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Irresponsible And Informative Essay: The Salem Witch Trials

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The Salem witch trials were established in the spring of 1692, in Salem Village, Massachusetts after a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil and indicted local women of witchcraft. Hysteria soon spread throughout colonial Massachusetts, and a court was assembled in Salem to hear these cases. Malefic witchcraft did exist in Salem, Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, but were the Salem Witch Trials an irresponsible act of the clergy and magistrates? Or was it something more logical?

It all began when local Salem girls were caught telling fortunes with a crystal ball, whilst claiming they were being choked, pinched and pricked. One of the girls was Samuel Parris, the town’s new minister’s, daughter. Parris and other …show more content…

Considering this, mainly women were targeted for witchcraft, and only five men were ever killed. As a matter of fact, three-fourths of the people accused were women, and of the women accused, “a large number were middle aged women with no male relatives to defend them, and another favorite target were the cranky and irritable,” states Edward Queen in his Salem Witch Trials Article. The clergy and magistrates blatantly used the community’s fear and panic to gain more irresponsible power over the people of Salem, while the spiritual leaders also did nothing to extinguish the fear of the …show more content…

Spectral evidence is evidence of a ghostly apparition or a ghost itself, so witnesses could claim a spirit accused someone of witchcraft, or forced them to commit and act such as, signing the Devil’s Book. Though the Special Court of Oyer and Terminer heavily relied on spectral evidence, when the town’s leaders began getting accused of witchcraft as a result of spectral evidence, the use of it was banned. This could be because of the irresponsibility of the authorities and their ignorance that allowed over a hundred people to be jailed for witchcraft. So, when their own people got accused, they didn’t want to jail them.

Another reason, and a more logical reason for the Salem Witch Trials could have been due to a common grain fungus in rye called ergot. During the witch trials, many people were reported having hallucinatory fits, seizures, muscle spasms, and delusions. These reactions, are symptoms of ergotism (ergot poisoning), which many people thought to be the signs of

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Living in Salem in the summer and spring of 1692 would’ve been an extremely hectic experience, especially if you were a married woman with another woman who wanted your man. Many people were put to death in the months between June and September, and had it not been for a mass hanging, it might have continued for who knows how long. The accusers of the Witch Trials were mainly jealous women who were out for the man(or land) of an accused woman, but that was not always the case. Some men(boys, really) accused others of being witches for the reason that a.) they wanted their land, or b.)

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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.

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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.

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The hallucinogenic and mind altering effects of ergot poisoning seems to be the most widely accepted theory. Prior to the events in Salem, ergot poisoning was responsible for the deaths of large numbers of people in Europe throughout the middle ages in what came to be known as Saint Anthony’s Fire (Goldberg, 275). Symptoms of ergot poisoning include hallucinations, disorientation, spasms, and a burning sensation in the hands and feet (Secrets of the Dead). These symptoms were similar to the behavior of both the accused witches and the supposed victims of witchcraft, who apparently suffered from torture by an unseen force and reported being bitten and scratched (The Salem Journal: The Aftermath). Or perhaps it is no coincidence that many of the accused witches were girls between the ages of 11 and 20, living in a society that had little concern for the hormonal changes of puberty.

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In 1692, mass hysteria hit Salem Village in the form of Satan and his mephistophelian goals. Turning neighbors upon neighbors, accusations of one another piled up, damaging reputations and the liveliness of the town along with it. A group of young afflicted girls in Salem describe their experiences and witnesses gaze upon their supernatural exertions. In this course of events, the most logical explanation for the girl's behavior during the hysteria that took place was due to supernatural causes, inflicted by the devil. First being seen, the girls were afflicted with all sorts of effects that could not be explained using the medical knowledge of the day.

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The Causes of the Salem Witch Trials Much of modern America’s fear and infamous interest in witches has been derived most likely from the profound Salem Witch Trials. “The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft,” stated History.com authors. However, many historians still deliberate how such events occurred in the first place. Based on several presented documents, some conclusions suggest that there was a prominent cause to the beginning of the Salem Witch Trials. All in all, the cause of the Salem Witch Trials was the attempt of Salem citizens to either defend or create family

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