A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials

Salem witch craft is a cool topic to learn about

A good article overall, but I take issue with the assertion that "Many involved..publicly confessed error and guilt." Sewall, Ann Putnam, and who else? What is your definition of "many?"

Says the same thing that everyone else says Maybe you could come up with some more information for us Thanks LaRie

Witchcraft is a serious matter.It requires those that have spiritual insight to deal with it,many atimes mistakes are made in the course of trying to determine the truth.i love the topic.

over all you did a good job, but we who are writing reaserch papers need more facts.

MY (TO THE SEVERAL GREATS)GRANDMOTHER, MARTHA, OF CHELMSFORD, MA WAS ACCUSED OF WITCHHOOD IN 1691 BEFORE ALL THE WITCHES IN SALEM. SHE WAS IN THE BOSTON JAIL FOR JUST A LITTLE OVER A YEAR. IN LATER 1692 AND 1693 THEY CAME TO THEIR SENSES. SHE WAS RELEASED UNDER BAIL (300 LB). WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HER AS THE BOSTON COURT RECORDS WERE BURNED. FOR THE MOST PART THE DISITUTE WERE ACCUSED AS THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO PROTECT THEMSELVES.

can u give more detail?

That is so sad all those innosent pepploe I hate that.

I have a question about the 4 year old girl. What is her real name, Dorothy is just the third name I have heard. I have heard so many different names and 2 stories about the 4 year old child did she or didn't she die? I am studying this and I am in dier need to know.

The Salem Witch Trails was a bad time. I'm sorry that all those people had to die because of the stupid "afflicted" girls.I agree you need more facts for us who are writing reports and doing projects on this topic.Even though not enough facts, this site was a good site overall.I NEED FACTS!

OK first the 4 yr old girl's name was Dorcas. she wasn't as bubbly and cheerful and healthy as she once was before the Salem witchcraft trials after her father payed to get her out of jail. and she didn't die.

I'm doing an extra credit paper on the Salem Witch Trial for Hitstoy and this website heped my A LOT!!! Thank you so much! I love the way the site is set up and layed out and I love all of the wonderful information it included! Thanks again!

I think the way these people were accused was crazy. I have found great intrest in this topic. the Salem witch trials is great to learn about.

What ever happened to Elizabeth and her baby?

well elizabeth had the baby, and had gotten remarried 4 yrs. after proctors death to another man.

whatever happened to Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams? how about Mary Warren and Tituba,Rev Parris' slave? I find this whole business of the Salem and Andover witch trials fascinating. These types of things are the reason our country now practices the virtue of innocent until proven guilty.

this page on salem witchcraft trials is very good i learned a alot about the witchcraft trials and it helped me alot on my paper thank you so much lee ray thompson

This article made very interesting reading. I would love to know the sources of your information. Are those available? If so, where? Thank you.

You should have more detail on witchcraft magic it's really cool.

Personally I believe in witchcraft even if everyone thinks im crazy Is till dont get why every one thought it was so bad it would be awesome to have magical powers and they discriminated against that.

witches arent evil no religion is wrong the way they see god but they shouldnt force people into their religion

it was good information thank you

witches are not real, only spiritualy.

that you so much for this information, it really helped with my 12 page report.

i love that you put the history of the salem witch trials on your page, however from a site about the actual town i would expect a more in depth look and more detailed story. with all do respect i learned more information in the books i read on the topic for my research paper than a website on the town of salem itself. if you were to add more detail and explain the unprinted facts on the topic such as Giles Corey and mabe a psychological profile on why he felt the need not to testify guilty nor innocent. or the story on the 4 year old child and when she was released from prison. the fear that indians livind on the outskirts of the villiage were assumed to be of a magical being or mabe explain that it has been proven that everyone who was having the "Fits" was under the influence of LSD from a fungus that was discovered in the rye used to make there bread due to the weathers conditions that year, all i ask is something unheard of.. new like the fact that judge Hahorne's great great great grandaughter still lives there. Thank you...Dominique(16 yr. old student)

this was very helpful for my history day report-MG

Good basic info. For more in-depth info try reading the article by Linnda Caporael or Ergot and the Salem Witchcraft Affair by Mary K Matossian. My favorite book is: Salem Story: Reading the Witch Trials of 1692 by Bernard Rosenthal. For the story of Giles and Martha Giles go to: http://www.witchway.net/times/giles.html. As for Dorcas Good, four-year-old daughter of Sarah Good, she became the first child to be accused of witchcraft when three of the girls complained that they were bitten by the specter of Dorcas. (The four-year-old was arrested, kept in jail for eight months, watched her mother get carried off to the gallows, and would "cry her heart out, and go insane.") Good luck on your research papers!

theres too mouch of a story going on then there is hard facts overall its a great sight if your looking to summarize it instead of r=writing a report

i would like to know more about them because we are studying them in history thanks..

hehey this is so cool im doing my socil studies project xthat is wrong 4 people to acuse people to whitch craft people dieing for something they didnt do

but how did they effect history?!!!!!!

hello do you know any other refrences we could use we are doing a project on them please can you respond before christmas thank you.

I think that it is stupid that all these people had to die beacuse some possesed girls said so that they were practicing witch craft.

First of all you morons if you want more information then go to another website or article. If you didn;t notice the title says "A BRIEF History of the Salem Witch Trials," so it isn't supposed to be "more detailed." He did an excellent job!

THIS ARTICLE IS TITLED "A BREIF HISTORY OF THE SALEM WHICH TRIALS" SO IT DOES A GREAT JOB OF GIVING YOU THE INFO THAT THE TITLE DEACRIBES. THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME WITH MY PROJECT... I ONLY NEEDED A SUMMARY OF IT AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I GOT. TO THOSE OF OYU DOING EXTENSIVE PROJECTS TRY TYPING HISTORY OF SALEM, OR SOMETHING MORE DESCRIPTIVE IN THE TOOL BAR WHEN RESEARCHING. IT HELPED ME ALOT WHEN I DID PROJECTS IN IT FOR ENGLISH AND HISTORY SEVERAL YEARS AGO. YOU COULD ALSO TRY RESEARCHING EACH INDIVIDUAL YOU HAVE A QUESTION ON,YOU WILL DEFINATELY FIND THE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESIONS THAT WAY.

THIS IS AN AWSOME TOPIC,but it gets booring after awile

I am doing a project on this particular topic and this website helped a lot. However, I need websites and links with an AUTHOR!!! (HELP!) Unless it a government site, I can't use it w/out an author. Any suggestions? Oh and by the ways i think Jessica (?) was asking the four year old's name,, I'm pretty sure it was Dorcas. (That's what it said in some books I've read.)

I'm doing a Social Studies Fair Project about this topic...Thanks for helping, it's a big help.

I'm sorry but most of this article contains basic, superficial material. Whereas it's well-written, it could have easily been comprehensively written; the overall significance of the Salem Witch Trials demands a profounder treatment.

I am doing a huge project on this topic and i think you need more details and spacific events....and some of the names are wrong....i really think you should try to do more research and update the site....

Hi i am researching the Salem Witch Craft Trials for my National History Day project and I was just wondering if maybe you could mention the amount of people that were accused and the many methods that they may have used. Thank you.

Im doing a project on salem witch trials I think it's really interesting please though use more detail

Actually I have researched Sarah and her daughter, and while in prison, Sarah's daughter, who was 5 years old at that time was also charged with witchcraft and killed. After the loss of everything she held dear in life, and just before hanging, Sarah's final words were; God shall give you blood to drink, and her executioner (Hathorn)died 20 yrs later, as a result of an aneurysm (he choked on his own blood). The author of the House of Seven Gables was the great grandson to Hathorn (sp), but changed his name to Hawthorne out of shame over the shameful Salem witch trials and other similar incidents brought about by his ancestors. The author, Hawthorne lived in the House of Seven Gables after his great grandfather and father, and at the time it only had 4 gables, but he discovered 3 more that had been renovated and then he wrote his book to try to atone for his ancestors sins.

If my memory serves me correctly, Harriet S. Tapley wrote "Chronicles of Danvers" which is very accurate. Also, Richard Trask of Town of Danvers Archival Center is a recognized authority on this subject.

One thing puzzles me which no one seems to have mentioned. In the 3rd paragraph of this excellent summation, the author states that: "Controversy also brewed over Reverend Samuel Parris, who became Salem Village's first ordained minister in 1698..." But then in the next paragraph, we have the following: "In January of 1692, Reverend Parris' daughter Elizabeth, age 9, and niece Abigail Williams, age 11, started having 'fits.'" So how could "Rev." Parris be regarded as a "reverend" in 1692, six years before he was ordained? And if he wasn't ordained until 1698, how come he wielded such authority in 1692? And--even more to the point--why on Earth would the Church ordain him after such a horrible fiasco as the Salem Witch Trials--which were the scandal of all New England by that time? And, of course, I shouldn't even have to point out that the Salem hysteria had nothing whatsoever to do with any form of actual Witchcraft. None of the accused (with the possible exception of Tituba) were practitioners of Witchcraft or any other magickal tradition. They were all devout Christians. This is a case of fundamentalist Christians turning on their own people, in the complete absence of genuine Witches. And it is certainly ironic that today, Salem is the "Witchcraft Capital" of the entire US, with more actual Witches and Wiccan businesses than anywhere else. Blessed Be, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, Headmaster Grey School of Wizardry www.GreySchool.com

I REMEMBER A STORY THAT ONE OF THE ACCUSED DENIED BEING A WITCH BUT ADMITTED BEING ROMAN CATHOLIC AND WAS HANGED ANYWAY. I WAS ALSO UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT COTTON MATHER WAS NOT THAT HELPFUL AND THAT THE STRAW THAT BROKE THE CAMEL'S BACK WAS ACCUSING THE GOVERNOR'S WIFE OF BEING A WITCH.

Thanks for the info. I'm doing my history fair project on one of the witches Bridget Bishop and this info helped!

This information helped me with my research, but do you have any more?

is the ipaswitch clan real and did it even happen like in the movie the covenet

thanks, im doing report on this topic and i had great information! awesome.

Wow!!!!!!!! Salem sounds like a awesome place!!!that whole thing was freaky

I personally think this website needs to have more information about the Salem witch trials because at our school, a lot of people are doing this project so if you got more information on this topic, more people would probably come on your website than most people do now!

this is a really good site to find info on. I am using it for a project for National History Day. It is a good thing i found this or i would have been completely lost.

tells you every thing that you would want to know

the salem witch trails are very interesting, but then seem a little off to me because it was young girls who were accusing older woman of witch craft. what i wonder is that back then families would pass on farms to the oldest son. the younger children were most of the time left nothing especially young girls. these girls feared they wouldn't be married and have no land. so my question is "were these young girls targeting older woman for competion of marriage and land? once these supposed witches were exacuted, their lands were avaiable. plus these women were not ever given a fair trail. these women said they were innocent, but still the courts didn't believe them. that is something to look at. but of course maybe it was diease that caused these strange behaviors to young girls only.....

The abuse of judicial process which was evident from the very beginning in the Salem Trials should be a lasting warning to all Americans. This is what happens when you allow the religion and the government to make common cause. If anything deserves to be classified as "evil" it is the behaviour of the upright Puritan community which allowed children as young as 4 years old to be pressured into making testimony that enable their own parents to be executed. It is all a matter of public record. The Puritan community preferred to be drawn into a maelstrom of paranoic fundamentalist superstitition rather than investigate the matter properly. In the end it destroyed the reputation to the extent that the remaining residents decided on a name change. The perpetrators of this persecution were allowed to get away with a partial apology and the claim that they never meant to do harm. I find that the hardest thing to believe about this whole incident. The rhetoric of some of the candidates in the American election seems to reveal that religious mania continues to keep the electorate from looking at the facts as it did during the time of Salem, Massachusetts when the entire community was in the grip of self-destructive "Christian" paranoia.

hi, i am doing a history day project for school and i was wondering about the things below. It would be awsome if your able to answer these questions. You might heard from me and 2 other of my friends again. thanks a lot. -Was the Salem Witch Trial a hoax or not? -How did they deciced to stop. -What changed there minds. -Wat are there names?

i have heard that the 4 year old daughters real name was dorcas. i read this in a book written by a historian. is her name dorcas or dorothy or is dorcas a nickname of dorothy?

Ok, so I have to write a short story on this topic, and I can't figure out a way to start it. Can anyone tell me what events led up to any of this happpening?

This is horrible:( I am a report on them and everything is so upsetting. I think the girls should not have said that those people were doing it if they wer'nt.

I am a student at a University in California and we were discussing this in our American Lit. class yesterday. Someone mentioned there has been information brought out that the grain, eaten by both humans and animals, may have been tainted with a mold spore or some other biological naturally-occurring toxin and that is why people had "fits" and that the cattle dropped dead. There are so many things we now know about now that people didn't at that time. Also, people can consume grain or other foodstuffs that are contaminated in some way and all react differently. This may be akin to people eating poisonous mushrooms or other such things that people now consume to intentionally produce hallucinations. Something to think about. We also brought up the point that when people are confronted with things that are unknown to them, they still sometimes react by ostracizing or labeling the people involved as suspicious.

