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i was watching a documentarty on the salem witch trials and they also talked about vampires and werewolves. adn the theory was that there was a fungus that went airborn and got into the grain. so the bread that ppl were eating was causing delusions. (this is a theory)

when compared to the areas where the witch trials were held, and other areas where werewoves were "reported" it was discovered that the vicinity was where this certain grain was found.

i cant remember what that documentary was called but it was very interesting to say the least.

i dont think anyone will truley know what happened i myslef dont know much about the trials but i read a book on a fisrt hand acount and they said the torture the innocent people recieve was equivilent to hells wrath

I just feel bad for the unfortunate innocent souls that were lost in such a tragic time, and way. I believe that the society's misconception of witches got far out of hand, let alone take someone else's account.

I believe the tests were done because the people were different from them. So they tried to find ways around it and to hurt them.
Most of the tests they did on them, could have been done on anyone, and the same result would have happened.
But no one will ever know the true reason as to why this happened.

Theories as to why this happened. Like the Title suggest the topic is the Salem Witch Hunts/Trials itself. On what members here think themselves of what truly happened, to why it happened, comparing it to True Witchcraft, these so called "test" to prove what is truly not there, personal research in the trials and to why this was used as a escape goat for many different reasons. I put everything into my own words given my take on the subject at hand and now wish to hear others input or addition to which They feel should be added to the subject which was also sparked because of this during this same time period.

i dont think we will truly understand the thoughts behind that period of time

i've watched a few programs on them as well as read a book or two and there are a few theories, like the mold in the grain that was mentioned before
mainly, whether or not any were actual witches (although at least one probably was) it got way out of control, nearly everyone was accusing everyone else of it and their ways of testing if someone was a witch pretty much boiled down to torture or threats unless they confessed
those that confessed went unpunished and they went after the names they called 'witches'
i like the story of they one man they pressed to death by piling more and more boulders and rocks on him until he confessed..
all he said was 'more weight' until he was crushed to death
somehow those who refused to give in despite the death they were facing are a fine example of courage.
funny how the people in authority who led the hunt and so called 'trials' were never punished for their actions

sorry i went off on a rant ;]
basically i don't think it is possible to understand exactly what physically made the people who had the seizures have them... but the superstitious nature of people at the time lead to the hunts and trials

exactly in that time everyone was superstitous and they had to put it onto someone or somebody's.
I do not think we could ever know what they were thinking, for they were outragous thoughts to begin with.
But I do wish we could.

i agree
it must have been insane to be there at that time...
i wish we could know how it felt and exactly what they were thinking as they accused each other
communities were so tight back then like an extended family... i can understand it would be terrifying... but i'd love to know what was going through everyone's minds during that time

Hysteria and political agenda is what happened

I think that they just killed a lot of inocent people because they were diffrent than them...

of course part of it was them being different.
We still accuse people of things based on how the look or dress.
But they took a couple steps farther.

alot of people were persicuted because it turned the attention of others like the church and other higher figures. many people lost their lives and never had a chance. very heart breakening.

just imagine most of us living back in that time.
none of us would have a chance.
There were so many people against it, and so few for it, so no one could stand a chance.
It is a sad thought.

The Salem Witch trials happened at the end of the Reformation. The Catholic Chuch was challenged for the first time by the Church of England and the Lutheran Church in what is now Germany. There were lots of bloody wars between Catholics and Protestants during this period and unfortunately Jews, Gypsies, Witches and others were caught in the middle and received the worst of persecutions.

Here is a link to the "Witches' Hammer". This was the "Witch Hunting for Dummies" written for the church and used for about 300 years. The book has some interesting stuff in it:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/mm/index.htm

i did not have a chance to read the whole thing, but from what i did read it is very interesting.
They thought you were a witch if the 'devil' had had sex with you, and if you were accused your children would have been accused as well.

