Witch Hunts: A Fictional Narrative

The Salem witch trials and the Hollywood communist hunt are both the worst examples of the purification of American land and one of the worst moments of American history. Over hundreds of people were innocently killed or died because of the accusations against them. They both had ridiculous ways to point people for what they were hunting for. Life was hard back then and so were the beliefs of their certain customs. But I never said there was never supporters, but many lacked confidence and courage to be in the public and that silence costed many, soon it was a phase of American history.

Witch-Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials. Marc Aronson. (New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, November 1, 2003. 272.)

History shows the remarkable things that society has done over the years, it also shows where society failed and mistakes were made. This is the case of the Salem Witch Trials. The people of Salem experienced an event that would change them and the course of this country forever. The mass hysteria and rampant paranoia that swept New England in 1692, is what turned neighbor against neighbor. The Salem villagers would accuse one another of casting spells, consorting with the devil, and being witches, all of which was a punishable crime in the 17th century. ("Search")

During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during the summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves.

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.

Known as the trial of the century, it sparked a sequence of events that are remembered in history today as the infamous Salem Witch Trials. In the spring of 1692, citizens of Salem, Massachusetts, were accused of practicing the sin witch craft. Nineteen people were hung over the course of the trials, each of them civilians who were fellow residents to the accusers during the trials. The witches that were executed though did not go silent into the night, few stood up for themselves and fought for their own innocence. Along with the help of some companions, the townsfolk who were put on trial were able to voice their opinion on their execution.

In stories set in the past such as “De Las Casas” and “An Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano” witch hunts are apparent and open people's eyes to see how they are still evident in today's society. America is seen as a place for freedom, but in several cases Americans still participate in witch hunts, but they are termed today as bullying, racism, and stereotyping. In several of the stories we read, witch hunts were prevalent in the way people within them are viewed. Moreover, there is a different type of witch hunt, as narrated in The Crucible. This type of witch hunt is a classic one. The Crucible is the quintessential tale of an individual accused of witchcraft and ultimately executed. However, this is not the type of witch

The time of the Salem Witch Hunt was a confusing, fast paced experience for all involved. For the accused, it was rife with drama, loss of property, and conflict between their deeply held religious beliefs and the doubts that they may truly be practicing witchcraft. The accusers held more power than they had ever had before ; many were young women and girls limited by the patriarchal Puritan society in which they dwelled. The elaborate presentations of the women and girls afflictions’ shook the small village to the core. Many hypotheses exist to explain what may have happened, including those of: Marion L. Starkey, Carol F. Karlsen, Mary Beth Norton, Paul Boyer, and Stephen Nissenbaum. Although each

The Salem Witch Trials took place during a time when families were turned against each other, for fear that they would be held in association with the accused and be outed as” devil worshipers”. Many used this “Witch Hunt” as a reason to settle rivalries. The Salem witch trials in American history was a series of investigations and prosecutions that caused 19 convicted “ witches” to be hung, and many other suspects to be imprisoned in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Although teenage boredom and books played a part in the Salem witch trials, a combination of economics and personal rivalries were real reasons for these trials , so strong accusations developed among the community.

Witch Hunts of the Early Modern Period as the Result of Religious and Social Upheaval

It was a cold dark wintery night in Salem Mass. Titubia could feel the wind bellow through the cabin as she gently rocked the baby in front of the fireplace. Two older children sat by her feet listening to a wild tale.

In stories such as “De Las Casas” and “An Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano” modern day witch hunts are apparent because of how people inside of the story were treated due to their culture. America today is seen as a place for freedom, but in many cases America has been a place for witch hunts and targeting of other cultures. In many of the stories we have read, witch hunts have been apparent in ways that people within them were seen as. There is also a different type of witch hunt, such as the one seen in The Crucible. This is the type of witch hunt that everybody thinks about, the classical one.

This essay assesses the claim that witch-hunting was rarely an uncontrollable or hysterical phenomenon. Witch hunts have traditionally been presented in the academic literature as the result of a panicked reaction to supposed malevolent devil worship (e.g., Trevor-Roper 1969; Thomas 1972). In support of this interpretation, it is possible to cite numerous cases in which large numbers of people were put on trial, imprisoned, tortured, and executed seemingly without reason and on poor evidence. It is sometimes argued that a number of the more famous trials were uncontrollable and hysterical in the way they were conducted. Examples include the North Berwick witch trials (1581-1593) in Scotland, the Salem witch trials in America (1692-1693), the Torsåker witch trials in Sweden (1675), and the Trier (1581-1593), Fulda (1603-1606), Bamberg (1626-1631), Würzburg (1626-1631) witch trials in Germany, among others (Briggs 2002; Ankarloo and Henningsen 1999). This argument has also been based on the development of a fierce culture of anti-witchcraft beginning in the 14th century, as evidenced by the publication of books on demonology and the emergence of professions such as ‘witch-hunters’ and ‘inquisitors’ (Ankarloo and Henningsen 1999). This essay argues that these select cases were the exceptions to the rule and that the incidence of ‘witch hysteria’ was relatively low. Contemporary perceptions of witchcraft have been misrepresented by focusing too narrowly on the most dramatic

Have you ever just been minding your own bussiness and then someone comes to you and falsy accues you of something that you did not do? The mian idea in a witch hunt is to get rid of or exguish someone that in your eyes has done something socially wrong. People were scared of social outcast because they were different.

Witchcraft was a crime no one should want to be charged with. It was something people were afraid of, it was heinous, it was truly evil. In most communities, it was one of the worst crimes you could ever be accused of. Many countries no longer consider witchcraft to be a crime, although some countries such as Saudi Arabia and Uganda still consider it a serious offense even to this day. The focus of this piece, however, is to discuss how countries like England and Sweden handled witch trial cases, how that may have influenced the townspeople of Salem, and how some Salem trials worked.