Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

The Salem Witch Trials certainly casted a spell over the people of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 and even decades later on historians and non-academics alike. The trials inflict discrimination, persecution, abuse of power, and religious injustice as well as causing the society to have irrational fears. The trials are very interesting now because there is no explanation of the event that has been accepted universally. There are many theories such as the “affiliated” girls of the trials were simply bored and decided to play god. Ergot poisoning which is a disease in rye grains, and there is also the cold weather theory. Along with those theories a strong belief in the Occult and also disputes, rivalries, and personal differences with residents in the town have also been talked about. The effects after the trials are as important as when the

Among the “affiliated” girls, Abigail Williams, age 11, and Elizabeth Parris were effected. They were the niece and daughter of Reverend Parris, and when the reverend searched consult with the local doctor, he blamed it on the supernatural. Soon “affiliated” girls started their accusations by accusing Sarah Good, a homeless beggar, Sarah Osborne an elderly impoverished woman, and Tituba, who was Parris’s Caribbean slave. Tituba claimed to be guilty while Good and Osborne claimed to be innocent, however, all three were placed in jail. With the paranoia planted in the town a sea of accusations would erupt in the following months to come. Throughout the next year many respected people in the town were accused and those who confessed were pardoned, but those who refused to give up their good name were hanged. The trials ended soon in 1693, but not soon enough to where 19 souls were hung and 1 was pressed to death by stone