I think people were just looking for someone to punish during that time... Sick but true. Christians tend to judge too much

I think religion is not the factor. it was what people could not understand and accept for many christians were tried and kiled for being a witch.

well from what everyone is saying it seems like everyone back then had their own reasons for joining in on the 'witch hunt'.
be it they were different, or they just didn't like them.

I actually have an ancestor, named Susanna North that was hung and her body was thrown in a ditch after this trial.


It's amazing to me, because it's similar to crying rape on someone who is also innocent.
Even if your innocent, you still feel convicted.
Just making a comparison...

I agree that this happened at a whim and many innocent people were murdered for the sake of saving souls. It saddens me that this has repeated itself over the centuries in many different ways to include the insane and those of different colors or religions. This proves how powerful HATE can be. That is washes over people to believe the unbelievable.

I hope those of us that study our past will make sure we make our futures better.

I saw the same documentary on the fungus on the grain theory which may have been affecting peoples minds.
There was also the almighty dollar a stake, there were people, particularly a sheriff i believe that was collecting money and land from all of the accused/tried/convicted witches.
There was also accusations just to save yourself, which is so sad.
The Biggest reason of all I think is that witchcraft was strongly linked to Satan to those people then, and just as happens today, what we call Satanic Panic.

Pepper,

Your link to the Reformation was an excellent point. This time in religious history is a time of change and terror. Terror at changing and the terror that comes when you know a change is inevitable.

All:

The Salem Witch Trials had many influences. There was thought association that lead to mass hysteria. It was fear feeding on more fear. I have heard the fungus theory and see the logic to that theory.

My point is this: Whatever the theory, whatever the climate...it was a dark time in our history. People were killed in horrible manners in the name of God.

It is my hope that this practice stops.

what is really interesting is what my coven master posted about this in the coven fourn since i asked this in both locations is the fact that if people did so called confessed they would be stripped of all there land and it would be given to the other person

Most of it was from paranoia and misunderstanding of deseases that ran rampant through the time... what one does not understand one fears... A book that I have come across is
Barstow "Witchcraze; a New History of the European Witchhunts"

You can read some of the contents of the book here...

http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/book-sum/wichcrz.html

i used to be really interested, but there's just so many stories and articles about it that it's hard to keep up!

I think it's funny that pretty much the only people not accused of witchcraft in Salem were the ones who actually practiced it!

What I don't think is funny is how people can be so blind, even today. In our schools, many teach that the Salem Witch Trials were a piece of history brought about by ignorance (which is true, I think), but they way it's taught, it's implied that it can never happen again, because we're supposed to be "so much more enlightened now" than people were over 300 years ago.

Um...hello? Anyone remember the Red Scare of the 60's? Substitute the cries of "Witch! Witch!" with "Communist! Communist!", and it's the exact same thing all over again. And it's even happening nowadays, with cries of "Terrorist!" replacing those of "Witch!" or "Communist!"

Maybe there really is something to that old cliché: "Those who don't learn from the past are condemned to repeat it."

Ive been to Salem many times the energy there is different but many witches reside and gather there the museum is ok but its the history that makes you think and the ocean has healing properties

I totally agree with you on that... It seems that we are doom to repat the past... Through out time man has always been doing this same crime over and over. the names and the flags have changed but the same playing field and the same game begin reenacted to only bring forht more grief, sorry and pain to though who have nothing to do with what is going on.

It's sad to think that we are doomed to repeat our past mistakes... it's too bad that fear of the unknown is always around...

It is funny what people will do once mass hysteria kicks in. I mean, the wrongful persecution of all of those innocent people just because some little kid called them a witch. I have always been fascinated with witchcraft and the events that occured in salem.

It is very interesting to me that there are records in historical museums proving that three sisters known as the smithers sisters were all prosecuted in the salem witch hunts. They were dunked, dragged around the town by horses and burnt. When all of that did not kill them they were decapitated.

However, what amuses me is that among all of the information about the salem witch hunts/trials, these three sisters are not really mentioned. There is mention in one document i found a long while ago on the net that a triad of sisters whose names were unknown were decapitated as punishment for their craft. But alas i am finding it very difficult to locate now.

