Reasons For The Salem Witch Trials Of 1692

The Salem Witch Trials: An Unforgettable Hysteria

Accusations of neighbors, arrests of friends, and hangings of loved ones. That sums up the frightening event that took place in Salem, Massachusetts, the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. It all began when two young girls, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, started experiencing fits of screaming and kicking. These fits spread to others and an outbreak occurred. The witch hunts left everyone feeling scared. For a close-knit village, it was devasting to think that one’s neighbor could be practicing witchcraft, an act that the Puritans believed represented evil. This hysteria ultimately identified 144 people as witches, with 19 of them hanged (Magoon 12). Due to this event’s inhumanity, there are

Therefore, I am going to examine the reasons why the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 might have occurred, the people who were historically known to be involved, and the aftermath of the trials. When the girls began having unexplained fits, the doctor was unable to diagnose them. However, times have changed since the 1690’s, and there is a newer theory that Ergotism or other diseases could potentially explain the strange episodes. According to Mundra and the other authors of the journal article, “The Salem Witch Trials—Bewitchment or Ergotism”, there is a specific type of food poisoning called Ergotism, which “is caused by the ingestion of alkaloids produced by the Claviceps purpurea fungus present in rye and other grains”. Ergot poisoning is said to be prevalent after a cold winter season, which matches the type of weather that Salem had experienced before the trials began. This reason also

The Puritans Tituba, the slave of Samuel Parris, ultimately confessed to making a deal with the Devil. In Ray’s article, he claims that “[t]he magistrates also introduced the Puritan concept of signing the Devil’s book, that is, making a covenant with the Devil, which Tituba readily confessed to doing” (48). This statement shows how the Puritans believed that the Devil was indeed real and capable of attacking their village. When they found out that the Devil played a role in Tituba’s witchcraft, an outbreak occurred. According to Magoon, the Puritans were very religious and believed that the devil had influence over people’s actions and could control the weak (8). Similarly, Semmelhack and Ende makes the point that because the Puritans were the new chosen ones, the Devil was targeting his attack on them (scr. 13). Clearly, when the idea struck that Salem was in danger, many of the villagers broke into a panic, leading to the witch