Here are 42 wicked facts about the Salem witch trials. 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. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. The Salem witch trials marked a seven-month period of mass hysteria in 1692 Colonial America. He attempted to save himself by writing to clergy in Boston that mass hysteria had taken over the village, but they acted too slowly to save him: He was executed on August 19, 1692. 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. Today, witchcraftis recognized by the government as a protected and legitimate religion under the First Amendment. 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. Villagers shot the dog immediately. 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. Linder, Douglas O. List three facts about each and three opinions. Some have suggested that the man who was truly responsible for initiating the witch trial debacle was Reverend Samuel Parris, the father and uncle of the afflicted girls. 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. They found it by following clues in an accused witchs writings and through guesses on where prisoners would be transported. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a dark time in American history. 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. Move over Montagues and Capulets: You might not be the most vengeful families out there. It was believed that witches had animal helpers that could take almost any animal form and do their dirty work for them. 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. Another famous incident from the trials was the case of John Proctor. Most importantly, Stoughton allowed spectral evidence during the trials, so that an accuser could claim that an accused witch had appeared to them in a vision or hurt them within a dream. Tituba: The Slave of Salem. History of Massachusetts Blog, January 2, 2013. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/tituba-the-slave-of-salem/. This period of witch trials later came to be known as the Salem witch trials, named after the town of Salem and Salem Village (present-day Danvers). If a dog was fed a cake made with rye and the urine of an afflicted person, and it displayed the same symptoms as the victim, it indicated the presence of witchcraft. Today, witchcraftis recognized by the government as a protected and legitimate religion under the First Amendment. 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. Spooky stories abound at the Witch House in Salem, Massachusetts. 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 Putnams, a prominent family hed borrowed money from, sued Burroughs for unpaid debts and later accused him of witchcraft. This resulted in him being accused as well, and in the end it was he who was executed while Elizabeth was instead sentenced to prison so that her unborn baby would not have to die. SALEM WITCH TRIALS CHRONOLOGY. 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. Nineteen were hanged, and one-elderly Giles Corey-pressed to death. 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. 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. Since witches were often shackled in jail . While Miller maintained that he kept everything historically accurate, some have noted that he made changes to the real record for the sake of the play. It is easy to feel like we've long known everything there is to know about it. 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. Because of Philip Englishs wealth, he was allowed his freedom during the day and could rent rooms in the home of his jailer for himself, his wife, and daughter. Image of The Salem Witch Trials. 10 The Symptoms That Gave Witches Away Make No Sense At All All witches are women, but not every woman is a witch. 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. Historically, women were the ones to be called witches, and unfortunately, they were also the . Another reason why it sucked that these trials took place before the Bill of Rights existed? Witch trials had actually been a fairly common phenomenon in Europe during that period. In May of 1693, Phips released from prison all remaining accused or convicted witches. 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. One man, Giles Corey, was killed over three days as increasingly heavier rocks were set atop his body. List of People of the Salem Witch Trials. Wikipedia. Perhaps some training in the law would have constrained Stoughtons more extreme actions. Some of the families now only remembered for their connection to the trials had actually been important and well-known people before that. 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 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. While Wyatt sneaks away from the bunker to face an unbelievable truth, Lucy, Rufus and Flynn chase the Mothership to the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. One was pressed to death by heavy stones. One man was pressed to death under heavy stones, the only such state-sanctioned execution of its kind. The Multitude of Salem Witch Trials Descendants. New England Historical Society. 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. Credit where credit is due! Music Credit: Spirit of the Dead by Aakash Gandhi#List25 #Didyouknow #WitchTrials 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. Their initial accusations gave way to trials, hysteria, and a frenzy that resulted in further accusations, often between the differing factions. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. From 1671 to 1687, he served on the Counsel of Assistants, a judicial and rule-making body for the colony. In fact, there was fear in Europe that an entire group of evil witches were consciously attacking Europeans in order to destroy Christendom. Almost 150 people were accused of being witches and 20 were killed. Upon interrogation, the girls named Tituba (an Indian woman enslaved by the Parris family), Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne as witches. The madness of the witch trials eventually resulted in 200 people accused of witchcraft, 140 to 150 arrests for witchcraft, and the hangings of thirteen women and six men. Miller did not approve of this, and this was one of the things he tried to criticize allegorically through his depiction of the Salem events. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. 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. This evidence was later banned bythe courts, leading to a sharp drop in accusations. Fourteen women and six men were executed for witchcraft, and five others died in prison during the trials. Despite their obvious Christian commitment, the early American Puritans actually banned Christmas in the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1659, deeming it a sacrilege. For everyone who remains intrigued by Salem, here are a few lesser-known facts about the witchcraft trials. The Salem witch trials were also the subject of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, written in the 1950s. 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. Here are 10 things you need to know about the notorious witch trials. A period of less than a year caused such turmoil that Salem, Massachusetts, is still widely known for the trials. Linder, Douglas O. When he stopped being paid altogether, he left Salem. Kyle Climans has been a published writer since 2011. Learn about the Salem witch trials and their legacy. Witches were people who followed Satan and traded their souls for his help. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. Unlike the others who were hanged, this unfortunate fellow was crushed to death by stones. 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! Because most of the trials were occurring in Salem . One of the most famous victims of the trials was a prominent woman in the local community named Martha Corey. 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. You . 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. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 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. 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 witchcraft trials even targeted animals. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://famous-trials.com/salem/2035-sal-bphi. Here are 12 Salem witch trials facts that will send chills down your spine. Many parallels have been drawn between the events of Salem and the tactics used by the government during the Red Scare of the 1950s, in which Senator Joseph McCarthy very harshly interrogated and went after anyone suspected of being a communist sympathizer. They argue that the trialscreated a taboo in America against mixing religion and government, and George Lincoln Burr called it, the rock on which the theocracy shattered. There is also no question that the incident remains a constant reminder in our collective minds about the importance of due process in a legal system, and the dangers of premature overreaction and irrational hysteria. 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. 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.". Instead, in 1692, hanging was the preferred form of punishment. 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. Around the end of WWII, he surprisingly converted, Its said that the customer is always right. One person was even executed for refusing to testify at the hearings. New Hampshire. These 10 lesser-known facts about the . Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. To identify witches, authorities used the "touching test", in which victims of witchcraft would become calm upon touching the culprit. The three convicted individuals received pardons. They were eventually assumed to be possessed. Tituba initially denied the claim that she was a witch, but notoriously later decided to confess that it was true and accused two other women as well in the process. 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. As the most commanding mistress in the French court, she bettered the lives of many and became a beloved figure. 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. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraftthe devil's magic and 20 were executed.. One particularly disturbing fact about the witch hunt in Salem is that animals could be found guilty of participating in witchcraft as well as humans, and they could be (and were) sentenced to death for it. 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. 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. What historians do know is that Abigail Williams was born on July 12, 1680. 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! By late February 1692, when traditional medicines and prayers failed to cure the girls, the reverend called upon a local doctor, William Griggs. Los Angeles Times, August 29, 1993. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-08-29-mn-29128-story.html. The process of identifying witches began with suspicions or rumours. Many possible answers have been proposed, but one likely explanation is that they were suffering from some kind of natural medical afflictions. These included "violent contortions and uncontrollable . Accessed May 6, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_of_the_Salem_witch_trials. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://famous-trials.com/salem/2078-sal-acct. He was the first to suggest the girls may be under the evil influence of witchcraft. 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. In the midst of all this religious and political controversy, there was also a major racial incident. 1032 Words | 5 Pages. Another reason why it sucked that these trials took place before the Bill of Rights existed? 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). Photos and Videos See All Videos and Images Related Topics and References Topics witchcraft Seventeenth century Salem also gave birth to stories of courageous stands for reason, hopeful births, and acts of clemency and mercy. When all was said and done, 25 people lost their lives because of the trials. From Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to Hocus Pocus, Arthur Miller to American Horror Story, American pop culture is saturated in retellings of this horrifying episode in colonial history. The collective delusion of witchcraft took more than a year to loosen its grip on Salem and its surrounding towns. 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. 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. In 1692, when the Salem witch trials began, the United States Constitution did not yet exist.
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