On June 10, 1692 In Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, sixty
year-old Bridget (Playfer) Bishop was the first woman to be hung on Gallows
Hill in the Salem Witch Trials. She was charged on April 18, 1692 by judges John Hathorne and Jonathan
Corwin
.
She was accused for witchcraft by Mercy
Lewis,
Abigail
Williams,
Elizabeth Hubbard and Ann Putnam, Jr. Over
the next few months between her accusation and death over ten witnesses gave
long, detailed testimonies about how Bridget bewitched them, their families, and
their animals.
After realizing how unfair the trials were to
the accused, the court refused to hear any more charges of witchcraft. The
accused were pardoned in 1711. The Salem Witch Trials brought lasting changes to the United
States
legal system and the way evidence and witnesses were treated. The Salem Village
hangings were the last executions of accused witches in America.
1.
Dogs
were included among the innocent victims executed for being witches. By
the time the Salem witch hysteria ended, 20 people were executed, as well as 2
dogs. At this time, people believed that witches used animals to conduct
their wicked deeds. This included cats, birds, cows, pigs, turtles, wolves, and
dogs.
Some believed that witches
kidnapped animals and rode them around to their coven meetings at night, This resulted
in weakness, injury, strange behavior and the eventual death of the animal.
Dogs were believed to be a common familiar associated with the
Devil.
2.
In
the Salem Witch Trials, spectral evidence refers to a witness testimony that
the accused person's spirit appeared to him/her witnesses in a dream at the
time the accused person's physical body was at another location. The evidence
was accepted on the basis that the devil and his minions were powerful enough
to send their spirits to religious people in order to lead them astray.
3.
Much
less pleasant than it sounds, the "witch cake" was one of the many
tests used to determine if a suspect was a witch or not. It was believed that
the so-called witch's cake would prove a person's innocence or guilt. Such a
cake was made with rye flour and the urine of one of the people suffering the
symptoms that started the whole witch hunt in the first place.
This
cake was then fed to a dog, and if the dog then showed the same symptoms,
witchcraft had taken place. In this case, the dog would then "point"
to which witch had made him ill. This was a common practice for determining
witches in England at this time.
4.
Over
one century before the horrors that occurred in Salem, a law had been passed
that would ultimately help lead to the tragedy. Under the "Witchcraft
Act" that was passed in 1562 in England, any behavior or
practice even remotely associated with witchcraft was deemed illegal. In order
for people to recognize witchcraft if they came upon it, lists and books were
published explaining in detail the things that could be considered such.
This
was so serious, in fact, that by 1644, the English government had created an
official position called the Witchfinder
General, which is exactly what is sounds like. This hysteria and
goal to hunt down possible witches may have played a role in the paranoia and
persecution of witches by the Puritans of Massachusetts. It's no coincidence,
after all, that Europe and North America embarked on this misguided quest to
find witches at around the same time.
5.
Smallpox
possibly played a large role in the Salem Witch Trials although no one back
then likely knew it. The disease is a deadly one that covers the infected
person's entire body with pimple-like postulates. Europeans brought smallpox to
North America. In Salem 1692,
500
people were killed by smallpox, an epidemic that caused symptoms in the girls
that people believed were instead caused by witches. There are several possible
causes for what happened in Salem, and it could be one or a combination of
things that was the real cause including smallpox.
6.
The
cruelest of the witch tests was the swimming test in which a suspected witch
was stripped down to her undergarments, tied up, and thrown into the nearest
body of water. If they sunk, they were innocent. If they floated, they were a
witch.
Most
people think that the witches all drowned during these tests. While accidental
deaths did happen this way, the suspects usually had a rope tied around their
waist so they could be pulled from the water if they did sink. This test came
about because it was believed that water would reject witches' bodies since
witches were thought to have spurned the sacrament of baptism.
7.
