Witch Hysteria Timeline

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Witch Hysteria Timeline

• By Justin Barkhouse

December 14, 2007 English 12, cycle green Mr.
Sheppard
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Witches Arent so Bad

• Before the 15th century, witchcraft was against
  the law, but this law was seldom enforced.
  Witchcraft was not seen as the horrible act of
  evil that it came to be in the later centuries.
  Witchcraft was associated with strange rituals,
  magic charms, love potions, demons, and spirits.
  However the lenient laws on witchcraft started to
  change in the 15th century.

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15th Century It Begins

• The beginning of the 15th century brought about a
  change in how witchcraft was looked at. The
  catholic church deemed witchcraft to be a
  dangerous heresy. People who practiced witchcraft
  were considered to be servants of the devil, who
  vowed to destroy the church and bring evil onto
  gods people. The idea that most witches were
  women formed in this era.

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Malleus Maleficarum

• 1486 Two scholarly inquisitors, Kramer and
  Sprenger, published a volume which became the
  handbook for witch hunters in many countries.
  The book, titled Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer
  of the Witches) explained what witchcraft was,
  where witchcraft had spread, and how to discover
  and convict witches.

Cover of the 7th edition
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England Joins the Hunt

• Geographically and psychologically separated from
  the European mainland, it wasnt until
  mid-sixteenth century that England finally made
  witchcraft a crime punishable by death and joined
  the witch hysteria.
• 1563 During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a
  statute against the practice of witchcraft was
  passed.

• 1566 The famous Chelmsford Trials, where three
  women are tried and hanged for bewitching village
  children. These trials set the pattern for other
  English trials and brought witchcraft fully to
  England.

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How to Spot a Witch in the 15th Century

• Can the suspected person fly?
• Have you seen the person cast spells, bewitch
  people, or work magic?
• Have you seen the person turn into an animal
• Has the person rejected god? (ex not going to
  church, not praying, praising the devil)
• Have you been attack by their spirit?
• Has the person ever said sabbat instead of
  Sabbath?

If you answered yes to any of these questions,
you may have a witch on your hands. Please
contact your church immediately.
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King James the 1st

• 1597 King James the 1st, a believer of
  witchcraft, imposed stiffer penalties for witch
  offenses. He published a book, Demonology, which
  supported the belief and punishments of
  witchcraft. This book made the subject of
  witchcraft more accepted in English society.

King James the 1st
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England and the Witchfinder General

• 1645 In the midst of civil strife, witch
  persecution reached its height in England.
  Matthew Hopkins, nicknamed the Witchfinder
  General, lead a campaigned through various
  English countries discovering witches. He
  accomplished this usually through trickery and
  torture. Hopkins is responsible for the deaths of
  200 people.

Matthew Hopkins
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Transplanted Fears

• 1677 John Websters volume, The Displaying of
  Supposed Witchcraft, and later in the 1680s,
  Joseph Glanvills Saducismus Triumphatus, helped
  to spread the support of witchcraft. Typical
  English men and women now believed in the
  existence of witchcraft. These beliefs and fears
  were brought over seas to the New World, which
  was North America. Also the use of spectral
  evidence was brought with them, which is key at
  the events of Salem Village.

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Salem Village The Beginning

• 1630s A Great Migration of English Puritans
  come to New England, bringing with them their
  beliefs and fears of witchcraft.
• 1637 Salem Village is settled. For many years
  Salem Village is know for its land disputes and
  church controversies.
• 1689 Samuel Parris becomes the minister of
  Salem village. Things in the village settle down,
  or so it seems.

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Salem Village The Hysteria Begins

• 1691 Abigail Williams, Parriss eleven-year-old
  niece, and Betty Parris, his nine-year-old
  daughter, start to exhibit wild and unusual
  behavior. The situations gets worse when more
  girls start to exhibit the same behavior. The
  village doctor, William Griggs, concludes that
  the evil hand is upon the children. The witch
  hysteria begins. After much continuous insistence
  from their elders, the suffering girls name three
  women, who were supposedly tormenting them with
  their invisible specters.

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Salem Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live

• 1692 - Judges Danforth, Hawthorn, and Cheever
  preside over the trials of the accused witches.
  By accepting the use of spectral evidence, most
  of the accused are found guilty.
• May 1692 Over one hundred and fifty people
  accused of witchcraft are in jail.
• July 19th 5 convicted witches are hanged
• August 19th 5 more witches are hanged
• September 22 8 witches are sent to the hangman

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Andover Takes a Hit

• Spring 1692 Ann Putnam and Mary Walcott, two of
  the most believable girls of Salem are sent to
  the town of Andover to see if witches are
  present. They discover over forty witches. This
  sends the town into the worst crisis it has ever
  known.

A Witch trial
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Salem - Spectral Evidence Gets the Boot

• September 19, 1692 After the 19 witches are
  killed, the trials are unexpectedly suspended.
  Over 150 people are still in jail awaiting
  trials.
• January 3, 1693 The trials began again, but the
  use of spectral evidence is no longer valid. That
  being the main evidence against accused witches,
  most were determined to be not guilty.
• May, 1693 The governor brings an end to the
  witch situation by proclaiming a general jail
  delivery of pardon. All accused Witches were
  free to go after paying their jail fees. The
  Witch hysteria is over.

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Really, That Many

• Here are some dates and how many people were
  killed for supposed witchcraft.
• Geneva, Switzerland 1515 500 people executed
• England and Scotland, 1500-1600 200 people a
  year are killed
• Germany, late 15th, early 16th centuries
  thousands are burned as witches
• Salem Village, 1692 19 witches are killed

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Witch Burnings
Of the many ways that witches were executed, the
burnings in Germany were some of the most
gruesome
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The Aftermath

• 1695 Thomas Maule, a defendant in the Salem
  witch trials, publishes the book Truth Set
  Forth. The book condemns the Salem trials and
  attacks the those responsible for the trials. He
  is charged with slander and blasphemy against
  the churches and government of this province.
  Not guilty is his verdict.
• 1697 Reverend Parris, the person who many
  people thought to be responsible for the death
  and suffering during the Salem witch hysteria,
  leaves the Village, and never returns.
• 1711 Some of the accused witches and their
  families finally receive legal apologies and
  compensation for the loss of property and
  distress. Though, for some, it will be 200 years
  after the events at Salem before their names will
  be cleared by a resolution passed by the
  Massachusetts Legislature.
• 1752 Salem Village separates from Salem town,
  and its name is change to Danvers. This new name
  removes the stigma that its previous name had.

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The End