Oct 10 2009
Salem Witch Trials
Image by Valentina Degiorgis at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/212249
Let the accusations begin…
The Salem Witch hunts started with the bizarre, unexplainable behavior of two young girls in 1692. It ended with the deaths of nineteen men and women on Gallows Hill. They were convicted of the crime of witchcraft, a crime that each of the accused steadfastly denied.
Along the way, approximately 200 other people were arrested on witchcraft charges, 3 people died in jail while awaiting trial, and one man was crushed to death under a pile of rocks because he refused to enter a plea in court (in 1692’s Salem, you could not be tried unless you entered a plea to the charges.)
Today, experts agree that few, if any, of those accused had been involved in witchcraft, and “witch hunts” became a metaphor for unremitting persecution of groups or individuals based on unsubstantiated rumors and accusations.
What caused the Salem Witch Trials?
Watch this great 6-minute video about the witchcraft hysteria in Salem. It is fascinating—and scary.
