Mass Hysteria During The Salem Witch Trials

Nowadays, witches are often regarded to be figments of vivid imaginations or ideas for Halloween costumes. However, in the late 17th century, the utterance of the word would create a deep anxiety in the hearts of many. This frenzy was especially prevalent in Salem, Massachusetts. Here, the infamous Salem Witch Trials swept through the area like an angel of death. The time period was quite tumultuous, as it created a clear divide within the community, forming two different sides: the accusers and the accused. Though humans nowadays regard witches to be factors of comedy, or even child’s play, the topic of witches back then was as taboo as it gets. Eventually, the mass hysteria resulted in the arrests of many, and deaths of nearly 30 members

It was only a matter of time before the townspeople’s anger and fear reached a peak, as it was “not likely to dissipate until the blood of the innocent had been spilled” (Nardo 56). Though many of the townsfolk knew that the witch outbreak was getting to be too much, no amount of regret and disbelief could reverse what damage had been done. “On June 28[,]…Rebecca Nurse” and four other women were tried for witchcraft (Nardo 64). While each of the trials were shocking in their own right, “the most remarkable of the five cases…was that of Rebecca Nurse” (Nardo 65). Oddly enough, some members of the community rallied behind Nurse and her good name, and “members of the jury found themselves agreeing with the petitioners, [so they] initially found her innocent” (Nardo 65-66). But, this was a short-lived victory for the Nurse family. Ironically, “immediately after the verdict was announced, the afflicted girls went into violent spasms… [and in] seeing all this commotion, the…judges concluded that the jury had made a mistake” (Nardo 66). The public outrage was enough to bring Nurse to a new verdict: guilty. Things had suddenly went from terrible to hopeful to even worse in a matter of minutes. There was no going back for Nurse and the other women convicted. The hysterical girls and their supposed fits had convinced the public enough to grant Nurse a guilty verdict, so she “was hanged on July 19” (Nardo 66). With the death of one of the most prominent members of society, many began to believe that no one was safe. Because “the people as a whole seemed to crave and thrive on the fear and hysteria…fourteen more guiltless people suffered horrific deaths, and hundreds more were either imprisoned, tortured, or both” (Nardo 67). Nurse, in a twisted way, had escaped before the trials got even more terrifying. Unfortunately, she was unable to escape with neither her life