home
Psychological games
Salem witches - shocking facts.

Salem witches - shocking facts.

23.09.2019

Few people who are interested in the world of the unknown have not heard about the history of the Salem witches. This obscurantism, captured in history, has occupied and occupies the minds of many writers and filmmakers, and for good reason, because the authorities of the American city of Salem (Massachusetts) began real witch hunt in the medieval, and all this happened in the "enlightened" XVII century. Although, the degree of "enlightenment" of each era is very, very relative, even now when everything is online - online flowers, online dreams, online love, carrots and blood ... well, you understand .. So, the greatest example of human barbarism and ignorance, but also a manifestation of mass insanity ... However, draw your own conclusion.

Salem witches. Start.

State of Massachusetts. Town of Salem. 1692

In January 1692, nine-year-old Elizabeth Paris and eleven-year-old Abigel Williams were found to be acting strangely. They writhed in pain, complained of body heat, and hid behind furniture. Meanwhile, Elizabeth was the daughter of the local priest, Reverend Parris, and Abigail was his niece.

After some time, exactly the same "symptoms" were seen in the behavior of friends Elizabeth and Abigail. After a month of unsuccessful treatment, the local doctor (!) William Griggs suggests that the girls suffered from witchcraft.

It is worth noting that the New England public of that era was very puritanical and religious. Then seriously believed that preys on the children of Christians.

Time passed and there were already seven "bewitched" girls in Salem. They all writhed in pain, complained of being bitten and pinched, and also took strange unnatural poses. In addition, they said they saw witches flying in the winter sky. Now no one doubted that the girls had become witch's charms, and he was wandering around the village himself.

Search for witches

Soon, nine-year-old Elizabeth Paris, under pressure from the townspeople and priests, accused the black maid Tituba of witchcraft, who had previously tried to help possessed girls with witch pie. Such a cake made of rye flour and the urine of "possessed" girls was fed to the dog in order to counteract evil witchcraft.

The maid told the children a lot about the rites of her native Barbados, and. All this did not at all benefit her reputation in the eyes of the public, and the accusation of witchcraft very easily "stuck" to Tituba.

In addition, at the direction of the girls, charges fell on the village feeble-minded beggar woman Sarah Hood, as well as the elderly Sarah Osborne, a neighbor of the Parrises. To her misfortune, Sarah Osborne, for some reason, did not attend church for more than a year, which "directly" spoke of her connection with Satan.

On February 29, 1692, all the suspects were arrested. A thorough inspection was soon carried out. American "" searched on the bodies of unfortunate women for the so-called witches nipples- warts or moles, which are generally believed to be used by witches to feed demons.

At the same time, other residents of Salem began to "remember" how butter and cheese spoiled after the visits of the suspects, and cattle gave sick offspring.

The interrogation was conducted in the best traditions. The women were asked the same leading questions, such as whether they were witches and whether they had contact with Satan. Good old torture was used to "clear the memory".

The Salem witch trials

Tituba was the first to split. The same black maid who cooked a witch's pie to resist evil sorcery. At first, she denied her guilt for a very long time, but, in the end, she began to tell how a tall man from Boston came to her, and sometimes he could take the form of a dog or a pig. This pig-dog-man supposedly offered Tituba to sign a book and wanted a maid to help him in his affairs. Of course, it became immediately clear to everyone that it was himself.

In addition, Tituba confirmed that she was engaged in witchcraft, and she did it not alone, but in the company of four witches. Among her "colleagues" Tituba indicated Sarah Osborne and Sarah Goode, who were previously "convicted" by bewitched girls in witchcraft. All these confessions greatly spurred the enthusiasm of the accusers, and the real witch hunt.

Obscurantism continues

It is now that you can conjure, at least be bewitched, and in the society of that era it was believed that a witch's place was only on the gallows.

The next suspects were Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey. They were immediately subjected to examination and interrogation. They even arrested the four-year-old daughter of Sarah Good, Dorcas Good, as the girls said that they were being bitten by her incorporeal.

The child spent 8 months in prison and witnessed how hung up on the gallows her mother.

In April 1692, Sarah Cloyes and Elizabeth Proctor, who were trying to protect Rebecca Nurse, who was their own sister, were accused of witchcraft. Sarah and Elizabeth were detained and subjected to the same procedures. John Proctor, Elizabeth's husband, tried to resist his wife's humiliation, but he too was charged with witchcraft. Thus, John Proctor became Salem's only male witch.

