Salem Witch Trials

History 101

20 August 2014

The Salem Witch Trials

History 101

20 August 2014

The Salem Witch Trials, 1692

The Salem witch trials began in February of 1692, in Salem Village, Massachusetts. A group of young girls began to display strange behaviors, which caught the attention of people in the area. The girls claimed to be possessed by the devil. Their behavior included unexplainable convulsive seizures, obscene screaming, and functioning in trancelike state. These young women then accused several other local women of practicing witchcraft. After a local doctor, William Griggs, diagnosed them with bewitchment, other girls in the community began to display similar traits and behaviors. This caused people nearby to panic. Due to the hysteria that was now expanding throughout colonial Massachusetts, a special court was created in Salem to hear the cases.

The practice of witchcraft, which gave people the power to harm others in return for their loyalty to the devil, didn’t originate in Salem Massachusetts. It emerged as early as the 14th century and was widespread throughout colonial New England. The Puritan community of Salem Village, which is now known as Danvers, Massachusetts, was dealing with harsh living conditions. This was due to the after-effects of a British war with France in the American colonies in 1689. People lived in fear of attacks from local Native American tribes and were dealing with a smallpox epidemic. Salem village and Salem town (now known as Salem Massachusetts) had a longstanding rivalry as well. All of the tension within the community, resentment towards their neighbors, and their fear of outsiders, fueled the witch trials.

It started in February 1692 with 11 year old Abigail Williams and 9 year old Elizabeth Parris (the niece and daughter of Samuel Parris, minister of Salem Village) started to display strange behaviors, including uncontrollable yelling and screaming, and violent convulsive seizures. Doctor William...