klein). Without further investigation of this case, Alse Young was hung. Many of the colonial people did not realize that this was a disease outbreak due to the lack of knowledge of those times. However, many people WERE aware of this, and used these cases as an order of
On January 1692 in Salem Village, the daughter and niece of Samuel Parris (the minister of Salem Village), Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, began to suffer violent contortions and uncontrollable outbursts of screaming. The local doctor, William Griggs, soon diagnosed bewitchment on the girls, as more and more girls of the community started to experience the same fate. By the end of February, many of the girls affected started to accuse various locals of bewitching them, including Parris’ West Indian slave, Tituba. With the excess of people imprisoned and waiting for their trial, Salem Village conducted a special court system for such trials like these. Many of the accused “witches” negated their use of witchcraft or anything of that sort, except for Tituba. When the time came for Tituba’s trial, she falsely confessed that she did bewitch the girls of the community and that “there were other witches acting alongside her in service of the devil against the Puritans” (“Salem Witch Trials”). Afterwards, she was hung for the crimes she falsely confessed to and thus, the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials began. Like the Witchcraft Trials of early colonial New England, these witch hunts in Salem were fueled by the community’s suspicions and the resentment toward their neighbors. Many more “witches” were accused and like Tituba, they falsely confessed to their crimes. However, the supposed “witches”