At the same time, one of the "bewitched" Mary Warren admitted that she lied and just the same other girls lied too, but the running machine could no longer be stopped. The arrests continued one after another.

All this attracted the attention of the general public, and Governor William Phipps, who returned from England, even convened a special court session to hear the case, which had accusatory bias still at the stage of formation of the judiciary.

Salem process. Results

During the Salem process, hanged 19 people, one person was stoned to death, four people died in prison and about 200 people were imprisoned on charges of witchcraft. In addition, two dogs were killed. They were recognized as "minions" of witches.

More than 300 years have passed, but even now there is no consensus on whether WHAT WAS IT? Who is to blame for all this? Did he decide to have fun or stupid girls joked very unsuccessfully? Who is responsible for this?

Some of the priests still think that the Salem witches really existed and actually surrendered to the Enemy of Humanity, for which they were “justly” punished, others are sure that a monstrous mistake has occurred.

In 1867, a hypothesis appeared that the "bewitched" the girls were in cahoots and made things up on purpose. This opinion dominated as generally accepted for quite a long time, until the blame was transferred to the society of that era as a whole. The Puritan mores and pedagogical methods of the era have been cited as catalysts for mass hysteria.

In 1641, under English law, witchcraft was equated with a criminal offense. In January 1692, the neighboring city of York was attacked by the Indians, as a result, many of its inhabitants died or were captured.

Increasing family size created disputes between neighbors and families over land ownership, especially on the frontier of settler advance, where the economy was based on farming. Unfavorable weather conditions or plant diseases could lead to the loss of the annual crop. A farm that could support a medium-sized family could no longer provide for future generations. This prompted the farmers to move on, capturing the lands of the indigenous inhabitants - the Indians.

As religious people, the Puritans attributed the loss of crops, livestock, death of children, earthquakes, and bad weather to the wrath of God. According to the Puritans, a person was predetermined from birth whether his soul should go to heaven or, conversely, to hell. Puritans looked for signs in the world they saw that could indicate the will of God. In the invisible world, according to their belief, God and angels lived, as well as the Devil - a fallen angel, a hostile entity.

Patriarchal orders created a situation where women should be in complete subordination to men. It was also believed that women are more easily influenced by the Devil than men, and that they are more lustful.

It was difficult to keep secrets in a small town, and people's opinions of their neighbors were accepted as established fact. Children's games and toys were considered useless and forbidden, but additional restrictions were imposed on girls. Boys could hunt, fish, explore the forest, they often became apprentices to carpenters and blacksmiths, while girls were taught to spin yarn, cook, sew, weave and, in general, be in the service of future husbands and their children.

The course of the trial

Arrests

In January 1692, the daughter and niece of Pastor Samuel Parris, 9-year-old Elizabeth Parris and 12-year-old Abigail Williams, were diagnosed with symptoms of an unknown disease. The girls screamed, made strange sounds, hid under furniture, their bodies took unusual positions. Children complained of being stabbed with a pin and a knife, and when Parris tried to preach, they plugged their ears.

Dr. William Griggs decided that witch exposure was the cause of the illness. In his diagnosis, he relied on Cotton Mather's Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions (1689), which described a similar case. In 1688, in Boston, an Irish laundress was accused of witchcraft on the children of the owner and hanged. Cotton Mather was a graduate of Harvard College and was a minister at the North Church of Boston.

The girls pointed to a supposed witch, a slave servant in the Parris household named Tituba. According to some sources, Tituba was of African descent, according to others she was Indian. According to the children, the maid told them about witchcraft. Soon the number of sick girls and girls increased, in particular, 12-year-old Anna Putnam fell ill.

On March 1, 1692, according to their testimony, three women were arrested: Tituba, Sarah Hood and Sarah Osborne. The suspects were interrogated and subjected to a search for signs that would indicate that they are witches. All three women were convenient targets for accusations: Tituba was of a different nationality, Sarah Goode was a beggar, Sarah Osborne was a lonely, seriously ill widow, also involved in a legal dispute with the Putnams. The fact that women did not attend church for a long time spoke against them. They had no defenders, and public opinion tended to believe that the accusations were true.

In March, other arrests were made: 4-year-old daughter of Sarah Goode, Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse and Rachel Clinton. Martha Corey from the very beginning did not trust the words of the girls and mocked the court, thereby drawing attention to herself. 4-year-old Dorothy Good, due to her age, made statements that were interpreted against Sarah Good. To be closer to her mother, she confessed to being a witch and was put in jail. However, these accusations have already disturbed society, since Corey and Nurse were parishioners of the church.

