The Salem Witch Trials

1
The Salem Witch Trials

• Nikole Gabrielle Castro

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What were the Salem Witch Trials, how long did
the trials go on for and why did it get so out of
hand?

• A series of hearings before county court to
  prosecute people accused of witchcraft. Trials
  took place in Salem Village, Ipswich, Andover and
  Salem Town.
• Over 150 people arrested and imprisoned.
• 26 went to trial before the court and were
  convicted.
• 14 women and 5 men were executed by hanging.
• One man crushed to death.
• 5 people died in prison.
• Lasted less than a year.
• Quickly got out of hand because nobody wanted to
  get in trouble so they blamed other people.

3
What were some beliefs about witchcraft and
witches people held in the past?

• Some people thought they held nocturnal meetings
  called sabbat
• At sabbat they did things like dancing naked,
  indulging in orgies and carrying out a parody of
  the catholic mass.
• Rumored to kill babies and eat them
• Some believed that witches could fly, could
  affect the fertility of animals, and could make
  humans ill or even kill them by magic

4
What were some beliefs about witchcraft and
witches people held in the past?

• When a witch made a pact with the Devil he left a
  mark (which was not necessarily visible) on their
  body and was insensitive to pain.
• One test to see if a person was a witch was to
  cut them with a blade on the mark. If they didnt
  flinch or draw blood they were a witch.
• Another test was to throw them into water, and if
  the water rejected them and they floated, they
  were a witch.
• Some people drowned and died during this test.

5
What sort of evidence was used to arrest accused
witches?

• Spectral evidence-testimony of the afflicted who
  claimed to see the apparition or the shape of the
  person who was allegedly afflicting them.
• Confessions of the accused themselves.
• Testimony of another confessed witch.
• Existence of so called witch's teats or
  Devils marks on the body of the accused.
• Discovery of poppets (i.e. voodoo dolls)
• Pots of ointments in the possession or in the
  home of the accused.
• (3)

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What options did an accused witch have in Salem?

• Could plead guilty, confess, and be forgiven,
  then executed.
• Could plead innocent, be tried, found guilty,
  then executed.
• All were hung.
• One person refused to enter a plea, so they
  tortured him to get him to plea either guilty or
  innocent.
• Put heavy rocks on his chest, but he refused and
  eventually suffocated.
• (1)

7
What are some possible explanations for the Salem
witchcraft trials?

• Tension and rebellion over the creation of a new
  church in Salem Village.
• Puritans did not view themselves as individuals,
  but rather one organism under God.
• Did not want anybody to stray from what they
  considered normal.

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Bibliography

• 1.http//coryfamsoc.com/resources/articles/images/
  Sal_hang.jpg
• TitleSlidehttp//law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/f
  trials/salem/salemexamof.jpg
• 3.http//unsolvedmysteries.wikispaces.com/file/vie
  w/witches.gif