The Accused: The Salem Witch Trials

Many villages, in the late 1600’s, were undergoing what we know today as with trials. The most famous one that sparked people’s interest was the one that took place in the village of Salem, Massachusetts. It all started with a group of girls blaming one girl in particular as being a “witch” and from that a ripple effect occurred. During this time the girls who were accused of being a witch held a certain stereotype. This stereotype included being very old and very poor. If someone was found guilty if witch crafted at this time, they were given a trail. The punishment for being found guilty of witchery was truly horrific. Examples of these punishments included: stoned to death, hung, or burned on a stake. The women found guilty were not only
In the seventeenth century virtually everyone in the Western world believed that the devil confederated with in human beings and either enable them to inflict by supernatural means or else did it for them (Morgan 48). Morgan also states in his article that “Others believed that both the devil and his witches could actually cause things like storms or sickness or fatal accidents.” So with beliefs like these going around the different villages, it made it very easy to believe when a group of young girls started acting out and faking sickness to blame one woman of witch craft. Also, in ancient time witch craft was viewed in some societies as a relatively respectable profession of its time. People would seek their help in time of need. Unfortunately, over time witch craft became frowned upon because of nonreligious review of it within the church. Due to this it adhered to the people’s negative takes on witches and started to associate them with the devil. With events like these could make its very easy for people to believe that witches could only be the clause of evil happening with in their
Making the spectral evidence of the accused pretty much the only need evidence needed to find them completely guilty along with a few other objects. To the point of making it impossible for the accused to even defend them in court. Like in any court, evidence is the main decision maker in any situation to charge someone of a crime. Unfortunately, in Salem the so call evidence was dependent on what the villager claims to have saw and assumptions that were heard throughout the village. The only other form of evidence they could go off of was if the accused owned an old doll within their home, which Morgan states, that it is a sign of a “witch mark.” The article explains the dolls were apart of witch craft known as paraphernalia, that practiced their magic on the dolls. This made it nearly impossible for the defense to win their trail, because there was no great tangible evidence to prove they were not a witch. Later they would be found guilty along with the given