The Absolutely True Tale Of Disaster In Salem By Rosalyn Schanzer

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.

The Salem witch trials were a dark time in our history, filled with paranoia, betrayal, the innocence of children, and vengeance.The incident would be so severe that it would leave bitter scars that have continued to this day.

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.

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, hysteria broke out throughout the town in an event that later became known as the Salem Witch Trials. They were the largest account of witch hangings ever in America, as 20 women and men were put to death for being accused of practicing witchcraft. Historians have been debating about how these trials were caused. The frenzy in Salem happened because at first, young girls were afraid of punishment and wanted to avoid it so they blamed older women and accused them of being witches. These accusations began to spiral out of control when the religion of the town supported the allegations, which causes paranoia and panic to spread throughout Salem, which blinded the townspeople from clues revealing that the

The hysteria, craze, trials, and deaths, still rest an unsolved case. The theories of politics, rivalries, religion and the “circle girls” seem the most believable, in my eyes. However, as the happenings in Salem village still continue to mislead and amaze not only historians, but many others, the witch trials lie a great turning point for Salem, and the lives of many; let alone

The Salem witch trials were influenced by religion, social outlooks, and eerie behaviors. This lead to numerous allegations and trials that convicted the innocent and the instigators of society.

The Salem Witch Trials were a series of accusations, trials, and executions based on the supposed outbreak of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. The trials began during the spring of 1692, and the last of them ended in 1693. It all started when two young girls, Abigail and Betty Parris, began experiencing violent convulsions and outbursts, which were thought to be brought about by witchcraft. Whether they were faking these symptoms, were afflicted with an actual sickness, or were experiencing them because of some sort of psychological reason is widely debated, though it is known that the sisters accused their maid, Tituba, of forcing them to participate in witchcraft with her. Some who theorize about the causes of the trials dismiss the Parris girls involvement in the beginning and instead attribute the outbreak of accusations to judgement upon the members of society who break social or religious rules, or who struck the upright members of society as ‘strange’ and ‘suspicious’, such as the homeless, the poor, and old or widowed women. The cause of the hysteria that went on in Salem after this is what is speculated by so many. There are probably hundreds of theories out there, but a few in particular are more widely known, accepted, and supported than others.

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.

In the article, The Witchcraft Trials in Salem: An Account, professor Douglas O. Linder attempts to put the Salem trials into historical perspective by highlighting the socioeconomic differences between the accusers and the accused. Furthermore, Linder’s uses a commentary “account” of the trials to support his criticism of the Massachusetts Judicial system. More specifically, Linder highlights moments in the trials in which spectral evidence, which bases itself upon dreams and visions, taints the integrity of the Judicial system. “Salem should warn us,” Linder argues, “to think hard about how to best safeguard and improve our system of justice.” It is worth noting that Linder is not fair to the individuals including Cotton Mather and members of the jury, who firmly believed in spectral evidence at the time of the trials. Furthermore, the author does not appear to push any political agenda.

The Salem witchcraft trials were a particularly dark and mysterious time in the history of America. These trials that were arranged upon the belief of witchcraft could have multiple explanations. In my opinion these trials began as a combination between religious factors, boredom, social issues and all coming together in a mess of suspicion and deceit. Although these trials did start because of the Puritan’s imagination, their true religious belief in witchcraft, childish antics, and their hatred for their neighbors helped to fuel their imagination. The people’s imagination began to lead the people in the town of Salem, Massachusetts into a deadly witch hunt.

The Salem Witch Trials was from 1692-1693, in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. There was a circle of girls who wanted to have a little fun so they got involved in the sport of witchcraft. They went to the minister’s house every day to visit Tituba, the Caribbean slave, to join her for palm and tea leaf reading. The girls took it too far though. They pretended to have fits and started accusing people of being witches. They went so far that people started to be hung for being witches but they weren’t. The girls didn’t understand that what they were doing was wrong. But then it got worse… the girls started to believe their own lies. Salem was doomed… after the girls began to think that what they said was true…

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.

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.