In January of 1962 several adolescent girls became fascinated by Tituba's, the servant of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village, stories of natural magic and island culture. Two of the girls were related to Samuel Parris, Abigail Williams and Betty Parris, while others were children of his supporters. It is said that the girls were conjuring spirits and fell ill. William Griggs, the village doctor, was called in when they failed to improve. He diagnosed that Abigail and Betty had been bewitched, thus starting the Salem Witch trials. Afraid of being accused of witchcraft the girls subsequently named the people who supposedly bewitched them. Anyone who experienced any loss believed the outrageous accusations of the hysterical girls as confirmation of what they already suspected.
The play, The Crucible, is about a group of girls that go dancing in the forest with a black slave named Tituba. While dancing, they are caught by the local minister, Reverend Parris. One of the girls, Parris’s daughter Betty, falls into a coma-like state. People gather in the Parris home while rumors of witchcraft fill the town. With the fear of being accused of witchcraft, the girls start accusing others of bewitching them. Abigail Williams