I'm very intrested in historical witch trials i love the movie The Covanent because it was so good, about different withes and everything else. I try to get on the Internet to look up the witch hunt in salem. My friends think i am wierd because i enjoy reading about things like that but its the truth. see you later

omg this is so great!!!! I got an A on my project

This act of violence was very rong!

I love history. This is one of my favorite units. I`m part puratin but that dosent mean I agree with them.

this is very sad to many and to me tell more about the kids.

Hi. I think its totally stupid that people didn`t have fair trials. I think the judge was friends with the person acting and teamed up against the suspected witch. Or The beleived possed person was really acting screaming,throwing theirself around the room and the judge beleived everything. If you should tell me they should have a judge thats not gullable and unfair!!!

I think this site is very helpful for many of my projetcs!

i cant figure out how to get this page in MLA format. could someone help?

this is good for my hisocial fiction book report it helps a lot on the book i read called "the witch of blackbird pond."

I am very interested in the facts and the names of all who were named as witches,and those who are there ancestors.My mothers maiden name was Owens. I have heard that there were witches in our family. I would like to go back into the book of names to see if any of those accused of witch craft are ancestors. Please let me know if and where I could find this book.

This was fascinating, not just the 'brief history,' but all these comments. A few are by people whose ancestors were directly affected by the witch trials; many are by students looking for help for research papers. My problem with this article and others in what's mostly a gorgeous, glossy magazine is the lack of footnotes and bibliographies. If the editors would simply ask the authors to provide this rudimentary information, students could seek out the works they need and read them firsthand.

Iam doing a web hunt on the Salem Witch Trials, for school. And I have really always been interested in stuff like this, and it seems like people have alot to say about Witch Craft,and the trials of the Salem so called witche's. And there is alot of theories about it, but no one will ever know the REAL story or TRUTH about any of this. And that really suckes, but we just have to accept things for what they are and how they come to us. C ya...P.S I beat myself up pratically because I really want to know the actual TRUTH, but thats life and every thing happens for a reason. So like I said we will never know the actual truth. J.B

I learnt about the subject during my history studies in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. I think that history shows us many examples of mob-behavior that lead to disasters. In my mind I can even see the seeds of cruelty from Salem in the 20th century Nazism.

im doing a reaserch report and this helped but i need an authors name and when this article came out.

how did this website find the informatio n. if a book what book?

I am the GGGG+Granddaughter of Sarah Pease and although the death of the others accused is important, I would like to learn what happened to Sarah and others like her after the hysteria died down. This article is well written, but only a beginning to a great many that have been written.

THis is a very intresting topic to do and a very good one for a reasearch papper for any seniors

well can i find the date of last change???????

i think this is a very interesting topic, and i wish the article had more information. It feels like the tip of the iceberg.

I have been seaching the Salem Witch trails and thngs for the past 10 years. My son acually did it by getting me to watch Charmed, I know thats the Wicken Way nor is it really posssible sometimes when I am waching it I wonder if there are really witches out there that can do good stuff like that , even though I know its only a T.V show, it makes me really belive that there most likely now or in the 1600 the are good wiches out the waching over us.Some poeple think its crazy and its not even posssible at all but I beleive it really could be or is true. Thank u for the things u gave me to reas and discover. I hope to fine out more. Alli

I'm write a research paper for my engligh, this information, was very help for. I Thank You ..

I think that this is a good web site but, you need to put on more about the afficted childen in this event . Like boighaphies.

well to let those of you know there are still alot of so called Witches aka Wiccan or Pagans who are still getting critizied for their Belieffs. I have done alot of research on the religion it self and it has nothing to do with the "DEVIL" or "DEVIL WORSHIP"...

i love reading about a this stuff i've always been interested in the witch craft and its history

For all those who say facts are needed, it's not possible, there's too many unanswered questions around these trials.

The Salem Witch Trials were an event that is not lost in history.The subject is one that I have spent a many of nights wondering about and I am sure that I will spend many more in the same way. I understand the realm of the unknown. Learn it well or we may be destand to relive it.

THIS ARTICLE ON THE SALEM WITCHTRIALS WAS VERY INTERESTING, I'M VERY INTERESTED ABOUT WITCHCRAFT EVEN THOUGH I DO NOT BELIEVE IN IT

I'm a descendant of Susannah Martin, who was hanged in Salem in 1692. She was an outspoken older widow who lived in Amesbury/Salisbury and was named as a witch (presumably because she was "casting spells" on her neighbors animals who died)and tried. She denied the accusations, yet they hung her anyway. It is very sad to read the accounts, and although we may never find out the truth, I do NOT believe these women (and men) were witches. It is sad when superstition, rumors and fear take over people's hearts and they act without thinking or considering the source or the consequences.

After many years of family research and finding that the Dodge Family of Beverly, Mass was in our family tree, I began studying the Salem Witch Trials. No Dodges were accused of witchcraft but interestingly enough several of those hung were in-laws to the Dodge clan. It puts a whole new focus on history when you realize that your kin was impacted. For those who have posted comments that they feel this website is lacking in information on the witch-trials, let me point out all one needs to do is "google" the words and you will find many sites with additional info. An excellent one is www.salemwitchtrials.com. Watch the movie "The Crucible" which is about the trials. Some facts are changed such as John Proctor's love interest with Abigal Williams and their respective ages, however the accusations, trials and hangings are the real deal. Good luck to all in your pursuit of life's history and it's mysteries. Signed 60 years young, Valerie.

If any body out there knows the name of the judges at the witch trails please E mail me.Thank You

I am a decedent of Maragaret Scott who was one the last woman killed in Salem Trials. This is a recent discovery and we don't know too much about her yet. I have been fascinated by the trials since working on the play The Crucible in high school. It was neat to find this link to the story. It is especially neat since I am Wiccan. I am not saying that these woman were witches as in following a religious bend, but they probably were healers in their village and had much to much "power" for people to be comfortable with them. The children could have heard conversations about this and choose those who their parents disliked. Hard to tell. I do find the theory about the grain to be the most plausible reason for all that happened.

these people should not have been accused like they were. these people obviously didnt know teenagers if they believed them over the adults that were convicted.and anywyas there is nothing wrong with magic and witchcraft. i myself am reading about wicca and its very interesting!!! ;)

For the person who wanted the names of the judges at the Salem Witch Trials go to site: http://www.Salemwitchtrialsfacts.com and you will find their names.

Why do you think the witch trials occurred in the Northern Colonies and not in the Southern Colonies?

I am astounded by how many people have posted complaints on this page (mind you with improper spelling and at times, improper English) demanding that the person who did the research for the page do your own research projects! As an historian, I am nothing more than dumbfounded by your lack of interest in doing research on your own! While the internet is a source for information, by no means should it be your ONLY SOURCE. This is by far not the only page that I have looked at concerning the Salem Witch Trials (and yes, I have something that many people consider antique these days - books on the subject at my local library) that I have seen with demands of similar discourse. As for the author, You did a nice job on the summary. In response to a few of the posters: the person who asked why it only happened in the Northern Colonies instead of also the Southern ones: Simple - the Puritans lived in the North. Please look at the history of the colonization of the United States and it may answer some of your curiosity ;) For the person who seems to think that Wicca and the Witch trials are the same: Wicca was founded in 1948 by Gerald B. Gardner. Lastly, as a person who is descended from several women named Dorcas, it was an actual name, not a "nickname" of Dorothy.

who were the so called "troubled girls" that were said to be possesed by the Devill?

Great job Elizabeth, I agree with every word. If anyone wants more info on the witch trials and wants the real feel watch Three Severeigns For Sara. This movie is very touching and moving. You can find it at amazon.com right now for $19.99. This is the closest to the truth as possible movie wise. As for the crucible all is well, but it is fiction as well as fact. In the crucible a lot was changed like ages of the characters as well as afairs that never really occured. The best way possible to learn is researching online and the library. Look at every website and read, read, read. Trust me. For others that can adventure into Salem, Ma, they have great historical tours that can teach you about all the history. Also great museums. You will learn about more than just the trials as well. Good Luck and Happy Trails.

I entirely agree with an early comment about the inflated expectations of many of those who posted comments, those who expected much detail from an expressedly basic article to assist in writing their college reports. What equally worries (and astonishes) me is the semi-literate nature of a not inconsiderable number of postings made by those who are currently in the educational system. A preponderance of appalling spelling is the foremost feature. The 'cut and paste' nature of internet-based study only aggravates this. It is characterised by the adoption of statements without critical thought (and often without due attribution - ie plagiarism), combined with poor grammar and even worse spelling. The educational system must address these problems for what they are. Poor literacy must not be overlooked in assessments. As for the blind and unattributed adoption of other people's thoughts, these same students will, if left unchecked, do exactly the same thing in universities - where plagiarism is treated seriously - but not see anything wrong in doing so.

Reading the comments above so many of them don't realize how little religious freedom there was in the early days in New England. The men mostly the leaders of the church were in charge of everything, what they said no one question. You went to church, if not you were punished. The women had no rights what so ever they could not speak in church or in the meetings. So when some of the women started to question the leaders, then the though they could be witches came up. It got carried away from that like a wild flower. The purtians did not come to the America for religious freedom, they came for freedom for theirs and only their religion. If you did not like it then things happened. You most likely would be punished.

Witch Hunt, Spanish Inquisition, Getting rid of infidels, fight against religious extremists... "We humans are happiest when we kill in the name of God." Holly Cow! That's a good concept, not for B.King or McD.

I do agree with the fungus theory behind the causes. However, often the motivation behind most of the crimes is money and wealth. I am not sure if any records are available from those days but it might be interesting to study and trace the whereabouts of wealths of those who were accused and/or punished/killed during that unfortunate period. This might throw some additional and interesting new light on the subject ... but then this is just a shot in the darkness.

To kill another human is against Christian beliefs. Yet, they hanged too many people, contrary to to God's word. Religion is about increasing the wealth of the church, not to spread the word of God.

the salem witch trials are a very fascinating subject and it interests me alot.

i would like to know what the historians quote, and think about the trials. i need to know how they interpreted those events.

What a deeply shallow article, which could have been written without ever visiting Salem. I live in Salem and I am descended from two different women, from different families, who were hanged in 1692. One would expect Smithsonian to publish a more original take on this well-worn subject.

what happened to those people is scary to think about but very interesting to learn about.

This is also a topic that is frequently presented in college history classes. In my History ! class at a local Community College a very illuminating project presented the actual historical records of the trial and the presentation by Cotton Mather. (Note for Alexandra) I agree with Elizabeth, people, you need to study history, not just Google up data, or use Wikipedia. History does repeat itself, if not remembered. Personally, I think the state of required K thru 12 is abysmal due to lack of funding by local, state and federal governments and that most people with high school educations are hardly literate much less functional. When I got to college as a freshman and sat in a Geology 1 class, I thought, "why isn't this taught in high school." And then there's Physical Anthropology which teaches that the fossil record traces the fact (not theory) that the gills of a shark have the same number and identical placement of bones as in the human ear, and the it's fin has the same number and idential pacements of bones as in the human hand.

This is a really cool topic. If you want to learn more about it, read The Crucible. I liked it. I also wonder, who decided these were the ways to test if one was a witch? I think that would be highly interesting to learn. (Being a Grammarian, I also agree that the people in today's public education system are royally screwed in the way of education. ^_^)

Giles Corey, to answer a question above, refused to enter a plea when charged. Under the law at that time, one could not be convicted unless one entered a plea. Mr. Corey knew his chances of acquittal were very slim, to say the least, and knew likewise that conviction would bring about seizure of his farm and other assets, leaving his wife a pauper. When he refused to enter a plea, the authorities decided to induce him to do so. Although torture was nominally forbidden, he was taken to a nearby field and "pressed:" a board was set on his chest and heavy stones were set upon it in an attempt to get him to plead guilty or not guilty. Mr. Corey's only words were "more weight." He eventually died of suffocation, unable to expand his lungs against the stones on his chest. Because he was not convicted of anything, his farm passed to his wife, as he intended. He was a remarkable man: most people in his situation would enter a plea of "not guilty," in the hopes that the court would acquit them and allow them to return to their homes and families. Mr. Corey, having realistically assessed the situation, sacrificed himself to protect his family.

how many people were imprisoned?

im doing a story on the Salem Witch Trials and it is a very interesting topic

wow this is really all true i am reading the crucible in my english class and im looking up info about the salem witch trials and all i can say is wow

read this whole page it so sad that we live in a world so absent mineded i feel so bad for all those people who died they did nothing wrong .weather they belived in something magical was there own bussines,sometimes we all have a piece of magic in all of us, it strange we are stiil repeating history wearther it is religion or what color we are.it should not care god made us all different for a reason we all have diffrent back rounds for all of us to learn from each other.we all have been touched by the graces of god in our heart as well of those who have been presacuted in salem wicthes trials.we do not have the right to judge one another that is god and god alone.............

I teach high school and the truly sad part was once they burried everyone after the hangings they did not dig "six feet." When the first rains came limbs were exposed and they had to re-burry most. In fact, Rebecca Nurse's family was so disgusted they removed her body from a mass grave and burried her on her propert. I leanred this when I visited Salem in 02.' A tour guide told our group this.

I would be making an unwise generalization if I said this about all of you, but SOME of you seem unable to grasp the facts that a)things like this were considered much more serious and mysterious in those times, and b) old laws were quite different from the ones we have today. Also, some of you might need to consider taking a remedial English/grammar/spelling course; your grammar is terrible. I do, however, think that it is a horrible thing that all of those people were killed.