In April, Sarah Cloyes (Rebecca Nurse's sister), Elizabeth Proctor and her husband John Proctor, Martha Corey's husband Gilles Corey, and several others, including former pastor George Burroughs, were arrested. May 10, Sarah Osborne dies in prison.

Court

In May 1692, the trial begins ( Court of Oyer and Terminer). Governor Phips appointed judges, three of whom were friends of Cotton Mather and one of whom was Lieutenant Governor. William Stoughton, who has no legal education, has been appointed president of the court. Cotton Mather is overseeing the trial.

The main evidence was the testimonies of the victims that they saw the spirit of the accused, who appeared to them. The theological dispute surrounding the use of these testimonies was whether a person had to give consent to the Devil for the use of his image. Opponents believed that the Devil can use the image of a person without his consent, while the court argued that the consent of a person is required.

On June 2, the court found guilty an elderly woman, Bridget Bishop; on June 10, she was hanged. According to some girls, Bishop's spirit appeared to them. Other witnesses testified that she was visited by the devil. On July 19, 1692, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Hood and several other women were hanged. It is noteworthy that before the execution, already with a noose around her neck, Sarah Good turned to the priest Nicholas Noes, who was involved in the trial, with the words: “You are a liar. I am no more a witch than you are a sorcerer. Take my life away and the Lord will give you blood to drink.” The words turned out to be prophetic: after 25 years, Noes, struck by a brain hemorrhage, died, choking on his own blood.

On August 19, 1692, several more people were hanged, including the former pastor Burroughs. About 30 residents filed a motion to commute Burroughs' sentence, but the sentence was upheld. At the gallows, Burroughs, without stammering, read a prayer, hoping for salvation (it was believed that sorcerers were not able to read a prayer without hesitation).

On September 19, a special procedure was applied to 80-year-old farmer Gilles Corey, who refused to give any evidence. peine forte et dure. Heavy stones were placed on Corey's chest to "squeeze out" a guilty plea. According to one version, the refusal to testify was due to the fact that the property of sorcerers who gave any evidence was subject to confiscation. Corey wanted to keep his farm and his family's land, so he refused to talk after the procedure. Two days later, he died during torture under the pressure of a heavy load.

Among the defendants were not only residents of the village of Salem, but also residents of neighboring Topsfeld, as well as Boston. Witch trials were also held in Andover, where, at the invitation of a local resident, John Ballard, girls from Salem came to expose witchcraft.

In Boston, John Alden, who is the subject of Longfellow's poem The Courtship of Miles Steindish, was convicted of witchcraft. Alden was one of the city's most respected citizens, a sea captain and a veteran of the Indian Wars. He escaped from prison after 5 weeks of imprisonment.

The end of the trial

Meanwhile, Cotton Mater's father, Incris Mater, head of Harvard College, said the court should not consider victims' "visions" as evidence. Incris Mater, in particular, said that "it would be better for ten witches to escape punishment than for one innocent to be punished." Another priest pointed out that the devil can deliberately appear in the form of a spirit, taking the form of an innocent person in order to accuse the latter. After hearing these opinions, the governor ordered that the "visions" not be used as evidence, that arrests be stopped, and that 28 of the 33 remaining defendants be released (because they were arrested on the basis of the "visions").

To try the remaining defendants, the Massachusetts Supreme Court, which is still in force today, was established. In May 1693, the governor pardoned the accused.

In total, 150 people ended up in prison during the anti-Vedic hysteria. 31 people were convicted. Of these, 19 people were hanged, two died in prison, one was crushed to death, seven received a reprieve, one was kept without trial in prison, then sold into slavery for debts, one fled.

In 1697, the judges admitted their mistake, in 1702 the court decision was declared illegal. In 1706, accuser Anna Putnam claimed to have been deceived by the devil into testifying against innocent people.

In 1957, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts finally decided to cancel the sentences of all those convicted during these trials.

In 1992, a monument to the victims of the witch hunt was erected in the city. In 2001, Governor Jane Swift confirmed the innocence of the defendants.

Explanations

There are several versions explaining what happened - hysteria, conspiracy of children, especially the psychology of Puritans, poisoning with a poisonous substance.

