Salem Witch Book Report

908 Words2 Pages

The book, Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem , is written by Rosalyn Schanzer about the Salem Witch Trials which began on February 29, 1692. In January 1692, two young girls, 9-year-old Betty Parris and her cousin, 11-year-old Abigail Williams were “having fits.” These fits included acting strangely, hiding beneath and behind the furniture, and speaking in odd ways. Many people said that, according to their religion, witches were fallen angels sent from the Devil from the “Invisible World” to practically torture the people on Earth.The witches trials began in the first place because of people accusing others. Reasons for these accusations are revenge, attention, and misunderstood people. The first reason for the accusations …show more content…

The people of Salem, Massachusetts wanted to do more than repeat the same things everyday. People of Salem Town claimed that a “Rampant fear among the Puritans in the New England village of Salem sparked attacks against anyone who was suspected of witchcraft.” (History.com “Salem Witch Trials”) yet, it is likely most of the people, accused or not, knew that the accused weren’t witches. People have said that the Betty and/or Abigail were just sick and were being pressured to see if they were being bewitched by so called “witches” to be acting like they were and seeing what they saw. More and more accusers, mostly children, were being caught, but still recanted(page 96). As the judges were being rapt(page 70) listeners, they were wasting their time listening to the attention-hungry accusers. Most accusers used “spectral evidence” so they could get away with saying lies that sounded worthy of execution and “Though the respected minister Cotton Mather had warned of the dubious value of spectral evidence, his concerns went largely unheeded during the Salem witch trials.” (History.com”Salem Witch Trials”). The girls fervently(page 65) said that the accused were indeed witches, trying to act believable and they succeeded. The accuser’s “belief in the power of the accused to use their invisible shapes or spectres to torture their victims had sealed the fates of those tried by the Court of Oyer and Terminer.” (Salem Witch Museum “ The 1692 Salem Witch Trials”) and brought sadness to

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