Blessed Be to all , as you do your research on THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS, please educate your peers and family on the good that witches are about. Help us banish the sterio -types of the wort nosed , green skinned , turning children into mice creatures. We are beautiful being inside and out. We don't wait until festive holidays to speak and smile at one another, we do it because we are content with our lives and loves. This is because we ARE earth loving , tree hugging , barefoot in the park , getting close to the elements and ourselves type of people. So the next time you're out and a random person is smiling at you for no perticular reason , or helps you out without looking for anything in return but your well being. You may have just encountered the love of a witch being spread to you through a force greater than life itself , a force of hope , that everything will be ok if you just allow it to happen. Remember "HAPPINESS IS A DECISION". Teba Tituba W.

this is so awesome! i hope you decide to make another web page about the Salem Witchcraft Trials.

i thiink this is a very good topic for 7th & 8th graders to lean about!!!!!!!

I think that instead of the accusing the people of being whitches the accuse them of being a tad crazy! so maybe all of this could be based on a tiny lie that got out of hand, and maybe we all need to get back to the basics.

The four-year-old girl's name wasn't Dorcas, it was Dorothy, but it was spelled wrong on the arrest warrant and the misspelling got carried over into other literature.

i really love the salem witch trials. nothing else like this has happened in history. and if it has it hasnt been very public. but thats what makes it so cool.

Dear Erin, I very much hope that you will research the 'Burning Times', as the decades-long mass murder of OVER 10,000 women in Europe is called, My number is correct. This was initially a fear/hate response to accusations by ignoran tpeasants to people (originally just women) who MAY have been practicing another religion than Catholicism or early Protestantism. Eventually many men and children, and, believe it or not, even animals were accused, tortured, and condemned! Remember the massive killing of cats in British history, which led to the Great Plague by allowing the infected rats to multiply uncontrolled? That was part of the hysteria; please Google and or Wikipedia any of the teerms and words in the excellent posts here, Erin...there is so much to learn about our cruel European history =(

Another good read with facts is "The Devil in Massachusetts; a modern enquiry into the Salem Witch Trials", by Marion L. Starkey. This is 'an authentic historic narrative' which tells the names of the accused and their fate, as well as their backgrounds. My relatives are in the list; Mary and Sarah Towne, often referred to as 'the Towne sisters'. You won't be able to put it down until finished!!

All i can say is im a glad i dont live in 1600s. Shocking treatment to people the greed of some was more inportant than a persons life. In most cases it was the lords or governers of the states spreading rumoures so that they had more land intitlements and the the finacial wellbeing would be much greater giving them more room for control and stability. At a time were people did not have the knowladge or no how in these bisare devil storys they were frighted in too hanging people and a few other ways of exacuteing the ment be guilty wich was a lot worste than hanging. Storys which turn your blood cold. I would like know more about Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams? .

people fear what they cant understand, hate what they cant conqure i guess its just the fury of man(women too) Nas

that was really interesting, i was watching a movie,(not really serious, monty python.) and they accused a girl of being a witch they wanted to burn her, i thought they had even more ways of killing a witch

I studied the witch trials and hunts throughout Europe and in the country and this article is a good start to the American trials. Sadly, the truths of the European trials and what the church was truly searching for will never be acknowledged.

I believe witches but I don't believe they would hurt anybody. When I went to purgatory chasm in Newport, RI where they would push the witches off the rocks and I could feel the lost souls of the dead around me.

There is a really good play called "The Crucible" i'm not sure how excate the facts are, but its a really good play to watch. there was also a movie made of it..starring Daniel day lewis as John Proctor and Winona ryder. ohh and one of the judges name from the trial was Judge Danforth

It's true these witch hunts were a very bad thing but this statement is simply false. Hundreds of thousands of supposed witches—mostly women—were executed. Hundreds of thousans of people WERE NOT executed. For the real facts on what happened, check out anything by St. Louis University professor, Thomas Madden. Even though these trials were bad, they were far less widespread and intense than most people believe. Thanks!

Wow. If you question a four year old girl about her mother being a witch, duh she's going to be timid! I would be! Geez, these people were paranoid! It is SO interesting though.

Why is everyone asking for more info when the title states "brief"? Actually this article is a nice refresher. Events such as this should be forever kept near the front page of American life.

Here is a little more informaation people might be interested in. When the bible was being transelated. There was a mistake by one of the monks working on the king james version. He transelated, Thou shalt not suffer a Witch to Live. When in fact witch should have been poisoner. To this day the mistake still remains. This has brougt many problems to the practicing witchs of our time and the past. A witch does not believe in the devil, That is a christian concept. I believe more research should be done on the bible and this mistake should be corrected. This is my oppinion, and I am welcome to it, lol. I have been mistreated, lost jobs, ect.. because of a man that lived many years ago. When will we as a religeon finally be allowed to worship, as garanteed by the constatution? Blessed Be Master Elf

For those who don't know, look up "ergot poisoning".

for information regarding real people that practice real witchcraft see witchvox.com...it has accurate information on the practice of witchraft (wicca) and can banish all the inaccuracies the general public has..blessed be

http://members.tripod.com/Lord_Grey_Wolf/burn.htm#list2

The term "Witch Trials" is a soft term for mass murder. These slaughters in Salem, England, Scotland, everywhere that Christianity held sway, are a strak reminder of what can come about in the name of religion during difficult times. The old, the infirm, the loners, those who knew the arts of healing, those were the targets of this hatred. Be ever mindful that the vast majority of these innocents were women. Then look to today and see what religions offer as roles for women.

Salem witch trial very interesting.

I visited Salem in 2008 with my 8th grade class. We saw the place where the hangings occured. We walked around Salem, and learned about how some were convicted just because they maybe sneezed odd. It was amazing to learn about how people did things back then. This was really good and legitimate information. Thanks for sharing.

I've read one reason for the accusations was greed not witch craft, some owned large plots of land making a few jealous, does this have any validity? Land and goods were confiscated when they were found guilty and hung, Miles Corey wouldn't answer the charges and his heirs kept his land and property. Does anyone know about this theory?

Don't forget poor Rebecca Nurse. I live in Danvers and frequently visit her homestead. It's a wonderful place. Her grave is there and also a monument to those who supported her during the trials. http://rebeccanurse.org/RNurse/Homestead.htm

If you want to learn more about this, you should read the first chapter in "After the Fact" you can find it any where, ebay should be cheap considering that it's still used by many highschool AP classes (such as mine) and colleges who teach Early American history.

it is really good we don't see these kind if things going on in our modern world.witchcraft is something i know to be evil but those accused of witchcraft were treated and are still treated in some parts of the world today especially in africa is very very bad and unicef must see to it's stopping

This article mkes me ill. I have over 152 generations of paganism in my family both Irish and Italain (celtic and strega magic(k) and more then one of my family members died during what we pagans call the burning times. For those who do not know it Witches dont believe in the devil. The devil is a christian based idea. Christians didnt exsist until way after the pagans had already be around. The Christian religion was created by men to keep women out of power because men didnt like the idea of a female giving orders and worshiping a women instead of a man (aka) goddess vs god. They took pagan holidays and turned them into their own so they could originally convert pagans and bring them into thier religion which they called Christianity. They figured if they switched the names and a few of the dates but kept the concept for the most part it would make it easier for pagans to cross over. Hence Ostra aka Easter and Yule aka Christmas. If you people out their would do your research and look it up you'll all see what I mean. The Burning Times was just stupid men with ego trips trying to control the masses so they could keep their power. Dont hate me for telling you the truth people and for those who think I'm lying look it up and do your home work.

It's kinda sad to realize that back in that time if you were accused of witchcraft you would most likely be put to death. And all those people were innocent. It doesn't matter if the families were compensated, innocent people were accused and had to pay for something they didn't do.

As I've always said.. Nothing good has *ever* come from organized religion and nothing good ever will..

this is fascinating, always will. if you guys are looking for a good read as well as a different take on the story read "The Crucible". not exactly accurate but they got the names right at least and the writing is superb.

Mary and Sarah were sisters and Rebeccah Nurse was their sister too, Mary and Rebeccah were hung, Sarah escaped to another town. Their mother Joanna Blessing Towne was accused as a witch in England prior to coming to Ma.I still say greed and jealously were the biggest evil, people ran with it and all the accused suffered terribly with their lives, property and health.

Rebecca Nurse was my great great +++ grandmother and I have visited her homestead in Danvers, as well as Salem Mass many times. Anyone wanting to watch a historical account of this event is urged to find a copy of "Three Sovereigns for Sarah" It is a little slow at times, but a great movie for the accuracy of the witch trials and was filmed on location at the Nurse homestead. Any other relatives of Rebecca, Sarah and Mary might like to join the Towne Family Association http://www.townefolk.com/

According to Durant, many of the witchcraft trials in Europe were motivated by desire to acquire the property of the accused witch. Usually they were widows who had inherited sums of money and property.

i was actually reading a book called "The Sacrifice" which was about the Salam Witch Trials. It had many characters in the book with the same names as the people who were accused of witchcraft in this article. I think it is neat how the book actually makes you kind of know what it was like for the people during that time. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the trials or just to read it because it is a great book. Note:The book is a children's/young adult book.

The comment about watching The Crucible (the movie) was good, but reading the play is even better. According to research, the accusations and trials came to an abrupt end when the even the governor's wife was accused. John Proctor could have saved his life by confessing, but he refused because of the legacy it would leave his children.

this story has it wrong in some parts. heres a shortened story of how it all went down: the small town of Salem, had just hired a new minister, mr. samuel parrish. a few weeks later, his slave, titabuh, began to teach the village girls games that showed their fortune and future. eventually, the minister found out about it. soon, the girls found out that when they acted as if they were being "bitten" and "scratched" by witches, it broght them attention, that they werent used to. and they liked it. the girls continued to act as though they were being beaten by witches and they were asked who the witches were. the girls, some of which were, abigail, anne puttnum, and ann puttnum senior, began to list names. obviously though, the accused were in deed innocent. the government officials began to make trials, to tell if someone was indeed a witch or not. some of which were, being hanged, burned at the stake, or sometimes, being crushed by countless numbers of boulders. exactly 20 innocent people died. to get an even clearer understanding of the salem witch trials, i strongly reccomend the movie, "Three Sovreighns for Sarah." ( i might have spelled that wrong) i watched the movie a couple days ago, and it was horrifying to watch how cruel those girls were. it was not at all a boring movie, and i think you would find it most interesting.

As a witch, I find it appalling every day how many people associate Wicca with the Salem Witch Trials. As mentioned before, Wicca was not founded until the 1940s. Please, everyone who reads this, remember this and please remain respectful of the witches. Wicca teaches us to respect every living thing, regardless of differences in beliefs. Wiccans do not turn people into toads. We do not sacrifice animals. And we absolutely do not fly around on broomsticks! Merry we meet and merry we part. Blessed be.

I found the article intresting. If you truely want to hear more indepth information.. There is a 3 book series in the library on the witch trials. it is one of the best books i ever read. The Witch Trials is a very graphic book.. It also said hundreds of thousands of women died during the witch trails around the world. Another good book on the witch trials is Salems Darkest hour.. A very good book..

I wish that our education system weren't failing. I'm horrified at the number of comments here with glaring grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. Witchcraft is not "the Devil's magic". Witches do not get their powers from "the Devil". In fact, witches do not believe in Satan, who is a Christian concept.

I think it should also be mentioned that many of the accused "witches" were widows living on prime real estate. What a great opportunity for local government to seize property.

Great Article All these people saying "We need more facts" ... try opening a book. Those paper things in that place called the library. (2 syllables ... sound it out). It's called "A Brief History", for Pete's sake not "A Term Paper"

There is a great movie called the crucible based on the Salem witch trials its very interesting

The information provided on Bridget Bishop nee' Playfer is largely inaccurate. She was not "promiscuous," in the current sense of the word or the 17th Century usage. She outlived 2 husbands. She is noted in the description of the time, "as wearing too much red lace," which she routinely had dyed to maintain the vibrant color. She kept a tavern that was not licensed and therefore not paying the King's tax and allowed young people to gather there and play "shuttle board." She also owned a lot in (what is now downtown) Salem Village, Essex County that was confiscated upon her death. She had previous to 1692, been accused of witchcraft when a "poppet" was found hidden in a building, but was found innocent of the charge. After her hanging her husband, Edward Bishop, and his son and daughter were all arrested for witchcraft. They bribed the jailkeeper and were allowed to escape. Bridget Bishop was "rechurched" by the First Church of Salem. She has yet to be pardoned because it required an agreement on the part of her descendants not to sue the State of Massachusetts.

Finally, someone identified the site of the witch hysteria as Salem VILLAGE, which is currently Danvers. The modern city of Salem has captured this sad historical event as its own for commercial exploitation.

I studied this topic in English last year. I enjoyed it. Those girls were faking, they made it all up, the whole thing about witchcraft was fake. But this is one of the best things to learn about. Did anyone read the play?