The
only punishment people imagine when they think of the Salem Witch Trials is
death. There was another common punishment that's not as scary as being hanged, but
was daunting. This was the confiscation by the government of the accused's land
or home. Land was a precious thing that had a lot of value for an individual or
a family. Land and home left to family was better than the government taking
it.
8.
The
tragic events of 1692 could possibly be because of something no one suspected
(or even knew about) until the 1970s when behavioral psychologist
and professor Linnda Caporael noticed a link between the hallucinogenic
effects of Lysergic acid diethylamide
(LSD) and the odd symptoms reported by the Salem witch accusers. It turns out
that the fungus ergot (which LSD is derived from) was blamed for other
outbreaks of bizarre behavior throughout history. Caporael looked into it
further, and the Ergotism Theory was born (ergotism is the term for ergot
poisoning).
Ergot
affects rye, which was consumed by the village people of Salem, and if
poisoning occurs, the central nervous system is affected. All of the symptoms
reported by the accusers in Salem in 1692 can be attributed to Ergotism -- the
convulsing, vomiting, delusions, and everything else. Furthermore, Caporael
discovered that the physical conditions required for ergot to thrive (such as
damp, rainy springs and summers) were all present in 1691-1692. The accusers
almost all lived in the swampy west of the village, which would have been
perfect breeding ground for ergot. Even the very sudden end of witchcraft
accusations can be explained by Ergotism.
9.
There
were plenty of men who were included in the witch hunt, accusations, trials,
and punishments. 200 people in total were accused of practicing witchcraft. In
1692, Giles Corey refused to plead either innocent or guilty. He was stripped
naked, and a heavy board was laid on top of his body. Then, boulders were laid
on top of that.
After
two days of this torture and still refusing to plead guilty to witchcraft, the
81-year-old Corey would simply say, "More weight!" every time he was
asked. It is said that the sheriff would even stand on top of him from time to
time, adding more weight. One witness, Robert Calef, said, "In the pressing,
Giles Corey's tongue was pressed out of his mouth; the Sheriff, with the cane,
forced it in again." Corey suffered in silence for two days, and it's
thought that he did so because then the government could not forfeit his estate
upon his death. He died in full possession of his estate, which went to his
sons-in-law.
10.
There
were several tests used during the Salem Witch Trials to "prove" a
suspect's guilt or innocence. The Touch Test showed that victims of black magic
would have a physical reaction to being touched by the one who had cursed them,
so the suspected witch would be made to lay a hand upon a possessed person who
was delusional or in the midst of an episode, and if no reaction occurred the
witch was deemed innocent. If the possessed person suddenly got better or came
out of their fit, it was deemed that the "witch" had placed them
under a spell, and she was found guilty.
11.
Those
suspected of witchcraft were often publicly made to strip, and be closely
examined for the so-called Devil's Mark, which could be anything from a blemish
on the skin to a birthmark and everything in between. It was said that witches
received such marks when they made their pact with Satan.
The
mark was thought to be numb, so it would not be painful to the touch. According
to the village people, it changed shape and color. A third nipple was also a
sign of a witch, as was any mole, sore, tattoo, scar, etc. Some people were so
desperate to not have their skin conditions discovered that they went as far as
burning or cutting them off. This usually backfired since the burning and
cutting left scars.
“That to me is the basic message of events like the rise of Nazism, the Salem witch trials, and so on: not that bad people do bad things, but that good people do bad things.” (Neal Stephenson) [i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“15 Dark Truths You Didn't Know About the Salem Witch
Trials” by Kaline Forrester
·
“1692
First Salem Witch Hanging” History.com
·
“Bridget Bishop: Witch or Easy Target?” by Rebecca Beatrice Brooks
·
“Lysergic acid diethylamide” from Wikipedia
·
“The Salem Witch Trials” by National Geographic Kids
·
“Things You Might Not Know About: The Salem Witch Trials” by College
Times
Inspired by episodes of Timeless and Bewitched
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