I would be very interested if anyone could point me in the right direction in this matter or maybe provide a link as I am very very interested in finding out as much as I can about these so called unknown (or smithers) sisters.

Blessed Be

M

Really you guys saw a Documentary?
I Heard about the same Grain theory on Animal Planet's the Most Extreme.

It terrifies me what people were like in those times and hope such things never happen again.

I am also related to Susanna North Martin small world huh.

From what I have read and what my family believes happened I feel a lot of the “witches” were just out spoken women. Back then woman did as they were told and did not question it so those who did clearly had to have something wrong with them i.e witches.

that's a good point, i hadn't thought of it from that point of view...
standing up for yourself and your beliefs was a huge no-no
even for the men in some instances

I believe in the concept of witches and i don't think that witches are stupid so that would lead me to the conclusion that the majority of people involved in the Salem witch trials were used as scapegoats for other purposes.

To me it all happened out of ignorance n fear.

Sam of the Vamps: Thank you for the timeline.

As I read I realized that while we think the Salem Witch Trials were based in a small town, it encompassed so much more.

Beshadowed Child and all:

I am a teacher of American History, in middle school. Because they are interested in the subject at that age, I often highlight the trials in my teaching.

Anytime I teach about intolerance or hate, I outline significant events in history that I teach my students. For example, when I teach the civil rights era I start at the constitution and work my way to the current time.

I have found that when you explain to a
child what intolerance and persecution is they can relate to the experience no matter what era it happened in.

When I teach about Salem I make sure to start in Europe where religious persecution was a factor and end at the Bill of Rights.

As educators, myself and most of my friends believe it is our job to keep the bad as well as what the state wants us to teach alive.

I believe ignorance of history leads to history repeating itself.

I agree with SerenityKylin........
We must remember that though I don't have the stats....I'm sure the number innocent women who died...far outnumbered any actual Witch.
I say innocent as in of Witchcraft....In life they were all innocent. In fact most of this actually dis start in england....People buned witches long before the pilgrims.
And continued in europe even after.
Lest we forget the Spanish Inquisition.
I weep for those who were needlessly lost. I for one think there might have been politics involved as well........

awesome article and leads to a great discussion hopefully I will be able to go to SAlem in the near future and walk the streets and see the Witch Musuem there

Great read! I attribute most of it to mass hysteria and the idiocy of a mob.

Fear and Religious persecution have been amongst the leading causes of senseless death over the centuries. The Salem Witch Trials were just another example of misuse of power granted by the church at that time. For more atrocities look to the Crusades and The Spanish Inquisitions.

Fear and not understanding the individuals. Remember the leader at that time were the one that ran that whole community. They were looked up to, and their word was law. Plus look at the way they tortured ppl to make them say either they or were not witches. Dunking, the rack and fire. Imaging the pain and fear that they individual on trail must have gone through. So some would have said anything just for the pain to stop.

I've got to agree with LordFangor. Mass hysteria can do incredible things. It's rather sad.

The mold theory sounds like that might have been what effected the girls and why they acted strangely. When the adults could not explain it, they looked for another explanation. Witch craft seemed like a good explanation as any. Once something like that starts then sometimes it is hard to stop the accusations from getting out of hand. Which is what I believe happen.

Most of the witch trials were just to get ride of of free thinking women and strong females in the community

I remember having to study this for my junior english literature exams. I loved it! Did you know the author was married briefly to Marilyn Monroe?

I agree with LordFangor


Hysteria and political agenda is what happened

my respnce is that anything that does not agree with judao christanity they will try to find a reasin to get rid of it ie kill it such is the case at salem

Well I do not think we will ever know the full truths about any witch trails. They persecuted many people for being a witch and children as well just for being different of believing in Nature and such, so it is still an age old case of fearing the unknown as I see it we still have people today that fear the unknown and think it is wrong if it is not within their beliefs... Just my opinion.