My ancester was Mary Nurse, a highly respected, wealthy woman in Salem. She had a great family and believed in God. She was murdered at the age of 71 after being falsly accused and convicted for being a witch. Read up on her story. Very sad. She was murdered because someone wanted her fertile wooded land that backed up to theirs. There was not a clear boundry. It just said wooded area. There was fueding. Her neighbor wanted it all so she accused her of witchcraft. Her neighbor was the crazy one! Her neighbor said she was visited by spirits that said to go to the town huxtible (sic) and tell him Mary Nurse was a witch and murdering people. Even gave names of people who had died of things like heart attacks, etc. My ancester was a sweet mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her family had to watch helplessly as she was murdered. She believed in God! She is the one that said, "I am as innocent as a new born baby". She was always very dignified, cooperated, and proper throughout the whole trial. I can't picture what was going on in her mind as she watched all these crazy people talking about spirits, accusing her of murder and them believing it. Then having a rope put around her neck and watching people happy to see her die. She died, proud and brave! (Her crazy neighbor got her land) My herritage..., I'm proud to have come from her. I'm glad I didn't come from the crazy neighbor!

my american literature class just finished reading 'the crucible', which featured all the people mentioned in this article. the salem witch trials is very interesting, i loved learning about it.

History is so full of Life and Death. I really enjoyed reading all the comments. Women as a whole have come a long way. (BABY) I was raised a Christian and thought there was no other "right" religion out there. Once I got older and read and heard people talking about their "religion", I left my mind open and learned alot. I still consider myself a Christian but I would also say I am Wiccan. I love mother nature and always have gone out of my way to preserve it and nurture it. Thank you for such an interesting read. Have a blessed beautifal fall day. Take a walk and smell the earth getting ready for a long rest.

Since ergot had been known for centuries in Europe, you'd think someone might have thought along the lines of that or some other food or contamination problem. I guess because of their religious zeal, they were prone to think of supernatural things first. So over 20 people were murdered. Lesson learned, I hope.

read the cruciable. it's good.

It astonishes me to see how many people believe in this. To think that people think they can really perform witchcraft is horrific. There is only ONE being that can perform these kind of acts, and it is certainly not "witches" or "wiccans". I don't believe these people control my destiny, or that they can make things happen to other people. The only people I have EVER heard of that THINK they can do these sort of things come from a long line of mental illnesses or are in a drug rehab center! I'm sure there are logical explanations of these wierd happenings.

An interesting tidbit for all of you report writers: The reason primarily females and youth were afflicted with the symptoms of witchery resulted from their diet. As stated the area became very populated, and many suffered financial difficulties. Therefore, the men who had worked all day were fed meat as a food source, whereas women and children often consumed more wheat products due to financial limitations. Thus women and children were more likely to be afflicted by ergot poisoning. Check out some microbiology websites, this is one topic almost always covered in an introductory micro course! Good luck, Jamie (Mn)

I have stumbled upon this website, and appreciated the brief and very informative article about witchcraft. A fascinating topic pointing out the lack of understanding on the part of the leaders of that community. The plight of those accused of witchcraft is devastatingly sad... I am also totally appalled at some of the posters. The consistent lack of appropriate grammar, poor puncutuation, and horrific spelling, saddens me to no end. Are these individuals an example of our current educational systems? NO WONDER our nations' children can not compete on the international level. These examples prove that our educational systems need overhauled. It is clear to me that most of those posters, did not even bother to use their "spell check" before sending their comments. I am 60 years old, and learned to read, spell, and write in grade one in a one room school house on the prairies of Nebraska. I am forever grateful to the 18 year old young woman, who taught me these skills. I am very sorry that the Smithsonian has to be subjected to the ignorance of some of those previous posters. Thank you for your article, and thank-you for allowing me an oppoutunity to verbalize my concerns.

I read the play of this book. I love the story and it is so interesting that I just want to go back and actually "experience" the things. I want to learn more about it and probably discover the truth!

Merry Meet! I must correct the comment made by Elisabeth Fokes. Wicca is a resarrected form of Witchcraft(Which has been going on for 1000's of years). Gerald Gardner justsohappened to Re-introduce the World to Witchcraft, in his ever-so-famous book. Furthermore, the Word Wicca comes from the English Word "Wicce" which was tranformed into Witch. I, myself, am a Modern Day Wiccan(Or Witch). For anybody who may be intrested, there is a Great Book detaling Wicca, Called "Wicca, a Guide for the Solitary Practioner" by Scott Cunningham. It has a good bit of historical information on Wicca and Witchcraft. Lastly, some people may not be aware of this, but there are still quite a few Men who are Wiccan, myself included.

I LOVE THE ARTICLES FROM THIS MAGAZINE. I ESPECIALLY ENJOYED THI ONE ABOUT THE SALEM WITCHES. I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND THAT TOPIC INTERESTING AND EVERTINE I SEE SOMETHING ON THIS TOPIC I TRY TO READ IT.

A lot of this article is accurate however, not all. The Salem Witch Trials were basically caused by combination of paranoia and fear caused by religious fanaticism, and three very bored little girls who got caught dabbling in something with Tituba, that they knew would be condemned by their parent. They ultimately lied to keep out of trouble, and it snowballed from there. It also ended up giving them the opportunity to get back at a couple of women in the village who had been harsh to them. Reading the actual trial transcripts is a real eye opener, and there are a number of good books that document the events as they unfolded, using actual documentation written at the time. It was my understanding, too, that most who were sent to prison never made it out due to starvation and illness, and that their families ended up in ruin as well...as far as the "compensation" is concerned, for most of the victims and their families, it was much too late.

no lie, my 10th great grandpa, George Jacobs Sr, was a pastor and was convicted of withchcraft by his own grandaughter ang he was hung.

I am a descendant of Roger Toothaker who died in prison awaiting trial on witchcraft charges. I was wondering if other descandants of the Toothaker(s) have responded to this article. Ironically, I am married to a descendant of Deputy Governor Danforth.

i've heard this many times but it never fails to amaze me. this interests me so much

I remember learning about that in a book but I thought the three girls were only trying to get some drama and action into their lives. Am I wrong on that?

I am also descended thru the Towne family...Mary Towne Esty, Rebecca Towne Nurse/Nourse were both hanged as witches during the Trials. Another sister, Sarah Towne Cloyce, was also accused and convicted, however the Trials and hangings ended before she could be hanged. She was released from jail and, along with her family, moved away from Salem shortly after. Anyone descended thru this line is also probably related in some way to Lucille Ball...the Townes were direct ancestors of hers.

Sounds like it was used as a means to combat vagrancy.

Everything that we were taught in school growing up(a few miles from gallow's hill) is that if you denied being a witch you were hung. The ones that admitted it were thrown in jail. It is a sad story, but you must remember that it was a time of mass histeria all over. It was about wealth and influence. For those of you who can and are REALLY interested, a visit to Salem, Danvers & Beverly is a must. There are tourist from all over the world who visit. In fact the local paper listed over 75,000 people on Halloween.

Interesting; I read that some research was done on the trials and they discovered that the wheat fields may have been tainted with a bacteria that got into the bread. When people ate the bread, they began doing strange things. They were in effect, hallucinating. What is scary is that people are still targeted today if they are considered different. Not much has changed in over 300 years.

I find the Salem witch trials really interesting! I have also read quite a few books on the subject. Oh, and thanks to the people who left URLs for websites about the trials!

The subject of witch craft and the seemingly endless interest in "magical powers" is a testament to the curiosity of our species. Morally wrong (by Christian standards) but still all too inviting to children and the curious, witch craft lives on. It has and will be here as long as our species has a mind open to interpret and experiment with the world around us. Its just too bad the same amount of curiosity could not be spent studying Christ. But he just promised "ever-lasting life". I guess that's not as cool as Snape.

I think the Salem Witch Tials are very interesting. I always watch something about them on the Discovery Channel when I get the chance. I cant help but think of all the innocent people that were killed in these trials. But were they innocent, I dont know, but thats probably the most logical explination. I mean, crushed to death by rocks? That must have been a pretty painful death to suffer though. Like I said, I watch stories about this on the Discovery channel and the 71 year old crushed to death kept saying, "More weight" until he died. There was also another person who got hanged that I thought that was interesting. There was a women convicted and hanged because the judge thought she was a witch and she said a curse that went, "God will give you blood to drink" and the person who hung her coughed up blood and died years later. I thought that was really ironic. All and all, very good article.

18 people died and a dog, not 20

Well, witchcraft is still practiced today, called Wicca :P and the reason they were burned back then cuz the "christians" had everything backward when it came to the bible but eh that's what happens when ppl don't know what they believe in. I am a christian myself and talked to a few modern day witches, things haven't changed much

OMG I read the book "The Sacrifice" by kathleen benner duble about the author (Many greats) relatives Abigail Williams. The book was such a sad book. I almost cried. I HIGHLY recommend it to any older 10.

The names of all people(i.e.,judges,sherrifs,constables and libelous accusers) should be published under the FOIA, to reveal the scores of current prominent families in Salem, and their decendants that went unscathed(i.e,no scarlet letter, or tarnished family names)and were able to lead relatively charmed lives.

All of this history is very intersting. I love to learn all about the whitch hunts. I'm all into the paranormal and things like that.

This is a prime example of the stupidity of religion itself. It's not a tool of faith and of godly virtue but a enslavement of a peaple and it's population that uses fear, brutality, and organized hatred to persecute those whom we do not know opr those who don't wish to see the world as others wish it to be seen. It's no different than the mafia where it extorts money from people over fears of an unknown that can never be confirmed or proven just hypothetized about. In the end a small number of people enslave a population to false ideals and beliefs for there own greed and power hungry ways while not benfiting society at all. Since the birth of the worlds three most major religions: Christianity, Islamm, or Judasism, we've learned that these three will never bring us peace. In fact they've created hell on earth and have killed, tortured, stolen, and raped there way accross the face of this world to it's every known corner. If mankind ever evolved to a point that we no longer could distinguish between race, region, and cultural differences we'd still have the insanity of religion to fuel the fires of hate that seperates us all.

I find it amazing that no one in these comments seems to realize that most of this was about people being greedy. "The displaced people created a strain on Salem's resources. This aggravated the existing rivalry between families with ties to the wealth of the port of Salem and those who still depended on agriculture." Throughout history whenever one group is doing better than another group or people have to pay out more money to help their fellow man someone or some group of people will get blamed. Over the years the following people have been blamed at one time or another Irish, Black, Hispanic, Jewish, Indian, Muslim any and all immigrants coming to the USA. We will not even discuss how many of each of these groups have been murdered over the years. People need to quit blaming others for the mistakes they make. Seems to me life would be a lot nicer for most if they owned their actions.

Another concrete example of why the authors of the constitution were so right to stictly seperate church and state.

Have been to north beach Boston, Lynn, Red Rock park, Swampscott, Salem, Ipswich. Very interesting part of the country. Not too unusual the acts of 1692-93 should be attributed to the ancestors of the persons from this region, given their current social and political beliefs. ACORNS don't fall too far from the oak! They find witches in people who believe differently than they, and false Messiahs behind every oak tree.

Wow. That's horrible that people were just like accused of something like that. It is really interesting to learn about though. Especially for me because it's really quite funny that my name is Bridgette and the said first "witch" to be hung was named Bridget and she was hung on June 10th. That's my birthday. A tad freaky if you ask me.

Have you considered that this was a monitarily motivated fight between two sets of competing merchants. Start by looking at the addresses of all the people involved and what location their stores were located. Elain

We just finished reading "The Crucible" in English. It was very interesting.

I understand this was a "brief" history, but i was sad to see no mention of Rebecca Towne Nurse. She was one of 3 sisters to be put on tril, was found guilty and hung. Her story is intresting because she was an upstanding citizen of Salem and her conviction was what started the public outcry against the trials. I am also intrested in her bacause i am a decendent, and is whom i was named for. Anyone looking for any information on Rebecca Nurse can find her biography and all documents relating to her trial, and other "whitch trials" documents, at about.com.

This is a great summary for those who are looking to just learn more about what the salem witch tirals really were. I think it was well written and put together. But for those of you who are complaining about wanting more detail, the name of the artical does say its a BRIEF history.

The catalyst was a Caribbean-born slave named Tituba Indian. I have often wondered how/why she escaped execution. Also, novelist Maryse Conde adds several interesting angles to the trials in I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem.

It's sad that Satan uses paranoia and small things to try to undermine humanity. He seeks to corrupt and destroy. The religous leaders thought they were doing good to kill everyone, but they were actually doing what Satan was trying to accomplish. They thought they could handle evil, but only God has power over that. Jesus protects us from evil and gives us the athority to cast away darkness, but they went about it the wrong way. We have to use these awful times in history to prevent them from happening again.

There are so many good books out there and two that contain a vast amout of information: Salem Witch Trials Reader and Malleus Malefircarum also know as The Witches Hammer. It is sad that even today many who believe and practice are must where a mask so to speak because it is still not acceptable so when you do your papers include that. Remember what is not understood is always considered not acceptable. There are many out there in todays times, most people don't know them when they see them.

When I was 11 years old my Girl Scout Troop took a trip to Salem to learn about the witch trials, Now that I am older I find it intresting to know about what went on during that time period and upset to know that innocent people were killed for others stupidity. But when your 11 years old, hearing about this SCARES THE PO*P OUTTA YOU!!

well,you think that was cruel? try slavery,or black men in jail for rape in the 60's but exonerated after the guilty/or (supposed victims) were dead?

