The Absolutely True Tale Of Disaster In Salem By Rosalyn Schanzer

Even though it was a courtroom, spectral evidence was used in many ways. Spectral evidence is when a witness is saying that somebody’s spector or spirit appeared to them in a dream and they are using it to testify against whoever is on trial. When the accusers were having fits and screaming and thrashing in odd ways, the courtroom did not tell them to quiet down, they instead believed that the accused witch in the room was guilty, it was a horrid sight. “(According to the Salem Witch Trials- DBQ)” Document 6- The examination of Bridget Bishop, when she moved her head all of the afflicted moved their head, then she turned up her eyes and the afflicted turned up their eyes. When the accused witch looked or moved a muscle, the accusers magically moved the same muscle. According to Joan Holub’s What Were the Salem Witch Trials? “The girl accusers tumbled to the floor if Bridget happened to look their way, as if her invisible specter had knocked them down.” (Holub 61). Even though the accused witches plead

how the Stamford trials contrast with the infamous Salem witch trials that took place the same year. The charge of witchcraft preyed on the fears of the community and had the potential to turn townspeople against one another. Witchcraft could also be a difficult crime to prove as most of the evidence was circumstantial; putting the burden of weighing evidence and overseeing due process on the courts of the time. This paper will argue that the alleged victim, Kate Branch, feigned illness to secure her place within the Westcot household by accusing their rivals of witchcraft as well as examine the effect of these accusations on Stamford and how the courts navigated the evidence presented in the case.

In Rosalyn Schanzer book Witches! The Absolutely True Tale Of Disaster In Salem a story is told about a time when Salem, Massachusetts was flooded with witchcraft accusations. In 1692 Betty Parris and Abigail Williams started having mysterious fits. After a doctor examined the girls he diagnosed them with being bewitched! The people started a hunt for all witches in the new land. The first cause are the accusations, the second cause, the fits and the third cause is anger.

Stacy Schiff’s national bestseller The Witches highlights the suspicions, betrayals and hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials. In 1692, the commonwealth of Massachusetts executed five men, fourteen women, and two dogs for witchcraft. One might wonder how and why this Puritan colony became so caught up in this witch frenzy. In this book she is able to paint a clear picture of the panic that occurred among the people of Salem.

In 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts was the setting for an infamous American witchcraft. It was the years when people are plagued with superstitions and monstrous fears that spawned witch-hunts on both sides of the Atlantic. That also maintains a wide witch panic that was a product of a community undergoing severe religious and cultural change. Besides, the Puritans had lost the royal charter that had allowed them to govern their colony free from interference by the mother country. The result was that many leaders and citizens began to see satanic conspiracies at work that eroded the cherished institutions of their already shaky society.

However, things started to get way out of hand that it did not even help your case or stop the majority of these deaths. One method to prove was by saying the lord’s prayer. Some did not pass, due to distractions of girls screaming or “writhe on floors” happening during the test. You also had to show physical evidence on your body, because people believed that possible portals could enter the body through birthmarks, marks, moles, or blemishes, etc. Also, if anyone saw a ghost or spirit in front of the accuser, it was Satan's fault, which bassically confirmed that you are a witch. Things started to get even more out of hand because now humans weren't the only ones being accused but, animals too. Two dogs were executed for witchcraft. The punishments excelled to the point where a person was pressed to death under piles of stones because they refused to testify. Even the Governor's Phips wife got accused of witchcraft, which so happened to be his last straw. He ordered to end the trials on October 29, 1962 and the last trial happened on January 1963. Generally speaking, public support like the people and ministers that noticed everyone was being accused from rich to poor, and believed innocent people were accused of witchcraft based on unreliable evidence, played a huge part to end these

In Rosalyn Schanzer Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem everybody started to accuse each other of being a witch. Which lead to witch hunts and trials, just because two girls woke up one morning having terrible fits. In the trials all the evidence that they had against the accused witches was spectral evidence and they also believed every bit of malarky that came out of the afflicted peoples mouths. The most unfair trials were the ones done by the court of oyer who were on the bandwagon for using spectral evidence and believing in everything.

People were accused of practicing witchcraft and were being hung in Salem, Massachusetts. In 1692 when two girls who were very young, began to show bizarre behavior, that even a doctor couldn't explain, the community come to the conclusion that it must be the work of Satan. The whole community at a loss to explain the symptoms and people were panicked that witches had intruded on Salem.

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.

There was a new way to convict a person called Spectral evidence. For example, if a girl or boy has a dream and dreamed about someone hurting them, they could use that evidence to accuse that person. There was no way to fight against spectral evidence. If someone was accused, there was no way out, they will be guilty. This made the Salem witch trials so different from any other trials. One of the first people accused were: Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba. Tituba is the first that confessed guilty and the others were saying that they were not guilty. Tituba was send to jail. Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good were hung.

The girls screams shook the courthouse. Their accusations sent their fragile community crumbling down. In Salem Village, 1692, the largest witch hunt in American history occurred. Over the course of eight months, more than 100 people were accused. Of those 100, about half were found guilty by the court, and put in jail. 19 of those 50 who were convicted were put to death. No one knows the real reason this horrible event happened, but the girls at the root of the crisis must have been quite convincing in order to make such a huge impact.

The Salem Witch Trials in New England comprised the largest outbreak of witchcraft panic in American history. Historians and scientists have contributed the accusations of witchcraft in the early 1690’s to everything, from disease, religious and political agendas, to harsh weather. It is believed that a better understanding of the cause of the atrocities in Salem, and those like it, may prevent such events from reoccurring. Despite many years of study, however, what caused such panic in New England and the subsequent bizarre accusations against over a hundred and fifty people remains largely speculative.

Many people know of the Salem witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1692 spilling over into the year 1693. But for those who do not know, the Salem witch trials were a series of trials against men, women, and children accused of being a witch and or practicing witchcraft. In “The Devils Snare: The Salem Witch Trials of 1692” by Mary Beth Norton, the author recollects the stories of real life accounts of those accusers and the accused in Salem during that time. Mary Beth Norton explains the Salem witch trials differently than other books and articles by giving wide-ranging background on incidents leading toward the trials and how events in history were related to the trials.

The largest outbreak of witchcraft in America took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. A group of girls, including the Parris’s Indian slave Tituba, gathered in the Salem village and were attempting to see the future by decoding “messages”. Shortly after this gathering the girls started showing signs of the possessed (pg. 73). To this day people all over America are still amazed with the events that took place in this time. But why is that? The fear of the village fell heavily onto the judicial system, which later made people focus on the proper separation of government and religious beliefs. Mass hysteria broke out amongst the village and many people were being accused, therefore leading to many innocent deaths. Although there could be many theories as to the reason the witch trials in Salem began, there are two points of view that are very commonly shared amongst people. Some believe that the Salem witch trials were women unconsciously searching for power, whereas others believe it was an encephalitis epidemic.

Martha Carrier, a supposed witch, was taken to trial on August 2, 1692. At the trial, there were five pieces of “evidence” that proved she was a witch. Martha Carrier had nine people testify against her in court. Furthermore, the nine people had no legitimate evidence, but rather spoke against her with irrational fears, logic defying acts, and unjust accusations. After reading the trial against Martha Carrier, it is easy to see the court was severely biased in their accusations. Unfortunately, Martha Carrier was found guilty of witchcraft and sentenced to death on August 19, 1692.