Salem Witch Trials Essay

In early 1692 Salem village, Massachusetts began to experience strange occurrences among their residents. Victims suffered from strange mental and physical illnesses. The randomness of the victims, and their unusual symptoms, led residents to suspect a supernatural explanation. These suspicions eventually led to the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Past historians have concentrated their research on the accused, while Laurie Winn Carlson focuses on the afflicted in her novel, A Fever in Salem: A New Interpretation of the New England Witch Trials. Carlson offers an innovative, knowledgeable explanation of witchcraft’s link to organic illness. She focuses on the physical symptoms of “possession”, which can include convulsion, hallucinations, distorted language and paralysis; which are all congruent with the symptoms of encephalitis lethargica. Carlson expertly supports her case with accounts of Puritan religious and medical beliefs, histories of witchcraft and mental illness, scientific studies of plagues, colonial diaries and court records to those of the encephalitis lethargica epidemic in the early twentieth century. In eight chapters, Carlson convincingly argues that the victims suffered encephalitis lethargica and offers persuasive evidence for organic explanations of other witchcraft victims throughout New England. A Fever in Salem is a stimulating understanding of one of America’s most unusual moments and offers a retreat from the Freudian, Marxist, feminist, and

humanity would have come to an end, but that was not so. In 1692 a

== = The Salem Witchcraft trials started in 1692 resulting in 19 executions and 150 accusations of witchcraft. This was the biggest outbreak of witchcraft hysteria in colonial New England. The trials began because three young girls, Betty Parris, Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam began having hysterical fits, convulsions and terrifying visions after being caught engaging in forbidden fortune telling[1].

During the time period of 1691 to 1692 the town of Salem, a small thriving community within the Puritan Massachusetts Bay colony, was struck by widespread hysteria in the form of witch trials. The way these trials and accusations played out are historically unlike any other witch trials found in European and American history. Historians have pointed to a number of economic, political, and social changes of the then existing institutions throughout the Massachusetts Bay area to be the cause of the Salem witch trials, along with the direction they took. If studied closely however, it becomes apparent that the main cause for the Salem witch trials can be found in the way the people of Salem viewed and

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.

The Salem Witch Trials began during the spring of 1692 after a group of young girls in Salem Village, MA, said they were being possessed by the devil and accused local women of witchcraft. With chaos running around the village, the special court began taking on cases. Bridget Bishop, the first convicted witch, was hung that June month. Many people of the Salem community had major consequences including death and harrassment. Belief that the devil could give certain humans, or witches, power to harm others in return for their loyalty emerged throughout europe as early as the 14th century. All of this chaos and phenomenon led to a pointing fingers game of who is guilty. Chaos also brought up the question of why it happened, malice, spite, or

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, he writes, “We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!” (Miller 77). This partially fictionalized tale of the Salem Witch Trials points to one of the causes of the trials, vengeance, but the over dramatized tale 's early stages were quiet. The Salem Witch Episode had humble beginnings in the town of Salem Village, Massachusetts, but evolved into one of the most widely known witch trials in American History. The gallows in Salem claimed the lives of nineteen men and woman during the spring and summer of 1692 due to the accusations of witchcraft with over a hundred people who were accused. After all the terror and the uproar of the trials occurred, everything came to a screeching halt (Linder 1). Due to the unique circumstances of this particular set of witch trials, from the rampant accusations to the discontinuation of the trials mass hysteria does not seem to be fault as with other witch trials, but a variety of factors. The Salem witch trials were not just a simple case of mass hysteria, but a combination of factors ranging from poisons to superstitions to scapegoats, resulting in the outbreak of the Salem Witch episode.

The Salem witch trials were trials for people who were being accused of worshiping the devil. They believed the witches were out to harm others in supernatural ways. They were believed to be able to turn into animals, cause others to become possessed by looking at them, and were accused of being the cause of illness or miscarriages. However, there are many false theories about the Salem witch trials causing many controversies. One of the bigger controversies was if people were really being possessed by the three women. Often times, if doctors could not find a cause to an illness they will blame it on witchcraft. “Laurie Winn Carlson argues that in the spring of 1691 and winter of 1692, some of the accusers exhibited these symptoms, and that a doctor had been called in to treat the girls. He could not find an underlying physical cause, and therefore concluded that they suffered from possession by witchcraft, a common diagnosis of unseen conditions at the time”. They believed there had to be a cause to everything and if something