Again people fear what they do not understand.

You really want to know what happened.
I will tell you. I was there.
it was a combination of that and other things.
The childrens dislike of their parents and the fact that the men were afraid that women were gaining power.
Rather than let women become equal to them, the men would accuse them of selling their soul to the devil for power. So they burned them at the stake.
It was much easier than letting them have a say in what goes on in the houshold, government etc.

nobody had to be there to know that.

I have to agree with Beshadowed. Noone had to be there to determine that information. Such was the politial and social climate of the times.

Yeah it was something that had to do with the yeast that made the girls itch and they said that the woman was bewitching them. Probably the effect of induced hysteria...

Anytime you are diffrent from society, they will find some way to get rid of you and that is how they got rid of the old, sick and mentally retarded, is by saying they were witches then they could murder them and it was all legal...

All i know about the Salem Witch Hunts is that it was religous based and many were accussed because of their differences. This still happens today all over the world were we accuse ppl because of the race or beliefs. Only diffence is we dont burn or drown them nowadays...but it would be interesting to learn the truth someday

Merry meet,
It's simple the girls heard the tales of witchcraft, the stories appealed to them and back then no one knew of habitual liars, and those who faked for the simple pleasure of having those belive them, they were puritans serrious and worshiped god their own way, and those who did not follow were casted out where marked and left alone. well the girls just wanted to see something happen they wanted excitement one simply made a scene and the others followed just to see what would happen, bassically they were bord and in those days their only real intertainment was stroy telling, the girls wanted a the excitement, they facked ritualistic things and staged it all for the judge, and the rest of the town.
they really had a backwards way of doing things if they confessed they were able to be saved,and if they didnt they'd be hanged if they, denyed they were hanged, and those who were thought to keep information from the courts were also punished, it is truely facinating to look at this period in time, because you can see it from so many different veiws. bottom line the GIRLS WANTED TO SEE SOMETHING HAPPEN!!!!!!
BLESSED BE.



~AcEy~

To me, it was the basic, "You're different from me, so you must be evil." All through history, people have hated and destroyed all they fear or do not know. I'm a Pagan in a Christian community. Does that make me evil? No. But to these people, I'm a Satanist. And Pagans don't believe in Satan. Ahh, ignorance in all its glory.

If u watch the movie "The Crucible" it explains a lot. The girls who were "bewitched" were actually caught dancing naked in the woods. They didn't want to get in trouble so they said that Tituba..the slave..had bewitched them. But then Abigail..the leader..accused Elizabeth Proctor of being witch because she was having an affair with John Proctor. The way she accused Elizabeth was she knew that Elizabeth's servant girl..Mary Warren..had made Elizabeth a doll during court and had stuck the needle in the dolls stomach. So Abigail went to her uncle I believe and said that Elizabeth's spirit had came to her and stabbed her in the stomach. But Abigail had stabbed herself. Then the court tried to save the Proctors by making them sign a piece of paper saying that they were witches. But John tore the paper up and said "I have only one name" meaning he didn't want to be named a witch. Other people were accused. Goody Nurse was accused of killing a baby. The baby was actually still born. Another woman was accused because she said that a farmers pigs were going to die within the week. And they did. But not because of being bewitched...they were undernourished. Also someone else was accused because she touched a guys pig that was pregnant and the pig had a two headed pig. Then a man was accused of being a witch because he wouldn't sale his land to another man.

Basically...the girls made up a whole big lie. And by the time they were caught...Abigail had fled Salem. She stole her uncles money and left by boat. She tried to get John Proctor to go with her. The Salem witch trials were all based on false acusations that took innocents lives.

trixiemarie
i couldnt of said it better i agree so much misunderstanding

History in which follows a path of recycled travesties where only the change of a name but the same problematic occurrences becoming inflammatory.

Again I recommend that u watch the movie The Crucible.

