The Salem Witch Trials

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Recommended: Introduction for a research on witchcraft

In 1692 everyone was sure that the Devil had come to Salem when young girls started screaming, barking like dogs and doing strange dances in the woods. The Salem Witch Trials originated in the home of Salem's reverend Samuel Parris, who had a slave from the Caribbean named Tibuta. Tibuta would tell stories about witchcraft back from her home. In early 1692 several of Salem's teenage girls began gathering in the kitchen with Tibuta. When winter turned to spring many Salem residents were stunned at the acts and behaviors of Tibuta's young followers. It was said that in the woods nearby they danced a black magic dance, and several of the girls would fall on the floor screaming uncontrollably. These behaviors soon began to spread across Salem. This soon led to ministers from nearby communities coming to Salem to lend their advice on the matter. Many believed that the girls were bewitched. It is believed that the young girls accusations began the Salem witch trials, and they would gather at reverend Parris's house to play fortune-telling games with magic and with Tibuta. One of the games was for them to crack a raw egg into a glass of water and see what shape it made in the glass. One night Ann saw the shape of a coffin from the egg trick, that's where it all started. Soon after that happened Ann Putman, Abigail Williams, and Betty Parris started acting weirdly. They started babbling, convulsing, or simply staring blankly. Once they were identified as victims of witchcraft they were asked to point out their tormentors. Ann pointed to Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourne. She also testified against Tibuta and said that the woman had tortured her grievously by pricking and pinching her dreadfully."(Yanak, T.,and Pam Cornelison, ... ... middle of paper ... ...d their land confiscated, leaving families broke and homeless. During the witch trials many people in Salem left their houses unattended and didn’t do their chores. The trials also affected the planting season. All of this led to severe crop failures and epidemics in Salem in the time after the trials ended. Salem's politics were affected too. (Salem Witch trials | Define Salem Witch trials at Dictionary.com.) They declared that the courts were neglected and so they elected an anti-Parris committee. Since the trials ended there had been no more deaths of people accused of witchcraft and no more accusations of it. The Salem Witch Trials has left such an effect on Salem that it was renamed Danvers and is still called that today. In the end, the Salem Witch Trials didn’t have a very good effect on anyone in Salem. These trials also left a major imprint on Salem.

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