...while it isnt set in the colonies, i recommend a film on the methods of how people were accused and interrogated...it goes by two separate titles, one is "Witchfinder General", and the other is "The Conqueror Worm"......it stars Vincent Price as Matthew Hopkins, a man who really lived, and had the protection of the English Crown as he literally cut a path of terror through 16th century England.....

I FEEL THAT THIS WAS A TOTAL MISTAKE THAT OUR SO CALLED ''FORE FATHERS DID TO THESE RESIDENTS OF SALEM ;[AND THRU OUT EUROPE]; ONLY THRU EDUCATION AND TOLERANCE;SHOULD THIS NEVER OCCUR AGAIN!!!!

I hope everybody knows that there are still witches today...

I took an educational walking tour of Salem last summer and found out that there was more than religious paranoia behind many of the withcraft trials. Although the article makes no mention, the motives were often greed, jealousy and anger at one's enemy. Anyone could be accused. The sheriff of Salem was a well remunerated and hated enforcer who would not accept a plea of innocence to the charge of witchery. To convince the accused to tell the truth, the standard method was pressing under heavy rocks. The article mentions a 71 year old man who was pressed to death. He happened to be a well-off landowner whose property was coveted by the magistrate. When accused of witchery, he refused to plead guilty and so was pressed under increasing weights of rocks for several days. Most people would recant and face trial, but he would not, and so he died in rebellion against the injustice. Interesting stuff. And this was all happening before the Colonial Revolution of 1776 and the forming of a nation.

Salem trials shows Christianity true origins. Extremely religiously intolerant and trying to make Women look inferior in the eyes of god & like the harbingers of evil. This happened in every continent. I.e. Wiping out of the Mayan civilization..... and Columbus taking converting the Carribean in christians and then slaves. (Just to name an exteme few)

Research this: Grain storage in the Salem Ma area during the "Witchcraft" time frame. Ergot bodies These folks were eating grain that had LSD in it. The ergot bodies in the rye stored in cool damp places (the only storage these folks had) had significant quantities of L.S.D. as a fungal byproduct. So that could lend it self to paranoia, strange behaviour, all manner of physical and psychological manifestations.

THERE R SO MANY CONFLICTING STORYS ABOUT WITCH. NOBODY KNOWS 100 PERSENT WHAT DID GO ON

Did anyone know, that alot of people who were accused as witches, were wealthy landowners. They would be accused of witchcraft so they could be imprisioned for as long as it took for their land to be taken by someone involved in accusing them. Once again, the rich become richer and more evil, and the poor stay poor and honest. Similar circumstances are still happening today. If you think we have no political prisioners now, you are wrong. There have been cases of trumped up charges, where the landowner is framed, his house and land seized and then distributed amongst those who imprisioned them in the first place. This took place as little as 20 years ago. How many more will this happen to? We will never know for sure

Salem Witchcraft... the "rumor" was spread by a slave. 20 people died. =(. 19 hanged, and one crushed beneath stones. The people were soooo superstitious

BTW if anyone wants to learn about the salem witch trials is the read the book "A Break with Charity"its a really god book i read it in my literature class

I really can't add information but can recommend a visit to the Salem area. We went to Boston a few years ago for a 'working' vacation. It turned out to be the best one ever! All of the history there is almost overwhelming. Their efforts to maintain it is superlative. Likewise with Plymoth Rock and Salem. We enjoyed Salem so much we drove back in our rental for another day. The history and reenactments are so realistic you will think you are back in 1692. It still gives me goose bumps thinking about it. I'm from Southeast Missouri which was still just woods back then and I absolutely loved seeing how our great country started. Even our teenager was amazed to see her history books in real life. I encourage all of you interested in the witch trials to take a trip there. It is more than worth the money, and something you can never read about.

This is an excellent summary of the history of the Salem Witchcraft Trials, which I read about extensively while a graduate student working on a master's degree in English. Perhaps one of the most remarkable parts of the tale is that the Father-Son preachers, the Mathers, objected to the trials, or, specifically, to the use of "spectral evidence" in those trials. The Mathers weren't noted for anything resembling liberal, tolerant theology!

Interesting comments on this article. Anyone completine research, no matter what the level - high school or college - needs to check additional sources simply because this article is one of many on this sad chapter on hysteria.

Yes, a sad time in our history. However, let's all realize that God is real, and Satan is real. Satanic power is nothing to take lightly. People of the 1600s knew this and tried to exterminate Satan. However, it seems a case of hysteria and mistaken identity. God uses all things to His glory - the witch trials brought us "innocent until proven guilty".

dont you think that if they were really doing witch craft they would still do it in jail like they supposdely in court with all that pressure and stress of being a witch i think that would be huge hint that thay are not doing any witch craft?

Abigail, I just want you to know that witches are real.

If you really want to know about the Salem Witch trials take a trip to Danvers MA. That is the true Salem Village. Where this all took place. Go to the Rebecca Nurse Homestead at 149 Pine Street in Danvers. There is Rebeccas home . They give tours through the summer months and other times by appointment. It is truly worth the trip and is history you can see and learn about,unlike Salem MA which has based it's tourism based on the "Salem Witch Trials"

For my Eng 102 class I'm supposed to choose a topic do a research essay, The witch hunts were my 2nd option!

It's too bad that they didn't have the technology back then like we have today, or they would've realised that the rye bread that they ate back then contained the ergot fungus. The ergot fungus, gives a person vivid halucinations similar to taking L.S.D. It's a shame they didn't know this back then, it could've saved a lot of lives, & prevented a lot of senseless cruelty.

The most recent history of the witch trials is "In the Devil's Snare" by Mary Beth Norton. This article seems to get most of its information from Norton's history. The contention that King William's War in the Northern Territories impacted the trials is Norton's. The Starkey book mentioned above as a "Modern Inquiry..." was written in about the 1930s, hardly modern. Starkey's thesis is one of religion run wild, most historians have moved past this view. The theory of ergot poisoning, a theory from the 70s, is also mentioned in this thread. Ergot is a fungus that grows on rye and creates symptoms similar to those the young girls displayed. Ergot was quickly dismissed by historians when they could not figure out why ergot would only affect girls under the age of 15 who supported Reverend Parris. "Salem Possessed" by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum suggests that the tensions between Salem Village and Salem Town were at the heart of the trials. Norton relies on this theory to deepen and develop her own theories. Finally, The Crucible is a work of fiction and not of history. It is also not an examination of the Witch Trials but rather the Red Scare. A wonderful play, to be sure, but not a replacement for history when studying the Witch Trials. A quick look at Tituba is a good reason not to use fiction. In all accounts from the time of the trials she is described as Indian. 200 years later Hawthorne wrote a poem about Giles Corey in which he describes Tituba as half Indian, half black. Arthur Miller completed Tituba's transformation and made her a black slave. Even some of the displays in Salem, Ma (not where the trials happened - that was modern day Danvers) show Tituba as black, due to the influence of Miller. The trials have been widely studied and written about, but there seems an endless fascination about this event. Keep studying.

This article mentions nothing about the fungus on the rye plant. This fungus causes LSD symptons and had effected the rye crop of this time.Much of the witch trials were a direct effect from bad rye.

my sophomore year, we read this story about a woman accused of being a witch during the salem witch trials. she was found guilty and they hanged her. the next day they went back to get her body and they discovered that she was still alive. was that really witch craft or did that woman get extremely lucky? that was two years ago and i still remember it.

I am related to the Parisses and the Williams. How weird!!

I was researching the colburn family tree some years ago and was suprised to learn Bridget Bishop was the wife of one of my distant gfathers. I can not remember what his name was at the present time ,I will have to look it up, also a strange coincidence, my stepmothers father was named Cotton Mather.

This was my History Day topic last year! I wanted to learn about this SOOO badly! But my teacher picked my name so yay!!!

How are we gonna judge cases that occured in the 1600s, in 2008. There were different variables then and apparantently actions taken then, were supported and believed to be appropriate by the popular culture.In like manner, a numner of present crimes and their corresponding penalties will be frowned upon by future generations.

Mary, I believe the 'Towne sisters" were Mary(Cloyce), Sarah(Easty) and Rebecca(Nurse). Only Sarah surrvived. I am related to E. Proctor as her people were Bassetts. I agree Starkey's book is a very important place to start when trying to make sense of this horrid episode. As for Dorcas Good, recently many feel that her name was Dorothy- However, look at a lot of the surrviving contemporary evidence at the Esseex museum, Her name was repeatativly spelled Dorcas. And it was a popular name at the time. And I believe she died in prison, not hung, and not released.

For those of you interested in more information regarding the hypothesis, that the fungus ergot may to blame for the strange fits that afflicted the girls who were later pressured into accusing others for bewitching them, may want to look at the website of the PBS series “Secret of the Dead”. One of the episodes entitled “The Witches Curse” explains the hypothesis in greater depth and builds a circumstantial case around it.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/previous_seasons/case_salem/index.html http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/previous_seasons/case_salem/clues.html http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/previous_seasons/lessons/lp_salem_videos.html

Wow !!! What a great story.........So sorry for the families of these poor women............But God is good they tried to turn things around a little too late but they did......God Bless America

There is a good book out called the "Crucible" by Aurthur Miller. It is based on the withch trials. You should all read it!

salem is a really cool thing to read about and the thought of witches and worlocks in the 1600's is really cool to think what they experinced and the fear of witchs running around there town must of been terrifying. in my opinon they should have a class in this in high school or at least be mentioned in history class it would be less boring. -M&M

I've always been interested in this part of history, the early settlement of our country and how the people lived. The Salem witch trials are a very dark part of our history. I feel connected to this era (1600's) since my first husband was a Hasbrouck, whose ancestors settled near the Hudson River in New York in the 1600's, and now my second husband is a Sewall, a direct descendant of Samuel Sewall, the repentant judge in the trials. I tell my children that they have a lot of history in their family tree, and they need to learn about it.

I find it interesting that people think of this as something in the past. Recent history seems to point to there being forces around us that would resurrect the logical equivalent of those times. Most notably in the Middle East but even in this country, there are those whose purported Christian beliefs could easily morph into a new version of this or the European Inquisitions of the past. I suppose the lesson is that these types of things are close to the surface in groups within all societies and they must be carefully and respectfully kept under control. I was once told that no more than 12% of the Germans were Nazis and a similar number for Communists is Russia. This election year raises the fear that we may not be far from that threshold.

Especially to Mary Truman, I would like to add that Rebecca Nurse was also one of the Towne sisters. A fantastic movie about the Salem Witch Trials is "Three Sovereigns for Sarah," starring Vanessa Redgrave as Sarah Towne Cloyce, who was the lone survivor of the 3 Towne sisters. If you are related to the Towne sisters, as Mary Truman and I are (as well to the Tyler women and children, of Andover, who were also accused), you will find the story and performances especially heart rending. You will be particularly unnerved when you see poor, little Dorcas Good in jail, watching her mother taken to the gallows. I think that anyone who watches this movie will come away with as much of the real emotion of the trials as anyone 300 years removed from it can possibly have. Also, as far as reputable info for a paper or project, I'd recommend http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/ . Enjoy!

i have heard alternately that the girls ate jimson weed, or that the grain had ergot which caused them to trip, or that is was a land dispute that is verifiable in land court that caused some people to accuse others of witchcraft, just to steal their land. all are believable.

THIS IS QUITE AN INTERESTING TOPIC. I HAVE AT LEAST LEARNED SOMETHING COOL ABOUT THE NATURE OF WITCH TRIALS IN DIFFERENT PART OF THE WORLD. AM FROM NIGERIA.

THE SALEM MASS. THAT IS KNOWN TO US NOW ISN'T THE SAME SALEM MASS. AS THEY REFER TO.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the ergo fungus that was proposed to have caused the halucinations and reactions, wasn't that the basis for the research into the discovery of LSD? So basically if I understand this the girls were essentially halucinating on the natural basis of LSD?

Nice job on the paper and thank you for paying attention to proper spelling. The 4 year old was named Dorcas, as a person said. I'm not so sure about the present-day names of the towns though. Whoever wants to know more or needs to know more about the accounts of the Salem Witch Trials, really needs to visit present-day Salem, Massachusetts. Go to the local places like, The Witches Dungeon and let them perform for you.It's an eye-opener. Go visit Laurie Cabot also, if she's still alive.

I lived near Salem...and what people have to do..is visit there today to see for themselves the history of what Salem is all about.

It is very sad what happened to those people. And even sadder if anyone thinks of what it did to their families in the years after. very interesting read though

Wow, I remember Learning of this when I was in school. Reading it again when im older is really something. It really makes you think how the world once was, and how much we have changed in our thinking. But then again it also shows how much we really haven't changed... hmmm

I often find it interesting how history repeats itself. If this sort of event had just come to rest in Europe it could be assumed that most people should have realized how little validity it had. It is a sad string of events but I must admit very interesting to learn about. What an amazing period of history to have lived in.

To Sara B. I am a direct descendent of Rebecca Nurse. I did not know about the "6-feet" occurance. That's disgraceful. I'm horrified to know that my great great great grandmother was treated in that way after her death. I wasn't even aware of my relation to her because I was adopted in my infancy. I met my birth family 2 years or so ago and learned of this. At first I was pretty amazed. Now, the more I find out, he more angry and saddened I get. Again, thanks for the info. Best regards Rick

Go find books on the subject if you are doing more research. Although internet is the new encyclopedia, it's best to go get a book. I would personally like to go to the musem in salem. Wish there was a way to be sure of what happened then to make people go crazy.

