25 disturbing facts about the salem witch trials
-25 disturbing facts about the salem witch trials
So if witchcraft wasnt really happening in Salem, what actually caused those girls to have the fits? I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. Before she was hanged for witchcraft, Sarah Good gave birth to a daughter, Mercy Good, while detained. Another famous incident from the trials was the case of John Proctor. List three facts about each and three opinions. The phrase witch hunt, commonly used to refer to an unjustified or falsely conjured-up prosecution, is thought to originate as a reference to this time period in American history. 10 The Symptoms That Gave Witches Away Make No Sense At All All witches are women, but not every woman is a witch. Directed by Guy Ferland. This evidence was later banned bythe courts, leading to a sharp drop in accusations. Some three-fourths of those European witch hunts took place in western Germany, the Low Countries, France, northern Italy, and Switzerland. Learn all about secret burials, door to door witch hunters, the touch test, the swimming test, and the witchcraft act that made all of this possible. Rather, as Salem archivist and historian Richard Trask observes, they also included "second-hand rumors" and "fits of fancy." See Richard B. Trask, Legal Procedures Used During the Salem Witch Trials and a Brief History of the Published Versions of the Records, in Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt (Bernard Rosenthal ed., 2009). Large rocks and boulders were then laid on the planks, which slowly crushed him., After Governor Phips put an end to the witch trials, many involved in the proceedings expressed guilt and remorse about the events that occurred, including judge Samuel Sewall and the governor himself. Mid-February- After a month of fasting, prayer, and home remedies, Betty and Abigail have not improved. Due to its association with the supernatural and the haunted, Salem is now a popular destination for Halloween festivities, which run throughout the month of October. This is the event that Salem is most known for, in only three months' time 19 innocent people, 14 women and 5 men, were hanged, and one man was pressed to death. The trials came to an abrupt halt when the Governors wife was accused of witchcraft, causing him to immediately order an end to the trials. Thomas Maule, a Quaker who found himself at odds with the Puritan community at times, was beaten and imprisoned for speaking out against the trials, despite the fact that he himself believed in witches. Credit where credit is due! Photos and Videos See All Videos and Images Related Topics and References Topics witchcraft Both Good and Osborn protested their own innocence, though Good accused Osborn. As the weeks passed, many of the accused proved to be enemies of the Putnams, and Putnam family members and in-laws would end up being the accusers in dozens of cases. The origins of the Salem witch trials are long and complex, but we do our best to break down the most disturbing information about this task. Its name comes from the Anglo-French phrase oyer et terminer, which literally translates to hear and determine.. Those people lived in quite a horrific time. Norman Rockwell, the famous painter and illustrator who created the cover illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post magazine for nearly five decades, was a descendant of Esther Dutch Elwell, accused of wickedly and feloniously sundry acts of witchcraft upon the body of Mrs. Mary Fiche.. The hunts were efforts to identify witches rather than pursuits of individuals who were already thought to be witches. After her second husband died, Bishopwho had been married three timeswas accused of bewitching him to death, though she was later acquitted due to a lack of evidence. They soon spread to individuals regardless of their gender, class, or power in the community. Eventually, the accusations ensnared even the most powerful people in Massachusetts. She was an enslaved woman believed to have been from Central America, captured as a child from Barbados, and brought to Massachusetts in 1680 by Reverend Parris. Historically, women were the ones to be called witches, and unfortunately, they were also the . Facts: -"At the time of these events Parris was in his middle forties." -"They did not celebrate Christmas, and a holiday from work meant only that they must concentrate even more upon prayer." -"The edge of the wilderness was close by. History. Part of the escalation of theSalem trials included investigators literally going door to door and asking homeowners to rat out any suspected witches in their midst. He brought to Salem Village his wife, their three children, a niece, and two slaves who were originally from BarbadosJohn Indian, a man, and Tituba, a woman. Over the following year many trials were held and many people imprisoned. The events in Salem in 1692 were but one chapter in a long story of witch hunts that began in Europe between 1300 and 1330 and ended in the late 18th century (with the last known execution for witchcraft taking place in Switzerland in 1782). William Good, who lost his wife Sarah and infant daughter Mercy, and whose daughter Dorothy was imprisoned, was one of the people who received the largest settlement. Call them ignorant, call them malicious, the, Life, woman, life is Gods most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it., 20 Brave Facts About the House of Gryffindor, 25 Money-Making Facts About Hollywood Industry, Hero to Zero Facts About Robert Devereux, The Rebellious Earl of Essex. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. On March 1 two magistrates from Salem Town, John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin, went to the village to conduct a public inquiry. These included "violent contortions and uncontrollable . For more than 300 years, the complex drama of the 1692 Salem witch trials and its themes of injustice and the frailties of human nature have captivated and fascinated the public imagination. They were also used for identifying witches in Salem, using the Witch Cake test. Many possible answers have been proposed, but one likely explanation is that they were suffering from some kind of natural medical afflictions. The Salem Witch Trials Victims: Who Were They? History of Massachusetts Blog, August 19, 2015. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/salem-witch-trials-victims/. They argue that the trialscreated a taboo in America against mixing religion and government, and George Lincoln Burr called it, the rock on which the theocracy shattered. There is also no question that the incident remains a constant reminder in our collective minds about the importance of due process in a legal system, and the dangers of premature overreaction and irrational hysteria. Even during the trials, there were many who objected to the whole procedure, even within the religious Puritan community. Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. What is the legacy of the Salem witch trials? Episode 44 Danvers State Mental Hospital & Salem Witch Trials: Carol checks herself in with the lunatics at the legendary Danvers asylum while Holly confesses to witchcraft on the stand in Salem, Massachusetts. Some have suggested that the man who was truly responsible for initiating the witch trial debacle was Reverend Samuel Parris, the father and uncle of the afflicted girls. 1 Most of the accused were women but men were accusedand executedtoo. But men were accused (and executed) as well. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://famous-trials.com/salem/2035-sal-bphi. Citizens began to believe that people were practicing witchcraft in their town. Another executed man was John Proctor, a wealthy farmer who spoke out against the witch trials, particularly after his wife Elizabeth had been arrested for witchcraft. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. The next time Giles wanted to attend, Martha objected and prevented him from going. Bishop was known to rebel against the puritanical values of that time. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://salemwitchtrials.com/accusedstats.html. Miller did not approve of this, and this was one of the things he tried to criticize allegorically through his depiction of the Salem events. Probably stimulated by voodoo tales told to them by Tituba, Parriss daughter Betty (age 9), his niece Abigail Williams (age 11), and their friend Ann Putnam, Jr. (about age 12), began indulging in fortune-telling. And the first person executed for witchcraft during the trials was also a woman. As the most commanding mistress in the French court, she bettered the lives of many and became a beloved figure. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://salemwitchmuseum.com/locations/philip-and-mary-english-home-site-of/. The three convicted individuals received pardons. Check out the top history lists on the internet all in one place. Parris had shrewdly negotiated his contract with the congregation, but relatively early in his tenure he sought greater compensation, including ownership of the parsonage, which did not sit well with many members of the congregation. After Governor Phips's wife faced accusations of witchcraft, he outlawed spectral evidence in October 1692. Interestingly, dogs role did not end here. The 1942 romantic comedy filmI Married a Witch, starring Veronica Lake and Frederic March, told the story of two witches from Salem placing a revenge curse on the descendants of their accuser. For those who are unaware, Salem is located in Massachusetts, which, as you might remember from history class, was New Englands first established colony dating back to the arrival of the Pilgrims of the Mayflower at Plymouth in 1620. Two of the casualties were babies. This caused her to be accused of conspiring on behalf of the witches, and eventually of being a witch herself. I wonder if what the prescription is for that. They are fascinating as well as scary. Which, yes, is a little ironic. One man, Giles Corey, was killed over three days as increasingly heavier rocks were set atop his body. The process of identifying witches began with suspicions or rumours. The people of Salem often ate rye bread,and in wet, swampy conditions (which Salem had at the time), rye can foster a fungus called ergot. The feud was over the fact that Kazan had named communist sympathizers during his testimony to Congress. Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark historyor the chilling secret shared by her and Louis. Credit where credit is due! The death warrant, signed on June 8, 1692, ordered for her death to take place by hanging on Friday, June 10, 1692, between 8 a.m. and noon. Many possible answers have been proposed, but one likely explanation is that they were suffering from some kind of natural medical afflictions. Three presidents William Howard Taft, Chester Arthur, and Gerald Ford have been said to descend from one of Salems executed witches or their siblings. One of the most popular points of view was that if you were against the trials, then you were, in fact, an advocate for the witches. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between early 1692 and mid-1693. Factinate is a fact website that is dedicated to finding and sharing fun facts about science, history, animals, films, people, and much more. Although Catherine's successor Queen Anne Boleyn suffered an infamously dark fate, Aragon's own life was somehow even more tragic. In 1692, when the Salem witch trials began, the United States Constitution did not yet exist. There was a social divide between the leading families as well as a split between factions that were for and against the villages new pastor, Samuel Parris. They began in 1692, a full 73 years before the start of the American Revolution and some 40 years before George Washington was even born. Nineteen were executed by hanging. Witches have been the origin of many myths and legends. To save his wife, the governor stepped in to stop the trials and disband the court of Oyer and Terminer. Even more interesting, the summer of 1692 was a dry one, and coincided with the apparent end of the bewitchments. Twenty of those people were executed, most by hanging. The girls are examined by a . While Wyatt sneaks away from the bunker to face an unbelievable truth, Lucy, Rufus and Flynn chase the Mothership to the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. During the trials, two dogs were killed based on suspicions of witchcraft. Despite being known as the Salem witch trials, some of the trials actually took place in Ipswich and Andover in addition to Salem itself. In January 1692 Bettys and Abigails increasingly strange behaviour (described by at least one historian as juvenile deliquency) came to include fits. Because most of the trials were occurring in Salem . It was actually the local doctor, likely William Griggs, who first diagnosed the girls as having been bewitched when he couldnt find anything medically wrong with them to explain the strange behavior. In the midst of all this religious and political controversy, there was also a major racial incident. She crafted a tale detailing how the devil had come to her and asked her to do his bidding. The panic and fear over witches hiding amongst the colony began when two young girls, Abigail Williams and Betty Parris, developed strange symptoms including having fits and screaming in pain at mysterious moments. Another famous incident from the trials was the case of John Proctor. Descendants of the Salem community have made constant efforts to clear the names of those ancestors and relatives who were falsely accused and convicted back in the 1690s, with some being officially recognized as innocent by the Massachusetts government as recently as the beginning of the 21st-century. 20 wereexecuted (generally hanged) by the prosecutors, and five died while serving prison time. His wife, Elizabeth, had been accused of witchcraft and John tried to step in to defend her. He attempted to save himself by writing to clergy in Boston that mass hysteria had taken over the village, but they acted too slowly to save him: He was executed on August 19, 1692. But not just adult women and men were impacted by the trials. Take, Salvador Dali was a man of contradictions. When all was said and done, 25 people lost their lives because of the trials. After months of trials, the governor finally decided to put an end to the trials with the last trials being held in May of 1693. So if you celebrate Christmas and live in Massachusetts today, be happy you were born when you were! Here are 42 wicked facts about the Salem witch trials. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? Ann Putnam, for example, used spectral evidence to accuse Rebecca Nurse,said, I saw the Apperishtion of [Rebecca Nurse] and she did immediatly afflect me. Such evidence was also used against Bridget Bishop, with many men claiming she had visited them in spectral form in the middle of the night. The grave of Martha Corey, the wife of Giles Corey . William Phips. Wikipedia. From unbelievable witch swimming tests to the role of Salem smallpox in the trials, this list will bring you every crazy witch trial fact that you never knew existed! Which, yes, is a little ironic. 20 wereexecuted (generally hanged) by the prosecutors, and five died while serving prison time. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were killed during the hysteria. This caused her to be accused of conspiring on behalf of the witches, and eventually of being a witch herself. Seventeenth century Salem also gave birth to stories of courageous stands for reason, hopeful births, and acts of clemency and mercy. By the time it was over, the resulting Salem witch trials had claimed the lives of 20 innocent souls. Other girls and young women began experiencing fits, among them Ann Putnam, Jr.; her mother; her cousin, Mary Walcott; and the Putnamss servant, Mercy Lewis. Kyle Climans has been a published writer since 2011. In fact, there was fear in Europe that an entire group of evil witches were consciously attacking Europeans in order to destroy Christendom. January 1692- Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village's daughter, 9-year-old Elizabeth "Betty" Parris, falls ill, soon followed by his 11-year-old niece, Abigail Williams. Of them, thirty were found guilty, and nineteen of whom were executed. People thought that witches used demons to do magic. If a dog was fed a cake made with rye and the urine of an afflicted person, and it displayed the same symptoms as the victim, it indicated the presence of witchcraft. Life, woman, life is Gods most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.Arthur Miller, in The Crucible. Salem Witch Trials of 1692. In late May 1692, Sir William Phips, the first royal governor of Massachusetts established the criminal court to conduct the Salem witch trials. This period of witch trials later came to be known as the Salem witch trials, named after the town of Salem and Salem Village (present-day Danvers). In mid-January 1692, Elizabeth Betty Parris, the 9-year-old daughter of the local Reverend Samuel Parris, and Abigail Williams, the reverends 11-year-old niece, became the first to be diagnosed with being afflicted by witchcraft. Statistical Analysis of the Accused. Salem Witch Trials . The girls contorted their bodies into odd positions, made strange noises and spoke gibberish, and seemed to be having fits. The second slain dog was actually thought to be a victim of witchcraft whose tormentors fled Salem before they could be tried in court. Thomas Maule, a Quaker who found himself at odds with the Puritan community at times, was beaten and imprisoned for speaking out against the trials, despite the fact that he himself believed in witches. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. Because he refused to comply with the court, he was given the sentence of being pressed to death. If you think its all dramatic court rooms and burning at the stake, then you need to see these 25 Disturbing Facts About the Salem Witch Trials! Despite the horrible and senseless loss of life and community divisions that the witch trials caused, some historians believe that the traumatic incident had a silver lining. In 1702, the court declared the trials unlawful. John Proctors son was born in prison while his wife was imprisoned on witchcraft charges. Image of The Salem Witch Trials. (Salem Witch Trials "History" published on November 4, 2011 and updated on October 5, 2021). Lieutenant Governor William Stoughton served as its chief magistrate and Thomas Newton as the Crowns Prosecuting Attorney. Millers famous play about the Salem witch trials is called The Cruciblebut what is a crucible anyway? The Salem Witch Trials were a series of trial that took place in 1692, when it was believed "witches" were casting spells on people in the village of Salem. The village itself had a noticeable social divide that was exacerbated by a rivalry between its two leading familiesthe well-heeled Porters, who had strong connections with Salem Towns wealthy merchants, and the Putnams, who sought greater autonomy for the village and were the standard-bearers for the less-prosperous farm families. The legacy of the trials has far outlasted their duration, even . A complicated and long-lasting feud between the Putnam and Porter families of Salem may have been a motivating factor in some of the witchcraft accusations. One of the most famous victims of the trials was a prominent woman in the local community named Martha Corey. 8. That May release included Elizabeth Proctor, who had been found guilty of witchcraft in August of the previous year and sentenced to death,but had her execution postponed due to pregnancy.