The Terrible Facts about Witch Trials
The tribal witches, as they were called, were the most nonreasoning pair of accused people that ever walked the face of the earth. First of all, during the Salem witch trials, you couldn’t even trust anyone anymore because if your neighbor, for example, was very suspicious, then you are basically already dead.
Anyway, the "leader of the witches", was supposedly, George Burroughs. All of the trials were trialed in Salem mostly for him. Even when he escaped from the trials, he never escaped the fact that he was known as the leader of "them" wherever and forever he went.
Also, Bridget Bishop was a plain, but real eerie girl, maybe that’s why she was the most accused person in Salem in the 1600’s. She wore a black cap, a black dress, and a red cape, which is very unusual. She applied no remorse and spoke of her innocence during her execution. She was hanged on June the 10th, 1692. William Stoughton, Samuel Sewall, and John Hawthorne were all judges. They always were against the accused.
Samuel Parris’ daughter, Betty, was afflicted with strange witch symptoms. Samuel was against witchcraft and ministered. Samuel Parris’ servant, Tituba, was an accused person and she supposedly bewitched Samuel’s daughter.
Ann Putnam Jr. was against witchcraft and was at 11 of the Salem Witch Trials. The judges and men didn’t like that a woman was watching these trials and they tried to accuse her of witchcraft because she was a woman and watched them. She made a huge speech on how sorry she was about her visiting the trials.
Going back to Tituba, Tituba was an Indian servant of Parris’. She was accused of witchcraft and was very scary. She made a witch cake and gave it to a dog thinking that it would tell her how to cure Betty Parris’ illness. Samuel Parris was so enraged that he beat Tituba until she confessed in being a major witch. But at one of her trials, she claimed her innocence and Parris got even more enraged. He didn’t even pay the jailer or the judges her freedom.
Delivarence Hobbes and her whole family were accused of witchcraft. Delivarence served red wine and red bread in the house of Burroughs, which is very, very, very odd. Despite his wife’s and daughter’s confessions, William Hobbes steadfastly denied all accusations of witchcraft in his trials. He remained in prison until December 1692, then left town alone.
Increase Mather was a great and serious judge at the time of the famous witch trial scandals. He would always be fair and would never always accuse the accused unless really guilty of a scandalous and horrendous crime.
In 1641 English law made witchcraft a capital crime. It gave a little break to witch trials, but soon it would all start again!
Examinations of a witch would be undressing him/her and looking for any signs of being a witch. Judges would usually look for large black marks.
In 1692 there were the most witch trials ever! The most famous were the 12 that took place in Salem, Massachusetts. Around 37 accused -only in Salem- were executed. 18 of them were young girls. The youngest accused people were Tituba and Sarah Good. Every accused eventually said that they were innocent. No accused got away in their trials, also, they were always punished, somehow.
The primary cause of having all of those trials was nervousness and selfishness between neighbors and even friends and family.
Judges took sides because of high standards and wealth.
All in all, witch trials started because of indignity, injustice, and unfairness.