Just another perfect example of how people are killed in the name of religion.

The salem witch trials are a really interesting subject, but i for one also have a great love of history. It still manages to floor me how young girls could just randomly accuse innocent people of being followers of the devil. I feel greatly for the innocent people who had to suffer because they chose to believe a couple of young girls over grown women.

I'm a decendent of the Mathers. My grandfather has done extencive geneology research on our family and the Mather name is still going strong. I am glad I caught this article. I can now do some of my own research to help my grandfather.

Great article and a good reminder, as it seems many of us have forgotten; witness what our courts are becoming today. History sure repeats itself. What the domestic violence industry has become is a perfect example.

We're not out of the woods yet. If the fundamentalist bible thumpers are not held in check, something similar could happen now. They believe there is "evil" [the Devil at work] in the world and they know who to blame

i live in Massachusetts and as a resident of Mass learning about salem and visiting i find it to be something we can all take to heart. Knowing that the peolpe then can have bad dreams and be hung for what that dream is to much to bare. I now have bad dreams so i wonder does that make me a witch?

Also, Ergot was found in the crops at the time of trials, ergot is a parasitic fungus that grows on wheat, rye, and barley. Ergot poisining causes hallucinations and delusions. Something like that in the middle of deep seated social tensions is like dropping a match in gasoline.

I too found this article interesting. John Alden, son of John Alden of the Mayflower was in is 60's when he was accused of witch craft during the trials on May 28th 1692 . Although, he later escaped.

I would repeat the point that a lot of the best information on this topic can be gotten from the Danvers Historical Society and Archives. Danvers, MA is the land where Salem Village was. Most victims were from there, and this town has not commercialized the trials in the way some interests in Salem have. Rebecca Nourse's house still stands in Danvers, and is a very important place to visit for those researching the witch trial frenzy of 1692-3.

i go to salem every year and were planning on going there for our honeymoon next year.i love going there every year we learn new things about salem. you learn more going there then what the history books tell you there more than meets the eye.the only thing i can say is if you never been to salem you must go to find out for yourselfs.just go and have fun....

Ergot is the fungus that makes LSD isn't it? Those people were tripping!

The terrible practices which occurred in Europe were also perpetrated elsewhere by Europeans(Spanish),re the Great Inquisition promoted by the Catholic Church. The evidence can be read/seen in the Palace of the Inquisition in Cartagena, Colombia, which is,in itself, a beautiful place full of beautiful and friendly people. One unsettling fact is the method used in an alleged heretic's trial to determine guilt or innocense. The woman, who could be accused by anyone, could prove her innocense by sumitting to the "dunk test", which consisted of tying rocks around the accused and throwing her into some deep water. If she stayed submerged, it was deemed proof of her guilt. If innocent, she would surely have surfaced! I am thinking that was an easier affair than being burned alive at the stake, as happened to Joan of Arc.

I am amazed by this. Who knew? Unless you haven't noticed there are many stories of the supernatural online, but this is the best!

I think that it is great that you want to inform people about the history of our country because there are many foul things that have occured and our government chooses to "sweep them under the rug." Our government is still condemning innocent people to prison and to death everyday just for believing differently and it is an injustice to all Americans who care about our "true" rights and freedoms.Your site was very informative and it sheds some light on a very touchy subject for some people.

Salem is a wonderful example of sociological intrigue. People were actually driven by the strength of their beliefs to kill innocent people. I was born in Salem and live in Danvers now. It has charm and uniqueness, and is a great place to visit. The mystery of what actually caused the symptoms, in both the accused and the accusers, has never been completely determined. The hysteria, trials, and murders are shameful. It is sad that things like this continue to happen in many forms of war, and violence till today. The North Shore of Boston, Essex County, is an amazingly diverse and tolerant part of the country. The author did excellent in briefly explaining the primary issues of this time in history. Very good article.

This is a marvelous outpouring of interest, and by people of all ages. I absolutely agree with Elizabeth and others that children these days are not taught proper grammar and a love of their language. As for the story, it was indeed a nice summary. I am particularly interested because John Hathorne was a collateral ancestor of mine. My three-greats grandmother on my mother's side was named Joanna Hathorn(e), and she had a cousin named Nathanial Hathorn(e). His uncle, not his grandfather, was Judge John Hathorne and known as the hanging judge of Salem. Nathanial did change the spelling of his name to Hawthorne to distance himself from his despicable relative. My mother named me Joan Hawthorne after Joanna but modernized the first name to Joan, something I regret to this day. I did, however, get even when I published my book of poems under the name Joanna Hawthorne. Revenge is sweet!

It is true that some Roman Catholics were accused of witchcraft. One was a young Irish Catholic girl who was caught praying the rosary in Gaelic, her native tongue. She was accused of praying to the devil and was killed. The Salem Witch Trials affected our history & is one of the main reasons that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." (Article 1 of the Bill of Rights)

Thank you, The Putnam's family tree, Kenneth Putnam

It is very interesting to understand how this all came about. Quite literally, the local economy at that time was suffering and the colonists needed to put the blame on someone. So people pointed their fingers at their neighbors causing hysteria. Ironically, today our economy is suffering and the fingers seem to be pointed at the sub-prime mortgage lenders. We can really learn from the Salem Witch Trials. By the way, I live near the areas mentioned where the trials and hangings took place. The physical structures such as the prisons are no longer present today. They were destroyed shortly after the witch hysteria because the local government was embarassed by what had happened that they didn't want any continued reminder of these blunders. Today, Salem has museums and tourist attractions that have simulated versions of the prisons and reanactments of the trials. Other than the court documents little else remains as a reminder of that period.

One of my ancestors was accused of being a witch in Salem. She was found "not guilty" and then her husband sued the court for bringing shame on his name. He won and he collected the money. their names? Mary and Thomas Staples Kristine

Interesting article to be sure, witches being purely spiritual? False. Witches and the practice of witchcraft is very much true and alive today. Some of you make some very good points in your postings but to answer a question asked, it says that Rev Parris was the first ordained minister in the village, it doesn't say he was ordained IN the village. Assumption tells me that he very possibly moved there with his family and he was already ordained. Personally speaking, I think he should have hung up his cassock and retired in humiliation after this farce by his family.

The Salem Witch trials is now believed to be caused by ergot poisoning. Ergot is a fungus that grows on rye, wheat, and other grasses and it poisons who ever eats it. It causes Convulsions and Illusions and is also used in LSD. It is thought that the girls were sufffering from that because they ate bread or some kind of grain that was contaminated with it. The adults didn't know what it was, so they thought of witchcraft.

In 1692 everyone relied on rye to make bread. When rye spoiled it grew a mold that caused LSD to become present in the spores. The women who made the bread were often poisoned by these spores and not always at once, it was gradual. Halucinations were a symptom, as well as paranoia. Also, many people from Haiti were slaves in the homes of the people of Salem, and they also too part in making bread. These slaves still practiced their religion of voodoo. Imagine the consequences when all of these people were jacked up on LSD. Not pretty. There are many theories as to what prompted the behaviors and it certainly was not because of real witches. For those who believe these people were truly cursed and were somehow witches need to study history thoroughly. Education helps break down archaic behaviors, and stereotypes.

If anyone is interested, you can order the "Puritans vs. Witches" CD by Dr. Paul Jehle at Vision Forum. https://affiliates.visionforum.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=237_0_1_18 Just click on the link and search for "Puritans vs. Witches". This is a great CD and very informative.

Pick up a copy of The Crucible its the story of the Salem witch trials. It will tell u more about Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor.

Gods word was the same back then as now and will be the same when we are gone,it condemns any form of witchcraft but it also says you should not murder.You will say that you dont believe the bible and you will create your own reality but what you are staking your eternal destiny on,you also must believe by faith.Oh, but we have science you say,so thats your god? Science has stood corrected constantly throughout history and isnt absolute.IF THERE IS NO ABSOLUTE TRUTH,THEN NOTHING MATTERS!You might as well make your own rules and change them when convenient.I say its Jesus the only way.

this was a great report, why are people bashing it? if you want more info about it why not research it yourself? why do you want someone else to do it for you ?

Nature is not a witch. The witch hunt is not over. If you believe it is, you have {know} understanding of the forces witch are destroying the earth. Which ever cross you bear, happiness or the budda, you still add to the myth that your history or herstory is important to the earth. Empty mind, fill belly. The uncut tree, no cross to bear.

I read that a hallucinogenic fungus grew in the wheat that year.

Witchcraft is a dangerous thing to get into... It's not some fun and games that people just get into cause they want powers... once you get in you get deeper and deeper and harder and harder to get out of. The powers aren't just simple. People overrate and underrate witchcraft... for more info on people who came out of witchcraft you should look up some of Rebecca Brown's books.

Not much has changed - throw a negative ad on tv, appeal to people's fears and emotions, and -- even with resources like the internet in our information age -- you get a very large percentage believing anything and everything. It's especially true in unevolved countries in the middle east and, unfortunately, in adolescent-level countries like the U.S. (the country I live in).

While this whole episode was immensely tragic, it seems what a lot of people are either forgetting or unaware of is that most of these people had come from other countries where "legal" tradition was GUILTY. . .until proven innocent, which is still the case in some places. They were acting on their legal traditions, and one has to wonder if the history of these local events affected the (future) residents of this area, such as John Quincy Adams etc. and therefore led to the development of the Consitutional rights that were created to protect the innocent first.

The child's name was actually Dorcas. The best way to get information regarding the Witch days in Salem is to contact the Peabody/Essex museum in Salem Mass. The Essex portion of the museum was formally called Essex Institute and has a comprehensive library of newspapers etc from that era. My sister-in=law was the head librarian for many years and was an authority on all things 1600's and Witches. She gave my son a copy of a newspaper published in the 1600's. I am sure all of you students doing papers on this subject will be helped by making this contact for pure information.

Today i was watching a show on discovery channel and it was about witches and the religion and i thought it was misunderstood that witches arent evil figures ans worshippers of satin but its just a way of life that people dont understand. I bet it is hard for witches but i think it so cool to be a witch i have always loved magic and mysteries.

a time in history we should never forget.we should always rember the innocent people who died and also remember how easy a witch hunt can start no matter the subject.a truly interestin subject to studey.the first book i read about it in 6th grade keep me fasanatide from front to back.

This is a very timely subject, given our politics as of late. I'm sorry to say that the context is very vague and general. There is more information in the play "A Crucible" by A. Miller. A biography of 'Tituba' holds much more information as well. I am a direct descendent of the mentioned 71 yr. old man. His name was Giles Cory. According to family history, both he and his wife (Elizabeth) were in their 80's at the time of these atrocities. He was laid in a shallow ditch as bags of heavy stones were laid on his chest and asked, "Is your wife a witch?" , where he would answer "Bring on more stones!" supposedly it was more than 400lbs. laid on his body before he succumbed. Elizabeth Cory was hung days later. (I hope my spell check works) Yet another compelling and tragic part of our History. We must learn from previous errors.

i'm a junior in high school and on Friday(Halloween) we watched a video in English class about the Salem witch trials. the video was about an hour long and it had all the same information as this 2 page report did. i find it interesting!! and we are going to start reading eh crucible soon.. i'm excited. my friend and i are going to visit Salem soon too!! We live in upstate NY, so it's not a long drive.

This is a very interesting topic. I still feel bad that so many people were accused of witchcraft and were executed without proof of it. History is my most favorite subject and witchcraft really interests me. I'd like to learn how people starting getting accused of witchcraft without proof and why someone started it. But the part I hate hearing the most is when people get executed for it. I'm still into this topic and would love to hear more about the history of witchcraft.

Did anyone see the Discovery special about 2 years ago? Ergot poisoning was the cause of the fits and seizures. I believe ergot is a bacteria on wheat when it gets excessively moist. The side of Salem that had the hysteria had heavy rains. That was also true for the witchtrials throughout Europe. Ergot is an ingredient of LSD.

This story can be found in "The Devil in Massachusetts" Great book

i just learnd about this in us history!! :]]

For those of you who are interested in this topic, there is another incredibly detailed book (for those of you complaining of the lack of source citations) that presents quite a bit of new information on a, as one poster put it, "well worn topic." It's called _In the Devil's Snare_ by Mary Beth Norton. One thing that those annoyed by the lack of "hard" evidence need to realize is that there is little; what exists is scant and mismatched, and there is also evidence that suggests much of the historical record was destroyed. There are, however, transcripts of court hearings (The McDougall-Littel American Literature Anthology for 11th graders includes "The Examination of Sarah Good" to pair with _The Crucible_) that you can read, but read them lightly -- it's not as if they had tape recorders to record the instantaneousness of the trials. Further, I agree with some of the people above who have attempted to point out that times were very, very different -- no electricity, no religious beliefs save those of the Puritans, plus a high mortality rate and bitter social rivalries; these are all things hard for us to wrap our heads around. Being a witch meant something very, very different than it does today.

Why don't you people writing papers actually check out a book or something a little more academic than an introductory article. Might as well do a report on a history channel show.

this was awfully interesting to me but OH SO SAD... i feel really bad for all those ppl who were accused falsely and then were executed... :(

I had an 8th great grandmother at those trials, Margaret Stephenson Scott. Glad they didn't go after her children too, or I wouldn't be here.

