In 1692, the small town of Salem, Massachusetts was overrun with mass hysteria. Mass hysteria is a situation where many people behave or react in an extreme way because of fear or anger. Five girls began acting out in public with no explanation. When looking for a possible cause, the town turned to their strict Puritan religion. These Puritan ideas were ones of extreme punishment for sins and supernatural evils. The townspeople's extreme religious beliefs of the devil and witchcraft caused paranoia. They began accusing women, children, and the insane of witchcraft. In order for the courts to accuse those they felt were guilty, they used spectral evidence. When a witness claims to have seen the accused's spirt in a dream, that is spectral evidence. The