With Halloween approaching, I feel it’s a good time for a discussion of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. It’s one of those events that seems rather anomalous in American history. Witch trials were relatively common in Europe starting in the later Middle Ages. To my knowledge, however, this is the only major example of them in the future United States.

In this post, I’ll lay out the events of the Salem Witch Trials. In the next, I’ll look at some of the common explanations for what happened in Salem in 1692. Several books exist describing these events in detail. Think of this blog as a warm-up if you have a deep interest in the Salem Witch Trials. But, if your interest is only passing, my two posts will give you a solid idea of what happened.

What Caused the Salem Witch Trials?

Luckily for us, the people of colonial Massachusetts were pretty good record keepers. We have a reasonable idea of what happened. The madness began when two young girls, Elizabeth Parris, age 9, and Abigail Williams, age 11, starting having fits. The fits included screaming, making weird sounds, and contortions. A third young woman, Ann Putnam (also 11), soon joined them. The girls also complained of biting and pinching sensations.

Elizabeth was the daughter of Salem’s minister, Samuel Parris, who was a rather controversial figure. He was a former businessman who hadn’t even completed his theological studies before becoming the minister. Sources describe him as rather greedy, and he was an unsettling factor in the small town of Salem.

The town doctor wasn’t much help. After examining the young girls, he blamed supernatural causes. In February, magistrates pressed the girls for who was manipulating them through magic. They named three people. One was Sarah Good, a homeless woman. The second was elderly Sarah Osborne. Named third was Tituba, a slave Samuel Parris had brought with him from the Caribbean.

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Salem Witch Trials Facts

Osborne and Good denied practicing witchcraft, although Good also accused Osborne. Tituba confessed, however, telling the court “The Devil came to me and bid me serve him.” She also stated she’d signed the Devil’s book. Perhaps most damaging, Tituba claimed that several more witches existed besides herself, and that she’d seen the names of Good and Osborne in the book she’d signed.

It appears authorities put great pressure on Tituba to confess. As a slave, she was in an weak position to start with. It seems likely she reacted out of fear.

Accusations spread from there. The Deputy Governor of Massachusetts got involved, and in May the Governor, William Phips, created a court to examine witchcraft in three counties. This allowed the court to call in people from surrounding areas. The accused had to defend themselves without counsel. The Salem Witch Trials reached their height over the summer. The court hanged its first victim, Bridget Bishop, on June 10.

One problem with this special court was its admission of spectral evidence. (Spectral evidence was things like dreams and visions that only the person having the visions could see.) The people of 1692 Massachusetts had no trouble believing supernatural things happened. It didn’t seem out of place, therefore, to admit spectral evidence in courts. But the problem with spectral evidence is obvious. No method existed to determine if the evidence was truthful.

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Stopping the Madness

The witch hunt raged throughout the summer. Influential area ministers called to stop using spectral evidence. The court ignored them. Several people went to the gallows in July, August, and September. What brought the trials to an end is interesting, but perhaps not surprising.

In October, someone accused Governor’s Phips’s wife of being among the witches. He then shut down the special court he’d created in May, replacing it with another that did not admit spectral evidence and that would clear his wife’s name. The Salem Witch Trials were over at last.

Deaths

In all, about 200 people went on trial. Of these 200, about 80% were women. Nineteen people hanged—fourteen women and five men. Another man, Giles Corey, was crushed by heavy stones because he was stubborn and refused to enter a plea to the court. He lasted for two days beneath the stones before expiring. A further five people died while in custody. I’ve also been told that the court put two dogs to death.

Here’s one interesting thing about the executions. Many people who pleaded guilty did not hang, especially if they provided the names of other witches. The Puritans, as the highly religious people they were, believed God would apply punishment to these people in due time. Those most at risk were those who pleaded innocent. The act of lying, and the pride of refusing to admit their guilt to the court, seemed a harsher sin to the Puritans than the witchcraft itself.

This is the story of the Salem Witch Trials. Please continue on to my next post to understand the common explanations for why these things happened.

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