You did a good job, but I think you could have found a little more information. I have a couple questions: When and why did the witch accusations begin in Europe, and where they for the same reasons of the trials in Massachusetts? Also, weren't suspected witches burned at the stake instead of hanged, like Joan of Arc? I'm confused! Like Alex, I'd like to know more about Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams?

I've always been interested in the Salem Witch trials, and this topic gave the jist of what happened. But for some people who really want to get into the history of Salem, where could I go to learn more about it, such as little details, that otherwise are left out of brief history lessons?? I'm not a student, nor writing a book. Just a stay-at-home mom, brushing up on my history, now that we have moved to the beautiful state of Massachusetts!! I LOVE IT HERE!!! Holly

Setting aside the story for a minute, Salem is a fascinating place to visit. If you are fortunate enough to visit over Halloween all the better. Call ahead to book a room to stay as in October the rooms tend to fill up more than a year in advance. As for the article itself, its a very mere outline as to what happened and why. Visit Salem for the real story behind the witch hunt that even included livestock as being "possessed".

I thought that this article was very imformative and interesting to learn about. Overall, great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went to the Salem Witchcraft Museum and they have a great presentation for schools, and the guides are very well informed. They have amazing wax figures, and their gift shop is great just before Halloween. They explained everything that had happened, and give you the facts. The show was really informational and very interesting. The graves of the murdered are near the museum, too. It is an amazing experience.

I have been to Salem, MA, and highly suggest you take a trip to Salem. Go in the fall and take both the day and night tours. Judge Hathorne was the great great grandfather of novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne, he added the w to his last name to distance himself from his ancestor's involvement in the witch trials. Judge Hathorne never apologized for his involement in the deaths of innocent people. The paranoia started with a group of girls who were caught dappling with the voodoo that was told to them by Tituba. They claimed that Tituba put a curse on them and falsely accused others to exonerate themselves. Only one girl later in life confessed her involvement in the plot and apologized for the deaths of the innocents. The elderly gentleman that died (it took him 3 days to suffocate from the weight of the rocks being piled on him) was asked if he had anything to confess or say, and he only stated "more weight." It is all very interesting!

Salem was not the only town in Massachusetts that got caught up in witch hysteria in 1692. Several other towns in Massachusetts participated in it as well. Andover had more accused witches than Salem, though Salem took it far more seriously in the sense they actually went as far as hanging the accused. It was a lot more complicated series of events than three little girls making up stories to get attention and a town taking them too seriously. And Arthur Miller's ridiculous "The Crucible" assertation of an affair between then 11 year old Abigail Williams and the 60 year old John Proctor is pure fiction. An excellent paper by Jedediah Drolet at Cornell University suggests that the trials were really the end result of family feuding, disputes over wills, and unhappy real estate transactions (Massachusetts was going through a bubble back then, too). Many of the "afflicted" were inlaws to those accused or had been involved in real estate transactions with the accused. Although at the beginning of the case the accused were the usual suspects of low socioeconomic status, most of the later accused were from more affluent families with high standing in the community.

Ok, you dont see Witches handing out propaganda. You dont have witches knocking on your door trying to save your soul. You dont have witches trying to "recruit" for their religion. You dont have witches making movies on how evil Christians or Muslims or Hindus are. Witch's usually keep to themselves and believe it or not, try to do no harm. There were no Holy Wiccan crusades! And as for the comment that the witch trials are the reason that we are innocent until proven guilty?? Try seeing someone you love get arrested for something they didnt do, and you know this because you were there, and until you beg, borrow and sell everything you have to get them a lawyer.... they are nothing but a number. You have to PROVE you are innocent now just like you had to then. The only difference is that now they dont burn you at the stake, press you with rocks or hang you. If you didnt have money then to get yourself out of jail, even when the trials were over, you stayed in jail. Just like today. Imagine that.

Oh, Arthur Miller's "The Crucible." Beautiful pictation of the event.

Cool history lesson. Rev. Cotton Mather is one of my ancestors and until today, I always thought he was one of the people who had "witches" executed.

If you're looking to write a research paper on this article, you're going to be sorely lacking in information. Not that this article isn't a good one. It definitely gives the gist of the Salem Witch Trials. Seriously, the internet is an infinite source of information, as is your local library and book store so why are people complaining about an article that was written as just an overview? Heck, if you want more information all in one place, just plug in Salem Witch Trials on wikipedia.org. It'll give you a more comprehensive view of it.

There is so much more behind this conflict though. It's mainly a conflict that happened in Salem Village between the Putnam and Porter families. It's very interesting indeed. Putnam vs. Porter. But you'll notice that the Porters were never accused and this is primarily because of their powerful status in the village. You can also say that it was a conflict over Rev. Parris and the Putnams against the Porters.

I was so interested in this in sixth grade, it's still interesting. Nice artical, it brings back nice memories. I'd hate to be accused though, and the blood thing was really interesting. But I remember my history teacher once saying that sometimes, when people were tried for being witches, they'd tie the accused to the boulder and if she sunk and died, she'd be innocent, but if she could escape, she'd be a witch and she'd be burned. sad, huh?

I have seen through history how ignorance and fear make people act irrationally, kill innocent persons and then try to fix things by saying "I'm sorry". Many injustice actions had been done for that reason. I think now is about the time to learn of that history and change letting people be free.

I think that those girls' "fits" were fake. And the fact that they were taken seriously is laughable. The girls were most likely brats who had total disregard for everyone they effected. And the maid and everyone else who pleaded guilty probably were mentally unwell or depressed.

This article drew my attention when I saw it was about the Salem Witch trials. My Mother Rosalind Putnam, is a direct descendant of Ann's Family. I have been looking for more info and this has been a good find. Thanks to every one that posted ideas for further research. Robin

I think the girls that started everything should of been hung, that would of stopped the hanging of innocent people. I hope when they were alive they weren't able to sleep for what they did.

Here's a link for a more in depth story. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_ACCT.HTM

That's really sad. Loads of innocent people dying because of someone being stupid and paranoid.

The stories are all great. The websites are full of inforamation, however, untill you ACTUALLY go to the sites nothing really sets in.

what a great story!very interesting topic.

Interesting story. I love the Salem witch trials. So, I must say, thank you for the information.

Just to reminde every one. History repets it self. It might not be the same group of people. But some group some were is having the same thing happen to them right now. So before we pass jugement on them we need to look back so that we don't make the same mistakes agin.

For a day by day account of the trials I strongly recommend the book "The Salem Witch Trials - A Day-By-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege" By Marilynn K. Roach. The 688 page book lists, in extreme detail, the whole affair. If you have questions about the book Email me at pattersonsports@yahoo.com

This is a good article for starting a research project. It gives the basics and keeps it short, like a research paper should be. Witchcraft was defined by Britons as the "Devil's magic", but witchcraft, nor Wicca, are even close. For one, Wicca does not believe in the Devil, and to do the Devil's work in magic would require a conscious effort. It could be argued though. Second, I read people saying they feel sorry for all of those innocent people, as if they were witches they were guilty and should be murdered on that note. Remember Christianity has a history of murdering innocent people on religious fervor, no different that what has occurred in present day America with Islam. It is not the religion it is the person that does good or bad. One should not be persecuted on religion for any reason at any time. When we do that, or for any other reason for that matter, we are no different than those of history we see as ignorant today.

If only I had this page and all the other pages in the web back then, I would have done well in my "Witchcraft" assignment. I find it fascinating to just learn about the brief history of Salem Witch Hunt and looking forward to learn more from the web. Thanks for the info, dear editor and author.

PBS did a series also where the ergot theory was more fully explained for those of us unfamiliar with the 1976 book. (the series also included a little dramatization of Dr. Hoffman's bicycle ride). After the initial 'fits' the girls understood the power that they had unleashed. One of the more interesting points to me was that they wouldn't hang pregnant women, but even after November 1692 the chief judge wanted to go back and retry those that had been pregnant.

Many many million women were accused of being witches yet none of them were. Women were burned at the stake simply for delivering children or using herbs for healing purposes or looking or acting in any manner that those men always dressed in black, in the supposed name of God, didn't like. The men of the Christian church. And as far as what took place in Salem, if the history books say that a few hundred women were jailed or killed then you can bet there were 2,000 or 200,000 that were murdered. Patriarchy definitely ruled during those years. Any truly gifted of spiritual women had to remain silent or they were burned. There are so many books of truth on this subject but most definitely not in any high school history literature. I am very surprised at all you commenters. It isn't an interesting subject, it's a very tragic subject. The number of women torchured and burned and murdered was between 10 & 15 million....

While Puritans may be considered "Christian"(maybe only in name), certainly they were not following Christ in this matter, as Christ would have cast out any evil spirits present and healed the person, restoring their health and right mind. It is interesting how quickly people will jump on the "bandwagon" of a natural explanation for the "symptoms", which, mind you, did not explain the "peculiar sounds" they would utter. Is it so hard to accept the possibility that there is another realm besides our own physical realm? - that of a spiritual realm, with actual spirit beings, capable of causing all sorts of mischief, and actually leading, and deceiving the ignorant on both sides to do their bidding? Evil spirits are real, and I have personally seen young children in a third world country delivered from the torment of such.

Sarah Nourse (pronounced "Nurse") was also among the first nine of the Salem "witches" to be tried and hanged, although she was NOT a witch. She is a distant relative on my husband's paternal side of the family. Sarah was an old woman who had the misfortune to be caught up in a land feud and was "framed" because a wealthy land owner wanted her property and she would not sell it. Therefore, she was plotted against, accused falsely, tried, and hanged as a witch. Her husband tried to get her to claim her innocence, but her family knew she was a rightous woman and would not denounce her God. She faced death bravely. Years after her death, her innocence was proven and her family was able to pay the three coins required to clear her good name. Unfortunately, her name still went down in the history books as being a witch when she was just a 71-year old woman with age spots and hard of hearing. She was a dear woman. I would love to have known her.

People in the 1600's were very strict when it came to religion. However,nonetheless, they took it a little over the edge and they let their imaginations dominate over true and just judgment according to the Word of God. They messed up, yes, but witches were real and still are real, and it was okay that the Puritans wanted to make sure that nobody in the village was influenced by anybody who was practicing demonic powers. Whether anybody thinks that there is no supernatural,you go ahead and think what you want, but there is.And by the way- Witches aren't good. There is no such thing as a good witch- that's only in the Wizard of Oz. Let's get real here, people. BEsides, the Salem Witch Trials wouldn't have happened if the "possessed" girls hadn't had first visited the Indian witchcraft-storyteller, Tituba. That's how it all started. So, really it was the stupid girls'faults;and the truth be told, they were lying about being under a spell.

So sad to hear about what had happened in our country back in the 17th century especially with the Salem Witch Trials. Ignorce was common back then, along with superstition and the unknown. In fact any real witches back then didn't actually get killed, it was the innocent that that was killed. If a person belives in witchcraft and the magic that they can do. Then they should know, they didn't get murdered or hanged, or put to the burning stake. they were smarter than that. Magic is real, more so when you actually believe it. that is...when magic is well performed. That is you have to believe it; for it too work for you. For those that died at that time is history, and it is interesting to know our history. talk about with the trial today, a person can be convicted by the testamony of 2 people. so actully there are innocent still today being put in prisons and jails, because of false testamonies of people that bears false testamony against thier neighbor or friends. What we need to do is learn how to live with each other. Even with those who are different from others, including religion, race, or gender. I suggest; like others has already said. research and read for yourselves the trials and remember it is still being practiced today. It may be called something else now. but still the same thing. History does has a habit of repeating it self.

I've always loved learning about the salem witch trials. But i never knew so much. I loved learnig about the salem witch trial's because i've alway's been told that i might have had relatives in the salem witch trial's. So thank you for telling me more about the salem witch trial's.

I took a class at Ramapo College on the History of Witchcraft. Socio-economics played a great role in the paranoia on both sides of the Atlantic. Women who had property and those of independent means were often singled out. Also the age of enlightenment encroached on areas that women once dominated as in midwifery and folk healing. The "Age of Enlightmentment" saw the rise in male physicians and the diminishing role of wise women and cases of women being accused of causing miscarriages and other forms of physical maladies wasn't uncommon. What I never learned from my class on the History of Witchcraft was the following excerpt from the article: In 1689, English rulers William and Mary started a war with France in the American colonies. Known as King William's War to colonists, it ravaged regions of upstate New York, Nova Scotia and Quebec, sending refugees into the county of Essex and, specifically, Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. (Salem Village is present-day Danvers, Massachusetts; colonial Salem Town became what's now Salem.) I was also wondering if there were also physiological reasons for the paranoia at that time like Ergot poisoning from bad grain. Ergot often affects rye and if rye was a common grain in the Salem area and affected a whole community's grain supply you would have mass paranoia because of the Ergot affecting the grains to make flour for bread.

