Salem Witch Trials Paranoia Essay

In 17th-century Colonial America, contact with the supernatural was considered part of everyday life; many people believed that evil spirits were present and active on Earth. This superstition emerged 15th century Europe and spread with the colonization of North American puritan colonies. Women were believed to be the most susceptible to demonic behavior; females were considered simple targets for Satan due to being viewed as the weaker sex physically, spiritually, and morally. Women who did not conform to the Puritan ideals at the time were usually ostracized, institutionalized, or brutally murdered. In 1692, thirteen women were famously put on trail for accusations of witchcraft; famously known as the Salem Witch Trails. Most of these women were put on trial and later burned to death for erratic and un-Godly behaviors, 78% of the people charged were women who were accused of doing devilish things such as; speaking out against church officials, being a financially wealthy widow, having pre marital sex, or just being too beautiful. According to Michael Coren’s Why Catholics are Right “five million women were killed by the Church as witches… witch hunts began in the sixteenth century in Europe and that between 30,000 and 50,000 men and women were burned to death for

From the time of the 1690’s the entirety of Salem, Massachusetts were Puritans. “The Puritan lifestyle was restrained and rigid: People were expected to work hard and repress their emotions or opinions. Individual differences were frowned upon.” (Salem Witch Trials, The World Behind the Hysteria). These people believed that doing anything sinful would result in punishment from God. Just as much as they believed in God, they also believed in the Devil. Keeping up with the Puritan code, it led to the first women being accused of witchcraft. They were viewed as pariahs, and seen differently. Had the Puritan government let the afflicted defend themselves, not be so dependent on religion, not investigating the facts or scrutinize the trials the killing of many could have been prevented. The hangings from the trials would ultimately be the last in America.

In the year 1692, everyone went to church. They called themselves “Christians”, and this made them people of faith. The church of Salem needed to find a new reverend so they got Samuel Parris. Samuel Parris was a main part of this whole thing. He wanted to keep his job and to do that he had to execute many people in the process. After they got their new reverend, the accusations for witches began to form. Most people must have been very naive to believe in the girls accusations. It was odd that when these girls arrived that’s when witches started to become known.

In 1692-1693, the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria occurred, resulting in 20 deaths out of the 200 accused of practicing the Devil’s magic, a practice that women were commonly accused of. Salem, Massachusetts, was a colony that consisted of Puritans, both Separatists and non Separatists alike. From the start, the Puritans believed that the Bible was true in all aspects: every word, every idea, every thought--was true. The Puritans also had minimal understanding of science, which led them to believe that phenomenon was an act of the Devil. Thus, when three young girls admitted to seeing demons and started behaving strangely, the Puritans grew progressively hysterical because they became more convinced that witches existed within Salem as they had little scientific knowledge. In a nutshell, the cause of the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria were Puritan fundamentalism, misogyny, and hysteria.

As Peter S Beagle says, “You ever want to see real witchcraft, you watch people protecting their comfort, their beliefs.” This quote is saying if you want to truly understand someone, learn about what they believe in. It all began in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The accusations toward people who were thought to be witches was on the rise. These would not be the kind of witches a person would think about in today 's world, but women and men who were put on trial for witchcraft hysteria, which in turn caused mass hysteria. Based on the excerpts from Carol Karlsen and Laurie Winn Carlson, there are two main theories about the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria. One theory about the “witches” was crafted and explained by Carol Karlsen. She believed

During the 17th century, people were hung even if the did not deserve it. The trials started when little girls acted like they had been bewitched. The trials took place on a famous site called Salem Village, Massachusetts in the summer of 1692, killing more than 20 people. Salem’s infamy has bewildered many, for nobody truly knows, entirely, what caused the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Clearly, there were a few possible causes of the hysteria; however, these three stand out as the main causes envious, young, single woman; sexism; and lying little girls.

According to Document B, 134 people were being accused of being witches. 110 of those were women. Out of the women 76 were married at the time. There were 34 accusers. Ot of all of them 22 of them were below 20. This could imply that young, impressionable girls were accusing the married women.

The people that were apprehended were all different than the townspeople. The accusers targeted weak people and social outcast. The accusers all mostly lived near each other in the middle of town, and the people being accused lived on the outskirts of the town. This could have caused the hysteria because the accusers thought that people different than them must be witches.

In 1692, a series of trails over witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts resulted in the deaths of fourteen women and six men. Witchcraft thought to be a widespread epidemic plaguing the colonies during the seventeenth century. Many believed the Devil walked among the colonist looking to lure them into doing evil. Unfortunately, the continually growth of paranoia involving the Devil and his minions, economic conditions, social strife, and personal jealousies can account for the arrests, trials, and deaths of twenty accused individuals in the spring and summer of 1692.

In 1692, 19 women were hung and 200 more were accused of witchcraft. All because of the strange actions of 8 young girls. These 8 girls showed signs of being possessed by the Devil. They had seizures, trances, delusions and extreme illness unexpectedly. Fear of being killed by the Indians and worry that there was not enough food and water put the level of tension at a new high for the villages, spread this hysteria faster than wildfire.

The Salem Witch Trials was probably considered the darkest time for the New England Colony. This was a mass murder of women and a few men that were supposed witches. All of this started from two little girls and a bacteria in the bread that affected the brain.

Over 150 people have been charged with witchcraft. Nineteen people have been hanged. Others have died in prison. Girls are having fits, people are turning on their neighbors, and everything that goes wrong is attributed to the devil. This is only a small insight into the story of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692.

The Salem Witch Trials, taking place between February 1692 and May 1693, arose from a period of mass hysteria regarding witchcraft. The puritanical society of New England emphasized a need for a Bible-based society, which caused a fear of the supernatural and gave rise to the false accusations of “witches.” With testimonies of witches rooted in the Old Testament, the idea of witchcraft eventually made its way into the superstitious and everyday Puritan life, and was fueled by the rejection of the group during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

In a Puritan community called Salem, in 1692, two girls fell ill. They crumbled instantaneously. After they immediately collapsed, they quaked violently quite a few times. They admitted fearfully that three women did some spellwork on them. The girls also confirmed one woman who performed witchcraft was an Indian slave named Tituba. Her master beat her painfully until she confessed seeing the devil, was taught magic, and claimed that there were witches in the community. Many people got frightened that Satan, or the devil, was among them. All women started blaming each other for practicing magic. Sadly, twenty-four people were put to death for studying and doing wizardry. Although this was a disgrace to the U.S. and a melancholy

Beginning in roughly 1450 continuing to around 1750, a fear of witchcraft in Europe led to many years of witch hunts and executions of a multitude of individuals, an estimated 70% of those accused being women. The idea of witches and witchcraft caused people to begin accusing others of almost anything, the accused becoming scapegoats for the people of Europe. The witches were defined as problems for cities and state to the people because they brought death, illness, failure of crops, misfortune and evil wherever they went, and they worshipped the devil, God’s powerful, malicious enemy.