In 1976 in the magazine Science there was a version according to which hallucinations in children were caused by poisoning with rye bread, affected by a fungus Claviceps purpurea. In the same year, refutations of this version were published.

Salem Trial in Art

The Salem witch trials were the subject of works by writers and directors.

Playwright Arthur Miller's play The Crucible (1952).
Longfellow's drama The New England Tragedies (1868).
The film The Crucible (1996), starring Winona Ryder.
Robin Cook's novel Edge of Risk Acceptable risk) (1995).
The story of Katherine Lasky "Behind the blazing time" (1996)

Sources

social background [ | ]

Arrests [ | ]

On March 1, 1692, according to their testimony, three women were arrested: Tituba, Sarah Hood and Sarah Osborne. The suspects were interrogated and subjected to a search for signs that would indicate that they are witches. All three women were convenient targets for accusations: Tituba was not of the titular nationality, Sarah Good was a beggar, and Sarah Osborne was a lonely, seriously ill widow, also involved in a legal dispute with the Puritans. The fact that women did not attend church for a long time spoke against them. They had no defenders, and public opinion tended to believe that the accusations were true.

Court [ | ]

In May 1692, the trial began ( Court of Oyer and Terminer). Governor Phips appointed judges, three of whom were friends of Cotton Mather and one of whom was Lieutenant Governor. William Stuffon, who did not have a law degree, was appointed president of the court. The trial was overseen by Cotton Mather.

This prediction came true: Noes died of bleeding through his mouth.

Gilles Corey under the rocks during the Salem witch trials. 1692

On September 19, a special procedure was applied to 80-year-old farmer Gilles Corey, who refused to give any evidence. peine forte et dure. Heavy stones were placed on Corey's chest to “squeeze out” evidence: without them, he was beyond trial; to hasten death, he asked to put even more weight. Two days later he died under the pressure of a heavy load. According to one version, the refusal to testify was selfish: the property of convicted sorcerers (and Corey did not hope for an acquittal by the court after any of his testimony) was subject to confiscation. Without testimony, the trial was impossible, and if the suspect died under torture, he formally remained innocent. Corey wanted to keep his farm and lands for the family.

Among the defendants were residents not only of the village of Salem, but also of neighboring Topsfield, as well as Boston. Witch trials also took place in Andover, where, at the invitation of a local resident, John Ballard, girls from Salem came to expose witchcraft.

The end of the trial [ | ]

Meanwhile, Cotton Mather's father - Incris Mather, head of Harvard College - said that the court should not consider the visions of the victims as evidence. Mather is also credited with the idea that it is better for a few witches to survive than for one innocent to be executed. Another priest pointed out that the devil can deliberately appear in the form of a spirit, taking the form of an innocent person in order to accuse the latter. After hearing these opinions, the governor ordered that the visions not be used as evidence, stop the arrests, and release 28 of the 33 remaining defendants.

To try the remaining defendants, the Massachusetts Supreme Court was established, which is still in force. In May 1693, the governor pardoned the accused.

In total, 150 people ended up in prison during the anti-Vedic hysteria. 31 people were convicted. Of these, 19 people were hanged, two died in prison, one was crushed to death during torture, seven received a reprieve, one was held without trial in prison, then sold into slavery for debts, one escaped.

In 1957, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts finally decided to cancel the sentences of all those convicted during these trials. In 1992, a monument to the victims of the witch hunt was erected in the city. In 2001, Governor Jane Swift confirmed the innocence of the defendants.

In May 1692, Salem, Massachusetts, began one of New England's largest trials for witchcraft. During the Salem witch hunt, 19 people were sentenced to death by hanging, from 175 to 200 people were imprisoned. One of the suspects was crushed under stones, more than five died in prison.

In May 1693, the Massachusetts Supreme Court, represented by the governor, pardoned the remaining defendants. In 1697, the court confessed to the erroneous decision, in 1702 the court decision was recognized as completely illegal.

strange symptoms

In January 1692, in the city of Salem, the daughter and niece of local pastor Samuel Parris, 9-year-old Elizabeth Parris and 12-year-old Abigail Williams, fell ill. The causes of the disease and the diagnosis could not be established. Every day the girls got worse. The symptoms of the disease were very strange: the children hid behind the furniture, complained of visions, as well as being pricked with pins and a knife, both had a high fever. When Parris tried to deliver a sermon, they plugged their ears. A local doctor, who did not have sufficient knowledge, but who read the then-famous book by Pastor Cutter, who lived in Boston, whose children suffered from a similar ailment, was convinced that the girls’ illness was the machinations of the Devil and witchcraft of local witches.

