Tituba Salem Witch Trials

Witchcraft is practicing, believing, having magical skills, and having the ability to do unusual things. Not everyone has these abilities only those who were “gifted” by the devil’s magic. People used to say that people in religious groups had been given this ability, so that they could harm others. Witchcraft has been around since the medieval times which were from the 5th to the 15th century. Though in the year of 1692 in January, in Salem, Massachusetts it was believed that women would practice witchcraft in the village named Salem. Farther than two hundred people were implicated of witchcraft and about twenty people were executed; most of them were women. The Salem witch trials began when two girls accused a woman of witchcraft. This event

The two young ladies were left under the care of a Barbadian slave known as Tituba. While they were under her care Tituba would show the girls Voodoo magic and tell them stories that involved magic and spells. Though they were young both girls knew that what Tituba was doing was forbidden. The girls decided not to tell anyone about it at that time. Elizabeth and her cousin were not the only ones listening to Tituba's stories. Other girls from the village would sit around to hear about her stories. All of a sudden the girls started to show an unusual behavior such as screaming, crying and some even tried to commit suicide. If someone would mention the word “God” they would create chaos because they could not listen to it. Later people called called in a physician from the village to help them figure out what was wrong with the girls. The physician said that there was no explanation to what was happening therefore she assumed it was something spiritual. He believed that the girls were under witchcraft spells and because of the village’s believes the people accepted that it was witchcraft. The village was a puritan, so the puritans did believe in

During trial the girls claimed that Sarah Good would bite, pinch, and abuse them. They also laid claim to a book that Sarah Good encouraged them to sign their name into book so that they could become witches. This book was known as being the “devil's book”. Here you can see the actual document that was written during Sarah Good’s trial. John Hathorne was the judge for the trials. When he questioned Sarah Good she denied every question that had to do with witchcraft. She even mentioned that she was being falsely accused. All of a sudden in the courtroom the girls burst out with screams saying that they had been attacked with Sarah Good’s spector. The judge then perceived that, that was influential evidence of Sarah’s guilt. Sarah Osborne’s responses were also denying everything she was being asked. When they came to the third person who was being accused everyone was shocked. Tituba without hesitation confesses to witchcraft. She claims that the devil had gone to look for her and asked her to serve him. Tituba claims that a peculiar tall man from boston talked her to sign the devil's book in blood. Hathorne then asked Tituba how many names were in the devil’s book. She claimed to have seen nine Sarah Good, Sara Osborne, and her own. There were six more names that she could not see. This then terrified the people who were in the courtroom