There have been many theories and conspiracies following up the Salem Witch Trials of 1962 in Salem, Massachusetts. Many claims try to explain the existence of witches during the time but very few try to disprove those claims as well. Although they hold strong arguments only one theory has been able to be proven scientifically through the accounts of actual victims. Ergot poisonings have been very evident through the beginning of the “bewitchments” and throughout the trials. In 1962, eight young girls began to experience sickly symptoms and strange happenings that no nurse or doctor could explain. As they were left clueless with no explanation they concluded that girls were “bewitched” and ended up accusing three elderly women of being the witches of Satan while conducting spiritual acts of terrorism on them for sacrificial reasons. These women admitted to the crime and were sentenced to jail although more accounts of the same symptoms and happenings were spreading to even more people in the area. The theory of ergotism may be proven by the location and time period of the trials, the side effects of the ergot poisoning, and even the authentic accounts of the “bewitched” victims.

In early 1692, a priest’s daughter and niece started to act out. They had raging fits, made weird sounds, and continuously complained of fever and pain. As time went on more and more girls were affected, that’s when adults started being concerned. After the doctor examined the girls and tested all of his remedies, and declared that it was supernatural. The girls were questioned if they knew someone who would do this to them they listed three women: Tituba (an Indian slave), Sarah Good (a beggar), and Sarah Osborne (a local gossip).

Wasn’t attributable of a physical malady, the community reasoned that it must been According to Blumberg, the Salem of witch trails was a really bad part of the United State. There were people who didn’t understanding why they were getting accused. This happed during 1692 and 1693 in Massachusetts. This happened during this time. The main parts that started and fueled the trials were politics, religion, family, feuds, economics, and the imaginations and fears of people (Sutter). The seeds of the hysteria is afflicted Salem village, Massachusetts were sown on January 1692 when groups of young lady’s began to display wild behavior. The physicians called to examine the girls could find no cause of the disturbing behavior. If the source affliction the work of Satan. Witches invaded of Salem. February village began; raying and fasting in order to rid itself of the devil’s affect the girls were pressured to reveal who’s in the community controlled their behavior. March 11, 1692 there was a day of fasting and also, prayers in the Salem during the days of community’s ministers, the rev. Monday 21st on March magistrates of Salem appointed to come to examination of the goodwife Corey about twelve of the clock they went into the meeting house, which was thronged with the spectators (The Salem witch Trials). Ann Putnam Elizabeth Hubbard, Susannah Sheldon, and Mary Warren all charge they were, no longer friends they were not nice. “The girls complained into grotesque poses, fell

The Salem Witch Trials In 1692, a fateful event took place in Salem Massachusetts. The Salem Witch Trials was a time in history where more than two hundred people were incriminated for practicing witchcraft. Several factors motivated the witch trials of 1692. This eventful time started with twelve year old Abigail Williams pretending to be possessed. Rumours were spread throughout Salem, and the blame for practicing witchcraft was focused on certain people.

Life in the New England colonies during the 1600’s proved to be harsh with the constant fear of Native American attacks, scarce food, freezing winters, and conflicting opinions about religion. From this perpetual state of distress, the Salem Witch Trials were birthed, causing a wave of hysteria in Salem Village and Salem Town. Though the exact day and month is uncertain, historians can claim that the trials emerged in early 1692 and came to a close in 1693. The Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 with more than one hundred fifty people being accused of practicing witchcraft, and the trials finally ended with the courts declaring there was no evidence in the cases being tried, and the Governor stopped the trials because his wife was accused.

The witchcraft crisis started in January 1692 when two young girls started to suffer from “fits” which they soon recognized as witchcraft. The two little girls, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, were reported by eyewitnesses to have uncontrollable fits where their bones broke, mysterious cut marks appeared, and odd body disfigurement. In the following months, more and more people said that they were being tortured by

The girls in Salem were suffering from fits. They were hiding under furniture, had a fever and had pain constantly and were fatigued. The girls could not have been faking these symptoms. Since people cannot make themselves have a fever and cannot make themselves faint. They were suffering from the disorder because when the young girls heard of what was going on they started doing it as well. No one ever caught the illness unless they were stressed out about the news and believed they might have had it. They were not faking the symptoms because it caused people that they knew to be hurt as well and they still could not stop. The mass hysteria in Salem was from the puritans who thought the devil was was making people sick. The girls were very stressed out thinking they could be accused of witchcraft next that when they heard of the symptoms that some young children apparently had they seemed to get them too. All, the symptoms they had are all under the category of conversion disorder so now people can draw the conclusion that they just all thought they were sick. The girls in Salem were not faking the disorder of having conversion disorder.