In support of his diagnosis, Dr. William Griggs cited descriptions from Cather's book, which was called "Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions" and was published in 1689.

The book describes an incident that occurred in Boston in 1688. The author told how an Irish laundress was accused of witchcraft and hanged by a court sentence, who caused damage to the children of her master, Cotton Mather, a graduate of Harvard College, a priest of the North Church of Boston. The local Salem elite in the person of the priest, the lieutenant governor and the doctor did not find anything better than to say that the girl's illness is witchcraft.

A few days later, Elizabeth Parris accused Tituba, the priest's slave, of witchcraft. Many residents really suspected Tituba of witchcraft, because she was brought by Parris from Barbados, and told the girls a lot about voodoo magic. Then the disease overtook the girls' girlfriends, including the youngest daughter of Parris's friends, Anna Putnam. She had the same symptoms, and the children accused two other women of witchcraft and named witches, among whom were the quarrelsome neighbor of the Parrises, Sarah Osborne, and the beggar, Sarah Goode. These two candidates turned out to be very convenient for accusations, both women practically did not attend church.

mass paranoia

On February 29, 1692, Sarah Hood and Sarah Osborne were arrested on suspicion of witchcraft and conspiracy with the Devil. The arrested Tituba told the investigation that she and four other arrested women were witches, who flew with her on broomsticks and tormented sick girls. All suspects were subjected to a humiliating examination, which was used to detect witch marks on the body of the accused.

The stories of children and the provocation of the authorities were not in vain, the population of Salem was seized by mass paranoia, and every second citizen began to be suspected of witchcraft. The shadow of a witchcraft conspiracy fell not only on the women in custody, but also on their relatives, as well as on other "uncomfortable" townsfolk. As a result, arrests have become widespread.

In March 1692, arrested: 4-year-old daughter of Sarah Hood, Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse and Rachel Clinton. The daughter of a beggar Sarah Hood, in order to be closer to her mother, recognized herself as a witch.

In April 1692, a second wave of arrests took place: Sarah Cloyes (sister of Rebecca Nurse), Elizabeth Proctor and her husband John Proctor, Martha Corey's husband Gilles Corey and several others, as well as former pastor George Burroughs.

The Salem witch trial began in May 1692. Judges were appointed by Governor Phips. The same Cotton Mather oversaw the trial. The judges were Mater's friends and the lieutenant governor. William Stoughton, who had no law degree and was a vocal supporter of the witch hunt, was appointed president of the court.

There were fierce theological disputes at the court session. The court, represented by Mater's friends, considered the suspects guilty, because they allowed the Devil to use their human form in his insidious plans. The testimony of sick girls served as evidence. Foaming at the mouth, the opponents of the judges argued that the Devil could use the images of the defendants without their will, they insisted that the Prince of Darkness does not need permission to steal a human soul. The court upheld its position.

First victim

Bridget Bishop was the first person to be sentenced to death. An elderly woman was accused of conspiring with the Devil, she had a rather grumpy disposition and most did not even doubt her guilt. Her sister's husband confirmed that she was a witch, in the eyes of society, this person behaved too eccentrically and rarely paid her bills on time, which was not befitting the spirit of that time.

One day she brought her lace to the town dyer. This dyer later declared that Bishop's lace should not be in a decent woman's wardrobe. Things began to take a serious turn when religious fanatics, led by Stoughton, began to literally stamp out death sentences, based only on the testimony of sick girls.

Seeing that the situation is getting out of control, trial monitor Cotton Mather urged the judges not to rely on spectral evidence and quickly complete the process that has reached the point of absurdity. The judges heeded only the request for a speedy conclusion of the case, but the sentences were still handed down, taking into account the hallucinations and fun of sick children to a greater extent. For the most part, the court had only spectral evidence at its disposal; it was impossible to reveal the real affiliation of the suspects to the dark forces. In addition, people opposed to the trial and some of its sentences were subjected to persecution and arrests. So, one of the opponents was declared a serial killer.

Judgment and execution

The court sentenced 19 defendants to death. Between four and 13 people died in prison while under arrest. Gilles Corey, a local farmer, fearing the confiscation of property and therefore pleading not guilty, died two years later after being subjected to torture, in which huge and heavy stones were laid on his chest, literally squeezing out a confession.

