Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

“An ugly old woman in a peaked hat and rusty black dress, stirring up a loathsome brew of nasty smelling things with a cat perched on her shoulder or flying through the air astride a broomstick in the dead of night.” Belief in the witches and in the devil’s ability to give harm to another person had appeared in Europe not only in Salem MA. It showed the harsh religion of life as a Puritan. Native tribes around them began to have strange happenings with no explanation. From the beginning of time witches were real with abnormal powers; many people believed their powers came from lunar goddesses Hecate, Diana and Selene. During the time period of the Salem Witch Trials, “150 people were imprisoned and 19 were executed.”

William Griggs was a local doctor; he helped the girls and diagnosed them with witchcraft. The girls were brought before a court and continued to struggle. Tituba confessed that she had been teaching about witchcraft and the devil to local Salem girls. Hysteria spread through the community when the confession occurred, which is when the government had to step in. Later, “others in the neighborhood began to suffer similar afflictions.” Not only in Salem were witches evident, in local communities around them were strange happenings with young girls. The tests to reveal witches were often harsh and not exactly the most intelligent way to find them. They’d often throw an accused into a body of water and if they drowned they were innocent. This isn’t great because the claimed witch would die by drowning even if she was innocent. The accusers would often “carry pins to prick themselves” and “bit and pinched themselves when no one

The trials lasted more than a year and ended in death and imprisonment. Many falsely admitted to being a witch in order to avoid the pain and fear of the trial and imprisonment. The trials could have been avoided if we had more knowledge and intelligence. Many went on to live a normal life eventually but still scarred from the events. Ann Putnam Jr. was the only one to apologize for all the people she accused of being witches. They replaced the minister who was there before (Samuel Parris). “Salem village and Massachusetts were at last freed to bow to the inevitable economic, political, and cultural developments of the new century.” Only some people “… who may have felt remorse for their involvement-soon penned their thoughts on paper.” Samuel Parris blamed someone else for his biased actions. He wasn’t a fair person and often lied during the trials. One of his daughters was the first accused so he started pointing fingers trying to not be blamed. He was replaced by Thomas Green as the new Reverend who tried to calm the rest of the town