How the Twitch of a Finger Might Behead you in the 17th Century - The Salem Witch Trials

Could you ever imagine being a woman, petting her cat at home, when suddenly your neighbours accuse you of witchcraft, something that doesn’t even exist – and before long, you’re sentenced to death with no proof or logical reason? Well, this is sadly how things happened in the 1690s in Salem, a tragic time for any person, -typically women- who were accused of involvement in the dark arts, temptation by the devil, and accusations of casting spells to make livestock die. A simple cold could raise suspicion, or raw cookie dough could be “cursed by the devil.” This was during a time where the population of Salem was very heavily influenced by the Puritan Religion. This was a strict protestant religion that wanted to purify the Church of England and its remaining catholic practices. The Puritans valued strict moral codes, discipline, hard work, and unwavering faith, and a code so rigid that laughter might need a written apology. Religious conformity split the world into two sides, good and evil, which only reinforced the people’s ideas of suspicion and fear that started the witch trials. When something strange happened, like an unexplained larger-than-usual wave in the ocean, people were so afraid that the explanation seemed simple enough; the Devil must be recruiting servants locally...  

Fear spread like wildfire, and soon enough, neighbours turned against each other, friends became enemies, and your own mother might accuse you of witchcraft. The Salem witch trials quickly spiralled from rumour to genuine chaos, and by 1692, hysteria had become the town’s favourite pastime. All it took was one accusation, a twitch, a dream, or unfortunate eye-contact with the wrong person, and your fate could be sealed faster than a Puritan could quote the Bible.

The Salem Witch Trials all began when a group of young girls in Salem stared behaving strangely, trembling, screaming, and claiming they were being tormented by invisible spirits. Many think this was a joke, but quickly, while unable to find a logical explanation, the adults in the community decided that evil magic was the only answer, not perhaps some mental illness... After all, blaming unseen forces and making everyone terrified was much easier than admitting they didn't know what was happening. The women accused were called Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osbourne. They fit perfectly into the witch ideology crafted by the delusional puritans.

Tituba was an enslaved woman of Caribbean descent, and she was an easy scapegoat at the time. Sarah Good was poor and often begged for food, and Sarah Osbourne was very elderly and rarely attended church because of her condition. Again, it was speculation and she was most likely only accused because someone said, “Witch say what” and she said “What?” because she didn’t understand what they said, being old, and she was accused straight up. In other words, these women were simply different and non-confirmative in a way, and in Salem, different could cost you your life.

Once the accusations started, they spread faster than wildfire. People accused their neighbours, their rivals, and sometimes even their relatives. Of over 200 people who were accused, the majority of whom were women, 20 were executed, and Giles Corey was pressed to death under heavy stones after refusing to plead guilty or innocent. His famous last word became known around the world, “more weight”, became a grim symbol of defiance and tragic courage.

The trials couldn’t be called fair either. Evidence ranged from the invisible to the absurd, “spectral evidence” or a testimony from a witness that someone’s spirit had appeared in a dream, was enough to have the alleged condemned. If you pleaded innocence, you were lying and were considered a witch, and if you confessed, you were also a witch. Which is a true lose-lose situation. The courtrooms were packed, the testimonies wild, and logic was given the day off... indefinitely. 

By the end of 1692, even the local ministers began to realise that things had gone too far, which, considering that people were being executed for having birthmarks or owning a suspiciously fluffy cat, was quite an understatement. The hysteria finally began to die down when Governor Philips, whose own wife had been accused, ordered the trials to stop. It turns out, nothing stops a witch hunt quite like it knocking on your own front door. The remaining accused were finally released, though their reputations and families never recovered. Years later the colony officially apologised, and the trials were widely recognized as a massive mishandling of the word “justice”, a lesson written with fear, panic, and ignorance.

In the end, a fable and denial of stupidity brought mass destruction to Salem and some surrounding areas and became known as a terrible thing that happened with no clear reason. Today, the Salem Witch Trials serve as a haunting reminder of how quickly fear and conformity can throw judgement and logical reasoning out the window, and how dangerous it is when superstition replaces logic. While modern society possesses the technology and intelligence to move far beyond the ideas of the 17^th century, the story still has a warning; hysteria is timeless, and the real witchcraft is how easily people can be bewitched by fear instead of innocent women.

Bibliography: 

New England Law. “A True Legal Horror Story: The Laws Leading to the Salem Witch Trials.” Www.nesl.edu, New England Law Boston, 2024, www.nesl.edu/blog/detail/a-true-legal-horror-story-the-laws-leading-to-the-salem-witch-trials. 

Scanlan, Laura. “Records of the Salem Witch Trials.” The National Endowment for the Humanities, 2022, www.neh.gov/article/records-salem-witch-trials. 

Wheeler, Jessy. “Research Guides: Salem Witch Trials: Accusers and Accused.” Guides.bpl.org, Boston Public Library, 27 Mar. 2023, guides.bpl.org/salemwitchtrials/accusersandaccused.