The Salem Witchcraft Trials In 1692

Salem Witchcraft Trials

In Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 there was an outbreak of teenage girls who were accused of practicing witchcraft. If you were accused of being a witch you had two options. One option was for the person to deny their practice of witchcraft, which resulted in their hanging, while the other option was for them to confess their practice of witchcraft and be exiled from the community. The following paragraphs will examine events and details concerning two specific Salem Witchcraft Trials; one in which the accused confessed to the practice of witchcraft and another in which the accused denied being a witch. The counter intuitive outcomes of these two cases demonstrates that society in Salem, Massachusetts in the

The very first person accused of witchcraft in Salem was an Indian slave woman named Tituba who was brought to Salem from Barbados by Reverend Parris. In February 1692, Reverend Parris had a doctor examine his daughter and niece who were suffering from “Spontaneous Fits” (Alyssa Barillari), who were diagnosed as being victims of witchcraft, which set off a wave of hysteria within the Salem community. In response to this a warrant against Tituba dated February 29, 1692 called for Tituba’s apprehension for suspicion of witchcraft. The indictment against Tituba accused her of signing the Devil’s book thereby creating a covenant with the Devil to become a “detestable Witch Against the peace of o’r Sov’r lord & lady the King and Queen…” (Suffolk Court Records, Case No. 2760 Page 102) As part of the Tituba’s trial there were depositions by Elizabeth Hubbard and Ann Putnam, which contained similar accounts of torture generally involving physical pricking and pinching of the victims. During the first examination of Tituba’s trial that occurred on March 1, 1692, she initially denied hurting the two young girls, but upon repeated questioning she began to admit to hurting the girls under threat of harm to herself, and to taking instruction from the devil whom she saw on four

However the first person found guilty of witchcraft and put to death was Bridget Bishop, a 55-65 year old woman. The case against Bridget Bishop, which commenced in April 1692, included multiple counts of witchcraft charges involving five women. The substantive charges in the indictments included “certain Detestable Arts # {of} called Witchcrafts & Sorceries.” [salem.lib.virginia.edu]. It is widely speculated that Bridget Bishop was identified as a person to be brought upon charges of witchcraft due to her combination of fancy dress, outgoing personality and occupation as an tavern keeper, which did not harmonize with the puritan values and attitudes prevalent in Salem at this time in history. Further, her trial was also thought to have been linked to her having been a “vulnerable, propertied woman” (Sarah-Nell Walsh) who had recently become a widow. Through the examination portion of the trial Bridget repeated her innocence and denied being a witch. She further stated that she did not know what a witch is, however such statements worked against her as the court magistrate John Hawthorne said “How can you know, you are no witch, and yet not know what a witch is.” (Sarah-Nell Walsh) The case was also further dramatized as the women who were thought to be the target of Bridget’s witchcraft showed physical reaction in the courtroom to the alleged spectral advances made by