Salem Witch Trials In Witches ! By Rosalyn Scanzer

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. Many people were accused and many died.There are many theories of what caused the salem witch trials but the main cause of the salem witch trials was caused by mass hysteria.It is important to learn about this today so that the same problem does not repeat in history. In the book, “Witches! by Rosalyn Schanzer the madness began in February 1692 when 9-year-old Betty Parris and 11-year-old Abigail Williams began to twist and turn in the home of the Reverend Samuel Parris there was only one possible reason for it: witchcraft. They lived in Salem, Massachusetts where the Puritan populace

After that many more people were accused because more and more people kept having fits. They all complained about biting and pinching feelings. Many people died some guilty and some innocent. It was starting to get out of hand because guilty people were accusing innocent people and since they would have no proof they would be sentenced to death. In the book, “Witches! by Rosalyn Schanzer the madness began in February 1692 when 9-year-old Betty Parris and 11-year-old Abigail Williams began to twist and turn in the home of the Reverend Samuel Parris there was only one possible reason for it: witchcraft. They lived in Salem, Massachusetts where the Puritan populace knew anything was possible. The doctor tried every remedy, but nothing cured the young Puritans. He grimly announced the dire diagnosis: the girls were bewitched! And then the accusations began. After that many more people were accused because more and more people kept having fits. They all complained about biting and pinching feelings. Many people died some guilty and some innocent. It was starting to get out of hand because guilty people were accusing innocent people and since they would have no proof they would be sentenced to

For instance in the article,”Mass Hysteria Can Strike Anywhere, Anytime” by Gary Small M.D states, “Occasionally the illness persists for days; but usually, once the afflicted crowd disperses, symptoms tend to disappear, probably because they are only contagious when new victims observe others falling ill.” In other words, people feel stressed and pressured to fall ill since so many people were also falling ill. To add on the article, “Stress, anxiety, depression caused mass hysteria, says education minister” by malayisakini states, “‘Tests conducted by medical experts have found that the students fell victim to hysteria due to serious chronic stress, anxiety and depression, as well as from being under pressure," he said when replying to a question from Sim Tze Tzin (PKR-Bayan Baru).’” To explain, students saw how others were acting so you can say that they all felt peer pressured into getting sick