Salem Witch Trials
of 1692
Salem, Massachusetts
It was the winter of 1691-92 when a slave in
the house of the Reverend Parris started to entertain the minister’s children with
tales of voodoo and witchcraft. It all started in fun, but something went terribly
wrong,so terribly wrong that nineteen people paid for this folly with their lives…at
the end of a rope and one pressed to death! The girls listened to her stories of
devils and goblins, and watched her perform card readings. Elizabeth Proctor, age 9,
a cousin, Abigail Williams, age 11, and two others - Ann Putnam, and Mercy Lewis, both 17,
soon become the center of attention. As the young girls played about the house, they
would sometimes scream and make loud noises, climb under furniture, and just act up. Rev.
Parris’s attention is drawn to this odd behavior. Since this was a time when
people were very superstitious, odd behavior was easily interpreted as an instigated act
of old Beelzebub. It was known about Tituba’s past and her adeptness in the
world of the occult, so they really believed that the Devil was at work here and through
the hand of Tituba.
This unusual behavior causes Rev. Parris to become concerned, so consults with other
learned men to give an opinion of this behavior. Dr. William Griggs is one such
person, …sure enough….the Devil is in Salem Village, and bewitching these young
girls. So begins the witch hysteria in early America. Tituba gets the blame,
…only after she attempted to help the Reverend with a potion which would expose those
who are witches. The display of fits, spitting, screaming and biting, convinces
everyone that the girls are possessed.
The blame for these afflictions also falls on two women in the village ; just the start to
a long litany of falsely accused. Sarah Good and Sarah Osborn, both of whom are
disliked by the locals, experience the power these young girls now command. Good is
separated from her husband and begs in the village to support her children. Osborn is a an
old bed ridden woman - both of whom are very easy targets. An examination is held in
Boston where the accused are carted off to face the judges and the girls who insist that
witches lurk about. Tituba is jailed for her part, but was first used to help expose
the witches through her potions which she claims can identify witches. For thirteen months
Tituba is jailed, at the end of which time she is sold by Rev. Parris to pay for her stay
in jail.
A court is set up in Salem Village, headed by Judge John Hathorne to try the accused.
Interestingly, the accused are not permitted to have counsel. It appears that
some court transcriptions were done by Rev. Parris and Mr. Cheever, both of whom have a
biased opinion. As the "witches" were brought into trial, they all had a
queue of people who would testify about things they saw…flying on broomsticks,
objects moving, and the infliction of pain on the delators. And, of course the girls
are right there to play along…the fits, screaming and the visions of specters in the
court just fuel the frenzy. Truly, if people say these things and see these specters, why
it must be true…..
The court held its inquisition and performed its test on the witches. They poked
with needles, pinched, and whatever else they deemed necessary to confirm the witch was
real. The horror stories about testing for witches is another episode in the
brutality experienced in these trials. Interestingly, if you confessed to being a
witch, and many did just to relieve this pain from the battery of test, you got away with
your life, but lost your property if you had any. Some refused to admit to
witchcraft on this ground; they wanted to pass their estate on to the survivors. Sadly,
some of the accused do not survive the stint in jail due to abuse and horrid conditions.
Sarah Osborn , her infant child and Sarah Dastin died in jail.
The "trials" go on and the convictions come…all in all nineteen people meet
their fate at the end of a rope under a tree on a hillside, and one meets his fate through
pressing. Giles Corey, has heavy stones placed on top of a door on his chest, for
two days he languishes and finally dies, but never admitting to being something he was
not! The parade to "Gallows Hill" was often in 1692. Interestingly,
those accused and convicted of witchcraft were hanged, or pressed, but never burned.
Burning witches at the stake was the European way to extirpate this vile enemy from
the face of the earth. The number of people being accused rises and reaches the
clergy, and public officials, the idea that this is out of control now gets some serious
attention. As long as it was the common person in the village, it was allowed to go
on. Finally Gov. Phips gets control of the situation and ends the whole sad affair.
In time to come the court allows a compensation for the injustice to the survivors, a mere
pittance for a life so cruelly taken by the lying witnesses, many of whom had an agenda.
Of course, the court was much to blame here also. It was Rebecca Nurse who
was acquitted in her trial, but the uproar and the display from the "possessed"
girls at hearing this verdict stirred Judge Hathorne to demand the jury to
reconsider…she is found guilty the second time around!
Today, here in Salem we have a monument to those poor helpless souls who fell victim to
this hysteria and indifference… Walk through and remember their stories and
fate, least we should be subjected to indifference and ignorance, and all this in a
community where they came to escape the persecution back in Europe…only to become
persecutors themselves.
Júdica me, Deus, et discérne causam meam de gente non sancta: ab hómine iníquo
et dolóso érue me.
To The Witch Trials' Memorial
In a hurry? You can go directly to the following areas in this section without going in sequence.
The Witch Trials Memorial
Related sites including: Gallows Hill, Nurse Homestead and burial
site, Burying Point where Judge Hathorne and Governor Bradstreet are buried, and more.
Witch persecution still happens TODAY!