Alot of states have a Salem in them , which state is the true one???

they were accused because there neighb0rsz wanted their land nd iif they were dead they c0uld keep the land. if there were killersz itsz pr0bably the same reas0ns that pe0ple kill t0day... cuz theyre crazy.

A lot of medical knowledge was not known at the time, so the people could not explain what happened if it was a mental thing. So many people threw around the word 'witch' at people just to get them back for something. It may have ruined some people's lives, but a lot felt that witches were a real threat. Who can know what happened then? Unless we have a first hand account, how can we be sure?

I did a research paper in college. The theory I believe was that the grain became tainted from improper storage, and turned bad, and caused some hysteria in some of the women. Also, these people back then were so uneducated. They had to find a scapegoat for anything that they didn't understand. If there is a hell, I hope all the Magistrates rot there.

FROM : www.eclectics.org.uk

The actor who plays Harry Potter villain Draco Malfoy is reportedly related to real-life witches.

Experts found actor Tom Felton is descended from convicts hanged during the Salem witch trials in 1692.

Researcher David Nelson said: "I have discovered concrete proof of a link between Tom and some of those who were executed. "He is a distant relative of John Proctor - who was hanged on August 19, 1692. I have informed Tom's manager about witches in his family tree."

Mr Nelson, of Salt Lake City, US, has been probing the Salem witches' history for four years. He found the teen star is also related to seven others involved in the most infamous witch hunt in history.

Another distant relative is Lt Nathaniel Felton, a defence witness in the trial sparked by two young girls suffering fits and mysterious illnesses in Salem, Massachusetts.

Felton, 19, has become a household name, appearing in all the films of JK Rowling's books as Harry's arch enemy at Hogwarts school...

everyone has such great out look on this topic, i agree with everyone i have nothing else to add thats what have been stated already

To understand why this happened we have to place ourselves in their time and have the same morals and beliefs they had. Also understand these people were in the middle of scary territory. Woodland when most came from cities in England. Times were different and yes, this was a sort of genocide on behalf of the citizens that did this.
The actions are not too distant from what religons do today in some societies and at a much greater lose. Everyone, culture/race, has been persecuted at one time or another, just be thankful that we did not lose as many lives as others have. If these horrible hangings did anything for us, it proved to the people of the world that if we were so dangerous, why was it so easy to kill us?!?

I saw a program on the History Channel about this a few months back . I believe it was caused by the girls who started it . And caused mass hysteria through out that colony .

one thing few ever mention about the salem witch trials is that not one individual who admitted they were witches were killed, only those who refused to plead, and refused to be forced into a confession, salem, although one of the more famous cases, is really very tame in the history of with burnings, there were earlier times in europe in which hundereds of thousands died in torture and on the stake.
from 1647-1684 over one thousand witches were convicted and hung in england, this was only one country, in one short historical span....the burnings lasted for centuries

Daermon is right, alot of "non witches" were killed, and they didn't care, it was better to be safe then sorry, i gurantee if that was how it was 90% of people on this site would be killed just for your beleifs, thats a good way to look at it, and some claim that witch hunters still exhist to this day, my ex fiancee once told me that some of her ancestors were killed in the witch trials...

lmao... everyone seems to know the answer, and yet no one was there and all the stories are different for the most part... why don't we all use our imagination and go through time and see what happened...

What I think is the answer will be found when it is time to be found

Witches will always be criticized for what they are, nothing has really changed, eccept for the killing part, but most people still think if a persons a witch they are nuts...

I think it was all started by some one that was jealous of some one else so they called them a "Witch" and everything went down hill from there.

All of the people that where involved in the Salem Witch hunts and trails where victims of stupidity. Sad thing is that many had to die before it was seen this way.

The madness of the religous fanatics at that time was out of control and they were trying to find any issue to go after.

Whether the topic is the Salem Witch Hunt and Trials or any period of history where those who are different are called something they are not is irrevelant. The so-called witches of Salem wer e not practioners of magic. In most cases, they were woman who were widow or spinisters. The young ladies who started the whole thing were either attention seeking whores or paranoid. It is a good quess they were suffering from one delusion or another.

