Witches of Salem

 Witchcraft or mass hysteria?

The infamous Salem trials took place in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 to 1693. These trials were a series of hearings for people accused of witchcraft. People's obsession with witches has been a pressing topic for years now. But was it just that? Or was it something much more sinister. The story reveals the dirty truth of politics and prejudice of the human race.

In the 17th century, there were two Salem's on the north coast of Massachusetts. The Salem village and the town of Salem. The two Salem's had their regular conflicts for political and religious matters. The members of the Salem community were very religious in nature. They strictly followed the Bible and weren't very forgiving towards people who didn't. 

In 1689, Samuel Parris, a local religious man, became the minister of the Salem village. But many were not happy with it as he was not the greatest man of all time. Regardless, his family moved in from Boston and they started living in the assigned ministry home. 

One day Samuel's 11 year old daughter, Betty and his niece, Abigail went missing for a short period of time. Which they probably ran away to escape everything for a moment. But it raised some eyebrows in the conservative community. They returned home safely shortly after but in February of 1692 both of the girls started showing strange symptoms. They had severe fever, they would hide under tables and cry out of some kind of pain and their body would convulse into unhuman positions. The girls claimed to be bitten and pinched on their neck, arms and back. The family tried everything they could to help them but the home remedies and the prayers didn't help. So they decided to call in the town physician and minister. After analyzing the girls, both of them came to the conclusion that the girls were bewitched. This led to one of the largest witch hunts in history. 

The news of the historical diagnosis spread very quickly in the community and with that many other young girls were found with similar symptoms. No one in the community had any logical answers and they were just looking to blame someone.

 Even though the Parris sisters were the first girls to be diagnosed with bewitchment, they weren't the first ones to get arrested. Because they belonged from a wealthy family, they were considered as the "victims". The first person to be arrested for afflicting them was their family servant, Tituba. It was most likely for her ethnic and racial differences. Tituba pleaded with them but because she was a slave, no one listened. The prejudice here was ever so clear. But this was just the beginning.

The same year many other girls were also diagnosed with bewitchment. When asked, one of the girls, Ann blamed two women by the names of Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good. Sarah Osborne was being accused because she wasn't the most religious person in the community and also had some legal dispute with a higher social status family. Then there was Sarah Good and she mostly was being accused because she was underprivileged and relied on her neighbors for support (which led people to believe that other women who were also relying on their neighbors were also practicing witchcraft). Her neighbors as well as her husband accused her of witchcraft. 

On March 1st, the 3 women were interrogated. Both Sarah's denied all allegations, but Tituba admitted to being a Devil's servant. Many believe that it was an attempt to save herself since denying the allegations was clearly not working. Regardless, on July 29, 1692 a total of 5 women were hanged convicted of witchcraft.   

Slowly more women, as well as children started getting accused of witchcraft. 4 other people were accused of witchcraft the same month. Even Sarah Good's 4 year old daughter was also accused. But the upper class people of society also started to get accused. One of the women, Martha Corey, was an active 80 year old member of the church. When her husband stood up for her, he was also convicted of witchcraft. And when refused to enter a plea, he was killed under torture. 

Most of the people who were accused were women (78%). Women who went against the norms and challenged the system. But also people who were slaves, native Americans or of lower economical conditions. Regardless, the last trial was held in the May of 1693. 

The root of these trials was mass hysteria among young women which led people to believe that they were bewitched. For years historians tried to find what was causing it. Recently it was discovered that it may have been caused by a fungus called, Ergot. This fungus is believed to grow on rye and can cause ergotism in creatures. So many believe that this fungus caused mass hysteria and made the victims go manic. And the prejudice in society turned it into witchcraft.

From 1692-1693, more than 200 hundred people were accused and 20 were executed, which included both men and women as well as children. For decades people tried to seek justice for the innocent people who were convicted in the Salem witch trials. In 2001, on the 300th anniversary of the Salem trials, the Massachusetts Legislature passed the act to exonerate the convicts and named each of them innocent.