Witches Are People That Use Magic, Spells, And Voodoo

The Puritans during the witch hunt believed that women were unholy by nature and felt that women should be “sweet” and responsible, and if you didn’t act as such they would accuse you of being a witch. They lived under harsh rules and brought the same intolerance they had from fleeing England to escape to Massachusetts Bay Colony. Majority of the accusations of being a witch were women but not all. An Indian woman named Tituba that was purchased from the Barbados by Samuel Parris was being a witch. She had very good knowledge of the supernatural and they began to suspect her of being accused for witchcraft or

Witchcraft is a term which sprouts many different meanings. As stated above, it is attributed to witches. But what is a witch? Probably an evil haggish-like women who has signed a pact with the devil if we think of it in the English sense. So witchcraft must be evil doings; putting curses on people to make their life miserable, using wicked spells to transform humans to frogs etc. But does this hold true to everyone's idea of what witchcraft is.People's believes on the subject of witchcraft might differ between different cultures.

Under stress, people can easily forget parts of the Lord’s Prayer or the Commandments, yet this is used as a test to determine whether or not someone is a witch. These often unsound methods of justice, which are standard in Puritan society, leads to the accusation and hanging of many people that are actually innocent.

Witches were usually people who were considered inferior due to physical appearances like women and the elderly. In Document 2 of Group D, over 75% of the executions that were analyzed were female which fits into the perspective of society starting in the early days of the church.

There are countless different assumptions about witches. The majority of individuals in the sixteenth and seventeenth century presumed that God and Satan were real (Lambert 1). They also assumed that “witches” were in allegiance with Satan and made a vow to bow down and serve him (Lambert 1). Furthermore, another common belief was

Idea of witches date back to the Renaissance and the period in history known as the witch craze.

Witchcraft to the Puritan people was one of the worst crimes committed and those who committed it were sentenced to death. Most of those who were believed to be witches were females. To the Puritans, witches were usually female because they were believed to have made a promise to Satan. The Puritans used witchcraft as a way to prove that Satan and his powers were real. The witch craze took over the small Puritan area of Salem Village, Massachusetts in 1692.

“Have you ever wondered if Magic or witches and wizards really exist in this modern world? Well yes, they do exist, and they are quite active in the modern world. There are more than 10 million witches in the United States, with new practitioners on the rise daily.”(Caine) Being a witch is much different than what you may have seen in the movies. There is real magic to the craft, but witches or wizards don 't walk around turning people into to frogs with a flick of their magic wands. They don 't disappear into thin air, nor do they fly around through the night on broomsticks. They also don 't live in a big castle or mansion. They walk around as normal people and you wouldn 't be able to tell them apart for anyone else. The art of real witchcraft is one of the oldest practices in the world. “The oldest instruments of the real craft that have been discovered date back to 40,000 years ago, while the practice of real witchcraft dates back to paleolithic times. It is very much a way of life, as you may have heard from the modern followers of Wicca. During the middle ages, and in the event known as The Inquisition, the practice of witchcraft became outlawed throughout most of the Christianized world, an offense punishable by death.”(Caine) A witchcraft frenzy broke out in the early colonial history of America in Salem, Massachusetts. Insane torture tactics were put in by the church to draw out confessions. This period of time is often cited as the start of "the burning times."

The notion of witchcraft has been around long before the witch trials in Early Modern Europe. Different cultures have different images and stereotypes on what a witch is and what “magical” abilities he or she may possess. Many people however, did not look at these “magical” men and women as bad until the Holy Roman Empire began to look negatively on those people who were different, and opposed the norm set by the elites. Driven by fear, those living under the control of the Holy Roman Empire would began to blame other people for diabolical actions, or malicious activities. Women and some men, were tortured and tested in cruel ways in attempt of finding evidence or gaining a confession that the accused was a witch. Laws about how which were persecuted

Reginald Scot explores the common perceptions towards witches in the late sixteenth century, which he claims they were commonly old, lame, full of wrinkles, poor (Levack 2004: ?), although not necessarily solitary (Larner 1984: 72). Scot claims that their appearance often caused alarm among many in the community and caused the neighbours to find truth in witches utterings. One could argue women were often ascribed with such stereotypes, for they were both physically and politically weakened, and were unable to distance themselves from accusations (levack 1984: 127). It is apparent the oppression of these women could represent an attempt to maintain hegemony in a patriarchal society in the late sixteenth century. Coincidentally, most women accused of sorcery often lived out of the constraints of male authority, where they would live alone, perhaps for the rest of her life.

The novel, “One Foot in Eden” by Ron Rash, is an extravagant story that takes the reader into a tail of desperation, forgiveness and the inevitable change that comes with time. The novel is written in first person by four different novel characters who include: The High Sheriff Alexander, Deputy Bobby, Billy Holcombe, and his wife, Amy.

Witch hunting was the persecution and possible execution of individuals considered to be ‘witches’ loyal to the devil. It was an all too common occurrence from 1603-1712 all over Europe. However in order to understand why this happened the context must be taken into account. It was a time of change, the Renaissance - the rebirth of culture, ideas and attitudes to living. The Reformation had also only been implemented in England in the last 80 years back from 1603, when it had previously been catholic for centuries. The English civil war from 1642 to 1651 is argued to have played a part in the intensification of the witch hunts in England due to the peak in executions whilst it was on going. Some historians have taken the view that in time of crisis certain groups can be victimised like in wars, famine, disease outbreaks and changes in society structure.

When the girls would cry that someone was a witch people inside of the village would tell stories to court about how they cursed them. Mather’s account also talks about how the people that were accused of being witches were “biting, pricking, pinching, and choking” people with their shape (325). In the movie the girls said the same

They can get the people they suspect of being witches killed. Even though they don’t know one hundred percent that they are witches. Once they tell the police about the people they think are witches the police will go and lock them up. Next, they will take those accused witches to court. If the jury decides that they think they are witches. They will soon hang them shortly after.

Shorter defines witchcraft as the “inborn power to harm others secretly and unjustifiably.” This mean, there is no reason, it shows that witches harm randomly because they are driven to do so. According to Magesa, they operate psychically and project from the mind their powers on the victim. There is no rite preformed or spell uttered. Magesa draw a dichotomy between a sorcerer and a witch thereby states, “The use