Witchcrafts Effects on the Early Modern Period and Beyond Little children run across the street dressed in a multitude of different costumes. Werewolves, vampires and fairies flood the streets. You see little girls dressed as witches, smiling as they knock on doors, going house to house. You stop to wonder, what do their costumes really represent? Why are we so fascinated with witches? What really is witchcraft? Webster's dictionary defines witchcraft as “the practice of magic for evil purposes; the use of spells.”. If you asked anyone during the early modern era of history what their definition of witchcraft is they would give you two words, death sentence. The idea of witchcraft has been around since biblical times, yet the increase …show more content…
Forty-five years before Salem, the Connecticut trials took place. The hanging of a young girl named Alice Young marked the first death in the colonies for the accusation of witchcraft. According to the official website for the state of Connecticut, the harford trails started in 1647 with the death of Alice but the trails would last until 1497. During 1962, The Hartford Witch Panic had more accused that year than any other during the entirety of the trials. The trials ended in the 1690s, right when the Salem trials were beginning to take shape in …show more content…
The town of Pendle held trails from 1612-1634. Twelve people were accused of using witchcraft to cause the deaths of ten people. Ten of the twelve were found guilty and accused for their alleged crime. The “Great Hunt” was in other portions of Europe too. The largest witch trial in Sweden occurred in Torsåker from 1674-1627. Seventy-five people were accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death. Around one-fifth of all women in the area were beheaded and burned at the stake in just a single day. In North Berwick, Scotland, while King James VI of Scotland was away for several weeks a mass hysteria spread surrounding witchcraft. The number of the deaths from these trials are unknown, however, seventy people including some families associated with the royal family were accused and held in court. Today, we look back at the Great Witch Craze of the early modern era not only to memorialize those who lost their lives so unjustly, but to also learn from the mistakes of the past. Witchcraft’s influence on Europe and colonial America during the early modern era has shaped the world we live in today. Because of all the witch trials, we have strengthened our legal system to not only require stone cold evidence but to also practice the right of being innocent until proven guilty. The trials showed how fear can turn neighbor against neighbor if