Exploring the Unknown: The Salem Witch Trials.

The Fascinating, disturbing truth about a small town, a family feud, and the power of suggestion!

In honor of Halloween 2022, I thought we’d look at one of the most well-known miscarriages of justice in the history of our courts…the Salem Witch Trials.

Witch Hunt—”A search for and subsequent persecution of a supposed witch; a campaign directed against a person or group holding unorthodox or unpopular views.”

The never-ending search for evil doers, in the form of witches, originally began in 14th century Europe. There, countries like Germany, France, Italy, and Switzerland, are said to have tried over 100,000 people for suspected witchcraft. Of those, over 50,000 were burned at the stake.

Fast-forward to the U.S in the 17th century when, for nearly a year, ‘witch-fever’ seemed to overtake a small village in Massachusetts. Back then, there were actually two ‘Salem’ named towns within ten miles of each other. Salem Town (which would eventually become modern-day Salem) was populated by citizens said to be the well-bred upper crust of the area. In contrast, it’s sister town, Salem Village, was populated by poor farmers.

So, what was the goal of these Salem witch hunts, you ask? Simple. The people believed witches were immoral, men and women in cahoots with Satan himself. If a person promised their soul to the devil, he would assist them in magical and evil deeds. Such people were thought to have the ability to shape-shift into animals and enchant animals into becoming their ‘familiars.’ In fact, these crazy witches, in their unholy debauchery, would fly to secret meetings and orgies and seances, not on a broom like we have been told, but on a stick or pole.

Think I went to school with a girl who could do that ;)

So, how would an innocent man or woman get on the witch-hunter’s radar? Who were these cockamamie accusers, anyway? To understand that, you need to understand the powerful players in both ‘Salems’ at the time. There were two families, not unlike the Hatfield and Mccoy’s, whose sole purpose seemed to be pissing each other off. The Porter’s, a wealthy family in Salem Town, were pitted against the Putnam’s, poor farmers in the community of Salem Village.

As I researched this, I came to the conclusion that both the Putnams and the Porters were assholes.

The bad blood between them stemmed from land disputes and political disagreements. When the Putnam’s lured an Orthodox Puritan pastor to minister to the Village church, folks were not happy. Pastor Samuel Parris, with his fire and brimstone sermons and divisive ways, created a deep divide between the community.

Basically, you were either pro-Parris or you got on his caca list.

When the people had enough and Parris lost his job, he was less than pleased. And coincidentally (italicized because it’s not coincidental at all!) when that happened, lo and behold, his daughter and niece became the first in the Village to level an accusation of witchcraft against an innocent party. Seems the girls had been dabbling in fortune telling and acting stranger than usual (screaming, contorting their bodies, convulsion-like fits. Yeah, I’d say that’s weird.) and needed an excuse for their bizarre behavior.

Teenagers, am I right? Always with the lame excuses…’My dog ate my homework’ or ‘I’m the only one who doesn’t have a Nintendo Switch’ or ‘Ms. Sarah is a witch and we need to kill her.’

Silly gooses.

Anyway the girls—after being interrogated (and probably terrified) by Samuel Parris into pointing a finger at someone who could have caused their behavior— yielded. The girls’ accused the family slave, ‘Tituba’, along with two local and extremely poor women, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne. Good was a town beggar known for being a bit of a smart ass; Osborne was an elderly, bed-ridden woman. Tituba, after extreme questioning that, no doubt, included torture, confessed to not only being a witch but threw both Sarah’s under the bus as well, testifying she ‘saw their names’ on Satan’s list.

CYA I suppose.

And, just like that, group think and hysteria and suspicion built until everyone got in the act—neighbors turned on neighbors, friends on friends. And the Putnam’s? Turns out they were responsible for dozens of accusations.

What did you have to prove when making an accusation? Um, nothing, really. All you needed was rumor, suspicion, knowledge of a third nipple. The courts even allowed what was known as ‘spectral’ evidence, when the accusers would relate how they were kicked, bitten, or punched by an invisible demon under the control of the accused.

Crazy pants.

So, what happens when you are accused of the crime of witchcraft or sorcery? Why, you end up in court, of course!

As a side note regarding the legal system, the Salem Witch Trials were part of the impetus for criminal justice reform, leading to significant changes in how we do things. Like, innocent until proven guilty, the guarantee of legal representation, not allowing ghost evidence to be admissible.

Or, at least, not letting ghost evidence convict you.

Which is a good thing. And, not to sound like a Polly Anna, but the subsequent changes to the legal system after the witch trials gives meaning to those 25 meaningless deaths.

Yes, you heard right. There were 19 people executed during the trials; the other’s died due to the deplorable and inhumane conditions in the ‘dungeon’, aka the prison basement where countless accused waited for their day in court.

Their day when, representing themselves without benefit of counsel, they, literally, fought for their lives. If they confessed to being a witch, they were spared. If they professed their innocence, they went to trial and were subjected to the Witch Tests.

Tests that no one could actually pass but like, why let that stop ‘em?

My personal favorite had to be the ‘water’ test. You bind a suspected witch, hands and feet, and toss them into a vat of water. If they float, they’re a witch. If they don’t, they are found innocent.

Of course, the poor bastards drowned before they could hear those sweet words, ‘Not guilty.’ But, don’t bother me with trifles.

They also tested the defendant’s faith, asking them to recite the Lord’s Prayer or other scripture without screwing up. One misstep, and they were found guilty.

But, at least those that failed the previous tests didn’t have to go through the ‘scratch’ test. ‘Victims’ would scratch the accused until he or she bled. If the victim professed to feel better once the accused bled, they were proven to be a witch.

Innocent people were subjected to starvation, torture, and humiliating ‘body’ checks while housed in the prison basement awaiting trial. Women, particularly, were made to strip and their bodies poked and prodded. Examiners were looking for beauty marks, freckles, scars, and the aforementioned third nipple. All were said to herald contact with the devil.

My beauty mark-infested body would be in serious trouble.

In the end, 19 people were executed. Contrary to belief, none were burned at the stake. (Well, in the US anyway. Many were burned at the stake in Europe🤷‍♀️) In all but one instance, the ‘offenders’ were hung very shortly after trial (like a week later😢)

The convicted person who was not hung was named Giles Corey. Giles was said to be a grouchy curmudgeon of a man who catered to no one. He refused to make any kind of plea and was subjected to ‘pressing.’ Stones were laid upon his chest, one heavier than the next, until he succumbed three days later from traumatic asphyxia.

The others who died in this senseless campaign died in the prison from starvation, torture, or a combination of the two. The oldest to be accused was well in her seventies, the youngest just four-years old.

Dorcas Good, barely out of diapers, spent months in that prison while the courts decided what to do with her. During Dorcas’s imprisonment, her mother, Sarah, was hung. Her baby sister, born in the prison, died shortly after birth.

So, there you have it. Proof that hysteria is contagious and fear can make people do, and confess to, anything to save themselves.

Hoping you have a fabulous Halloween and, if this back story touched your heart as it did mine, dress up this year as a witch…a collective ‘na-na-na-boo-boo” to the three ‘P’s”—the Putnam’s, the Porter’s, and Samuel Parris.

Later, gators

—Q