I am Wiccan and I'm happy to say it. But, if I would have said it back then... it would get me burned at the stake. Our world today may not be much better, but at least it's a BIT more understanding.

the best answerr i can come up with is mass hysteria...i had also read that about fungus being in the air and affecting them...so many theories abound...but the one book i have the history of demonology and witchcraft has some trial documentation from that time...its very interesting....

a very informative book on the subject is
"witch hunt, history of a persecution"
by Nigel Cawthorne
isbn 1-84193-184-5
the isbn is for those trying to order it

The salme trails and hunts have always fasicated me i have always been curious

the salem trails have always been interesting to me and you all have different views,so from what i have gathered,the trails started over nothing and people made very sad excuse of an end to it.the one thing MOST of you agree on is it was sad and pointless. . .

idiots really do know how to get freaked out.

There will always be competing theories about what exactly went on in Salem. I have read about the wheat fermenting in such a way that it was as if the village was tripping on acid. There is ofcourse the notion that it was a couple of kids just being kids. The least likely (in my mind) is that the young girls that starting the whole thing were witches.

certain molds and spores in wheat can cause an effect of paranoia and some mild hallucination, add this to an already existannt group of attention seekers, and some religious extremism...and you have a bad mixture...

So true that there are so many theories out there as to why and how it happened... But the fact still remains that this is also a important part of this period in time. But what makes matters worse this was done in a country that formed because of oppression of religion and for freedom of religion to only do what this country was originally formed because of oppression of religion...

when reading this the first thing to pop into m mind was the play "cruiple" by arhur miller, and in that book, or play it was like that, kids needing a butt wopping, who were also bing incuraged by the parents to see things for personal, gain,

what i wonder if these people who were accused, why didint they use the hell power to escape, i mean back then i would have asked that question about the accused

I have read soo much about the salem witch trials. I think what happened was, since in the early days, everyone was so strong for religion, and so into condemning abominations of the devil, it was easy for revenge. I think one day, someone got it in their head and called someone a witch, which put the whole town into shock, so much as to find this "witch" and destroy him or her. Then, they thought, there must be more... so what then? They accused more... and more....innocent people died. Another approach that can support this, is people can be sick, and love to se those whom they hate put in pain through bloodsport. Look at the gladiators... they killed eachother for public entartainment. Look at the death sentence with the hangings and the old-time electric chair deaths. People from miles around would come to watch just to see pain, suffering, and death. The savage part of our humanity fed upon these.

the trial transcripts in the book i have gave one simple explanation...most of the hysteria was caused by children...it came down to they didnt like this old lady or this old man...the way they looked..had too many black cats etc.....crops failed they were looking for a scapegoat is what i got out of it...

Daermon - you think those who we're bedeviled by witches were in fact tripping on ergot?

I'd say the real answer is probably far more perverse. When not simply an example of misogyny and persecution of common midwives by the new breed of 'surgeons' and barbers, then jealousy, vindictiveness, petty vanity and greed were often the most likely reasons that someone was accused of witchcraft.

If one looks at the sheer volume of examples in which normal middle eastern citizens in Iraq and Afghanistan were turned over to US troops as 'terrorists' by their tribal enemies or business competitors for rewards or to gain access to their land, clients, and home, one can clearly see that it doesn't take much to have someone bearing false witness.

Whitch hunts are part of human nature. We shun and punish those who don't conform to the statis quo. Of course the brutality level has been a bit reduced, but we still persicute masses of people on a daily basis. Our government incourages it. In the 50's it was your duty to turn in your neighbor for being a "commie". Now the 'Patriot Act' is asking us to turn them in as "terrorists". We will never learn. I guess the real moral of the story is "don't piss off your neighbor".

I couldn't agree more...though I'd say the lesson is more like don't even bother getting to know your neighbor because the less they know the less they can use it against you.

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