About two hundred people were under arrest during the trial. Sarah Good's four-year-old daughter, who spent eight months in prison with her mother, accompanied her to the death penalty. After passing all the death sentences, while in prison, 33 more people were waiting for their fate.

On June 10, 1692, the first death sentence was carried out. Bridget Bishop died on Gallows Hill.

On June 29-30, 1692, five more women accused of witchcraft were sentenced to death. On July 19 of the same year, they were executed. Hanged: Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Sarah Wilds, Sarah Goode and Elizabeth Howe.

On August 5, 1692, the court sentenced six more people to death by hanging, many of these people were obedient parishioners, observing fasts and following all church canons. One of them, George Burroughs, who is a former pastor, read the Lord's Prayer without hesitation before his execution, hoping for salvation. At the height of the witch hunt, it was believed that a person subject to devilish influence would not be able to read a prayer without ever stuttering. This did not help Burroughs, and on August 19, George Jacobs Sr., Martha Carrier, John Vilard, John and Elizabeth Proctor were executed with him.

On September 22, 1692, the last execution in the Salem Witch Case took place. The following were executed: Martha Ccott, Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Anna Pudeator, Wilmott Redd, Samuel Wardwell and Mary Parkeori - wife of Gilles Corey, Margaret Sr.

Doubt and remorse

In October 1692, many began to doubt the correctness of the decisions made. The governor ordered no more use of spectral evidence, he also banned the "touch test" of prisoners for belonging to the dark forces, canceled arrests and ordered the release of 28 of 33 suspects. He motivated his act by the fact that only spectral evidence appeared in the arrests of these 28 people.

Lieutenant Governor Stoughton dreamed of carrying out the executions of those witches who were forced to be released due to the fact that women were in position. Governor Phipps reacted sharply to Stoughton's remark and forbade the use of execution. Stoughton resigned. Exactly one and a half years later, in May 1693, the governor pardoned the suspects who remained in prison.

Salem's mourning day was January 14, 1697. At this time, the Salem witch trials were considered a terrible tragedy. One of the judges and several jurors publicly repented. Pastor Parris, however, decided that other people were involved in his bias, which simply confused him.

The 1692 judgment in the Salem witch trial was declared illegal in 1702. In 1711, all the victims were legally restored to their civil rights, the good name of the dead was returned, and considerable monetary compensation was paid to the families of the victims of the Salem tragedy. Salem was renamed Danvers in 1752. In 1992, a memorial was erected in memory of the victims of the Salem tragedy.

Versions

Version one

At first, there was a version that the girls were poisoned by ergot contained in bread, the symptoms of this poisoning cause hallucinations and seizures. But it was soon refuted.

Version two

Many scientists believed that the sick girls, under the pressure of Pastor Parris, lied for the first time and could no longer stop, because they were in collusion with interested individuals. For a long time, this version was the most common, it was actively supported.

Version three

In New England at that time there were active wars with the Indians, and shortly before the tragedy, battles were lost in favor of the indigenous people; there was mass hysteria associated with witches, fueled by the Catholic Church. Many problems of a global scale were attributed precisely to witch atrocities.

Version four

The researchers suggest that the girls suffered from Huntington's disease. But no one has been able to establish this fact for certain.

Version five

Scientists inclined to a medical point of view have repeatedly stated that the cause of everything could be the disease of girls with a special form of encephalitis.

Tragedy participants say

Anna Putnam, one of the sick girls who testified along with the rest of her friends, 14 years after the tragedy:

“I did this act out of thoughtlessness, deceived by Satan”

The Rev. Increase Mather, Father of Cotton Mather, President of Harvard College, in view of the court's heavy use of spectral evidence, stated:

“It is better that ten witches escape punishment than one innocent person be punished”

Historical reference

Witch hunting - the peak of the popularity of this gloomy phenomenon fell on the XV-XVII centuries. Then in Western Europe there were massacres against people who were considered witches or sorcerers who had colluded with the Devil. But heretics and sorcerers were not killed without trial and investigation, as a rule, the unfortunate were subjected to cruel torture, during which people were found guilty of conspiring with the Prince of Darkness.

Confessions or testimonies of witnesses were decisive in the trial, in almost all cases the accused were sentenced to death. There are only approximate estimates of the people who died in those days, these estimates fluctuate in different periods of time from several tens to several hundred thousand people.