How Did The Salem Witch Trials Cause Strange Behavior

The Salem Witch Trials began in spring 1692 in Salem Village, which is now known as Danvers. Believing in the supernatural was common in colonial New England since the 14th century after it first emerged in Europe. People believed specifically that the devil would give certain people, namely witches, the power to hurt others in exchange for their loyalty. Additionally, there were other recent events, such as a British war against France, a smallpox epidemic, fears of attacks from neighboring Native American tribes, and a rivalry with the more prosperous community of Salem Town, which is now known as Salem. “Amid these simmering tensions, the Salem witch trials would be fueled by residents’ suspicions of and resentment toward their neighbors, as well as their fear of outsiders” (“Salem Witch Trials”, n.d.).
In January 1692, Elizabeth Parris, the 9-year-old daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris, and her cousin Abigail Williams started to have violent fits, which included convulsions, contortions and outbursts of screaming. A local doctor, William Griggs, was the one who diagnosed witchcraft as he could find not natural cause of the strange behavior (EyeWitness to History, 2000). Soon after, other young girls also began having similar symptoms. (Starkey, 1949, p. 3-4; National Geographic, n.d.). The girls included Ann Putnam Jr.,
The judges in the court were Hathorne, Samuel Sewall, and William Stoughton. The first person to be convicted was Bridget Bishop on June 2, and she was hanged on June 10 on Gallows Hill in Salem Town. Five more people were hanged in July, five in August, and eight in September. (“Witchcraft in Salem”, n.d.) Seven other ‘witches’ died in prison, and the husband of Martha Corey, Giles Corey, was pressed to death by heavy stones because he refused to testify (Chappine,