This is a very interesting story. The thing that occures to me is that we owe so much to the unfortunate victums of this time in our history. I am certain that many of our laws were crafted is order to prevent this sort of thing from ever happining again. For those of you who are into research I would like to sugest that you see if you can find out who named the town Salem. I read in THE HIRAM KEY and/or THE BOOK OF HIRAM by CHRISTOPHER KNIGHT AND ROBERT LOMAS, that the city of JERUSALEM was named for an ancient goddess called Salem represented by the morning and the evening star. ie. the planet Venus. Jerusalem, Originally Uru (built for) Salem If Salem was named by people practicing an ancient religion they may have freely admited that they were witches, not knowing that they would be killed for it. It still does not make it right but it would explain why so many were found. Just a thought. Rob

I feel I must remind many that these people were not practicing witches or even wiccan. tehy were ordinary people, some practicing Christians - like Rebbeca Nurse. It was pretty much a thing of neighborly jealousy. The Devil in Massachusettes, by M. Starkey is a really good read.

Legit story! Gave me the info I needed! Thanks bro:)

Did u know that the pets were also tried and most of the tome put to death

this is awesome

I am doing a project on this for English. And this site helped me a lot.

I love how half of the people who commented on this website only came here because of a project... I'm probably the only kid who's come here because I felt like leaerning more about DORCUS GOOD, which is the name of the FOUR year old. Well,here another website: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SALEM.HTM BTW, Dorcus was a clairvoyant and a telepathic

Not to step on anyone's religious toes, but you need to read Aurther Miller's "The Crucible" or at least watch the movies made from the play. While you're at it read Ianesco's "Rhinoceros". We have experienced fear and paranoia as a nation many times in the past and as a result of many causes. We must never forget the consequences of being mere lemmings thoughlessly running herd like to the cliff. If we aren't condemning people for being witches, then we are condemming them for looking like the enemy whoever the enemy is for that particular day and time. We've done in the past, we've done in the present, and we will do it in the future. I read your reponses and few elaborate on the lesson that we should have learned by now but we haven't. We continue to suppress and malign the unfortunate and minority due to fear. I have no hope for us.

It is so sad that this is still going on today in Nigeria http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/3407882/Child-witches-of-Nigeria-seek-refuge.html

First of all, I want to thank the Putnam family for chiming in. I was curious if this was a ancestor to Israel Putnam, as I am a descendent by marriage. My direct ancestor was Governor Joh Endecott, who died well before the Trials. However, I must point out to all who have problems understanding those times that they need to study the history back then. My own ancestor, recorded as a very fair and just leader, treated Quakers harshly and was bitter towards them for no other reason than their religious practices which were different from his own. Add to this the fact that England did not immediately recognize the Salem Village church, the influx of slavery, the problems with the food, and the hierachy of land ownership, similar to what is seen today in India, and you have a very volatile mix. While it is most unfortunate the witch trials occurred, to judge those events by today`s justice and moral values is both unjust and unfair to the period. It would be the same as judging slavery today.

Get over the ergot theory, people. It is just a way to try to make a chemical responsible for the ugliness that lies within the human race.

What specifically were the girls doing before they were "afflicted", I've been researching but all I can find is the thing about the egg white in the water thing.

it just goes to show that the courts do not listen to you today, just like they did not listen back in the Salem days.Innocent people died, and for what? HEARSAY, and may have been something in the food they ate.!! Sad, very sad.

Hello your article really got me interested in this topic, I have a theory that maybe the so called black man was indeed using some sort of prophetic power and knew by giving the girls the moldy bread it would stir up a rucus in the town, I also (i believe) read in your report that one of the girls told one of the accusers that GOD would give him blood to drink, then he supposedly died of some rupture a few months later(which caused him to choke on his own blood)thats spooky to me, they say the Lord works in mysterious ways maybe this was an act of informance about the cruel conditions the women were kept in, I understand the women were very dominated and possibly under a lot of pshological abuse and probably physical abuse,so maybe this was an awakening of womens equality in our country and world.

As you may know Isreal Putnam, that is general Isreal Putnam faught at Bunker Hill. Yes, he is in relation to the Putnam family who took part in the famous Salem Witch Trials. He was born in Danvers, Ma. He did however move to Connecticut. In Danvers, Ma lyes the Putnam House to where he was born. Also in CT Putnam Cottage.

OK OK Dorcus was a mistake made on her arrest warrent. Her real and true name is Dorothy Good (google it if you disagree!) She was 5 at the time and she was jailed but was bailed by her dad for 50lbs (something like that). But her name and age are always mixed up. she is in wikipedia too if you want more information.

i think this is a very intersting topic i am excited to learn more about it

Wow! The Salem Witch Trials has always been interesting to me. I just hear witch trials and immediately grabs my attention. I am currently doing a research paper on it and learning much more than before.

This is a crazy topic to learn about. Personally I hated the movie because of Abigail Williams.

i think killing didn't solve any thing.all it did was make it even worse. didn't help

As an Archeologist I translated some very early documents, and wall writings, which you no doubt have read. 'Suffer thou a witch, for residing within is the compassion for the sick, the pain of the wound, the hands of the new borne gently handled' I believe this scripture was purposely re-written by Flavios Alosis some time before 325 A.D. Alosis also wrote the Devine Revelations of John, since it is in his hand, and didn't exist until 315 A.D. Alosis was most responsible for the Catholic Church coming into existance, along with all the atrocities they committed, and commit until this day. We did not know of religious war until the Catholic Church showed us the way. Tell me what is evil, and no doubt the Catholic Church can top it. A witch in the Bible was once described as a healer, until it was re-written. The Bible you know today has be re-written many times. You might ask 'why', if it matters to you.

Jane, I am also a descendant of Roger Toothaker. There is even a family tree hanging in my parents' house that shows Roger and all of his children with their birth and death dates (All of which match up).

i enjoyed this compilation; although not complete, i'm sure, it was still a bit of insight into something thats held my fascination for more than 30 years. the information about a toxic fungus causing the "outbursts" experienced by the accused is very enlightening...and highly likely. since we obviously were not around during those times, and all of what we go by is mostly speculation, talk passed down through the centuries, bits and pieces of literature, etc...its amazing what conclusions we can draw from these resources that are available to us.

I think it is terrible how the accused witches were treated in the late 1600's they did not know for sure but they were still hung. maybe the accusers were trying to get revenge on the people that werre accused you never know.

I just finished reading a book called "the shape of mercy" and I wanted to see if the facts were true. WOW!!!! like seriously i was astounded to find that almost everything in there was real and what i found more astounding is that this makes me understand what it was like back then. I just finished reading another book with the richer class in England during the same time and now with the poorer you really realize how different their lives where. I got so attached to the different people that were executed and everything that it startles me. wow. i even cried when some of them died. really you guys this is touching stuff and i hope that none of you forget this sad time in history cause seriously, i am not!!!!

I think it is terrible how the accused witches were treated in the late 1600's they did not know for sure but they were still hung. maybe the accusers were trying to get revenge on the people that werre accused you never know.

I researched this site just to see how much influence the church really has on peoples lives; like the way they had an influence over the decition of proposition 8. I'm amazed. They used the bible and the church to justify the hanging of people that they thought were witches. The writing of the book Malleus Maleficarum (the Witches Hammer). They used the bible and the church to justify slavery. They did the same thing with proposition 8. What next?

I'm doing a 8 page report, On the Salem witch trial. I need as much information as possible. There are so many different stories, on what really happened. What made this all occur? Who were the young girls? What were there ages?. ANY INFO. Would be more than appreciated!

wow thx that actually helped i always thought it was something different but i am certaintly intrested my 8th grade class got to choose a topic about the colonial times i picked salem witch trials XD

After the initial frenzy, what remains is a revengful attepmt by the Putnam family to exact pain on the Towne family and anyone associated with the failure of the Putnam's land grab into Topsfield, specifically, Sarah Wildes, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Bishop & Edward, Phoebe Day, Sarah Cloyce, Mary Easty and Elizabeth Howe and the Hobbs family, who were all either related or friends as were the Jacobs and we know that John Averill nephew of Sarah Wildes married Anne Greensleet, who is the daughter of Ann Pudeator, this whole affair was personal. The Averill's and the Wilde's were surveyors, so they were target's and the Towne's family owned the land the Putnam's wanted, so there you have it, that's my story and I am sticking too it. P/

This Article is really good. i really like the topic of the salem trials. im doing a report on it for Adv. Literature

I read a book called Sacrifice and the person who wrote it was abigal's great great great great grandson!

This was very helpful for my historical fiction book report. I read A Break With Charity

this really helped me with my salem witch trials research paper and note cards. now i have a little less stress and can think more with less to do.

Often females would finger other females as witches to garner brownie points with the patriarchy. Women themselves must take some of the blame for the way women were and are historically treated. Females often lack the courage to stand up to the way organized religion and other institutions manipulate and treat them. The lack of power and the humiliation to having to submit to males causes females to find a way to fill the power vacuum in their lives. They do this by abusing, gossiping and mistreating other women. This has always gone on. As long as women continue to upkeep and attend organized religions, which constantly harp on female inferiority, they wiil feel second class. Stop believing male propaganda, stop attenting church just to look good in public. Stop believing that you have to play nurturing and supportive roles for everyone, you don't. Put yourself first. And if you don't have the courage to do any of the above, don't take it out on other women out of fear of standing up to men.

the salem witch trials are so interesting to me but i hate the girls who accused those poor inocennt souls of witchcraft and condemed them to die. id've hung THEM if i knew they were pulling "the townfolks leg" as the saying goes.

This was a pretty good article for a brief summary. I can't help but wonder why people keep bringing up movies and fiction when there are so many non-fiction, actual, factual books about the subject. I have also read In the Devil's Snare by Mary Beth Norton. Also anyone who posted about the girls learning fortune telling games and getting caught should know that part of the story hasn't been proved. The fungus ergot may have been responsible but I'm in the personal opinion that greed and the young girls finding a way into the spotlight is what caused it. Girls/women weren't even allowed to testify in court without a father's or husband's permission at this time. The men, in my understanding, helped push the accusaions. Also, King Phillip's War played a part. Aside from displacing many individuals in the area, it caused a terrible fear of Native Americans. Many people saw their villages and families destroyed by the natives and since the Puritans were British, anyone who sided with the French were enemies. The natives also for the most part were still being converted from their "heathen" religious practices and tribal rituals. Thus the reason the devil was always a dark man, just a symbol of the rascism the Puritans held. None of us today can fathom what was going through the minds of those there. We don't have the same culture, the same living circumstances. We are now a lot more tolerant of differences than we were then (not as tolerant as we should be however). By the way, if I'm not mistaken, if they pleaded guilty they weren't hanged they just ended up sitting in jail. The ones who maintained their innocence and went to trial were the ones executed. Lastly, I'm still very young, 19, and I only have one year of college under my belt so I see no reason why people have such horrible grammar and spelling, mine is by no means perfect, granted, but some of these posts were unneccessarily atrocious. I'm also terribly sorry that this post is so long.

I have found that my family was related to two or three of the women who were tried. Of which one was hanged. Not all the persons claiming others were `witches' were young females; at least one very unrepentant male also was responsible. The religious climate of the times in `puritan' new england was no exuse for what was sanctioned by a religious oligarchy.

It may surpise many that the fear of witchcraft continued well into the 20th century. While conducting research for a documentary in the mid 80's I discovered a case in York County PA where a fellow by the name of Blymire (SP?) was accused of witchcraft around the 1930's by another resident who was enduring a series of misfortunes. If memory serves me right, the fellow having the bad luck was advised by another that he was the subject of a curse created by Blymire. Ultimately, an altercation occured and Blymire was murdered. At the time of my research, Blymire's house still stood but the present day resident would chase away the curious with a shotgun.

THANKS FOR POSTING THIS SALEM WITCH TRIALS ARE IMPORTANT PART IN HISTORY AND ITS RLLY INTERESTING I READ THIS AND PUT THE INFO IN SOME EXTRA CREDIT FOR MY HISTORY CLASS THANKS ALOT

i'm doing my term paper on this. unfortunately it's due tomorrow hah. well thanks for the brief background, it's been a help last year i did my term paper on the european witch trials, but i find this story way more interesting

i think the theory about the fungus...is true. I never looked at it that way. that would explain the weird movements, but all those hangings and dead ppl who did nothing, but for the slave, who knew what she saw. It could of been a lost dog or cat, and she took it for the devil. but the dreams, she might of been crazy or i really don't know. But im sure all the girls at some of that rye so there ya go. just a uncomon mistake that no one in history could of predicted, with the technology they had.

THANK YOU 4 THE INFO THIS SHOULD HELP WIYH MY REPORT

i have read a wonderful book on the salem witch trials. the name of the book is SACFIRCE and im not really sure who its by. this website has helped me with my facts that i need for my research paper.

As a direct desendent of Sarah Wildes & Rebecca Nurse (both 7th gt grandmothers i found the article very interesting for such a short piece. The Wildes family came over from England in mid 1600's and being a small community many of us are related to many involved in the trials. I have always found the history of this area interesting as also desended from John Winthrop, Ann Bradstreet and many more. Keep up the good work Thanks

this is a great site! im doing a paper on witch hunts, and i think this is really good. not too long, but it has a lot of info. it was also really cool to read the comments of like people who are realated to people who lived in salem at the time. i used to live in boston, and i went to visit friends and we went to Salem and to the witch museum and it was amazing! this is a great topic, and very fun to learn about. keep up the good work! adele

i love the topic on the trials if only those many men and women could have seen the light of day one last time then that would make this article complete im writing a article on the trials and didn`t realized that the trials were such a tragic time for the family and friends of the innocent lives on the men and women very sad indeed