THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS

On Halloween, young and old alike dress up as witches, ghosts, monsters, and other forms of apparitions in the American traditional way of celebrating All Saints Day (November 1) on the day before (October 31).  It’s all in good fun, but there was a time in this country when witches and witchcraft were taken very, very seriously.  In Salem, Massachusetts from February, 1692, to May,1693, more than 200 people (mostly women) were accused of practicing witchcraft, with thirty being found guilty, and nineteen of them executed.  At least five more died in jail awaiting trial.

Background:  Prosecuting individuals for witchcraft had been widespread in Europe from about 1400 AD to the mid 1600’s.  As many as 100,000 Europeans during this period were accused as having promoted or practiced witchcraft, and perhaps 40,000-60,000 were executed.  In North America, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was settled in the early 17^th century largely by religious dissenters who were looking to establish their own Bible-based religious societies.  A series of wars involving indigenous tribes resulted in an extraordinary number of refugees leaving the western areas and settling back along the eastern coast in towns like Salem.  Diseases such as influenza had spread through many settlements devastating the populations.  Neighboring Salem Village (modern day Danvers, Massachusetts) had a fractious population that often quarreled with its Salem Town neighbors over such things as property lines, grazing rights, and church privileges.  Salem Town had a difficult time maintaining a pastor for its church until it selected Samuel Parris in June, 1689.  Instead of helping parishioners work out their disputes, Parris chose to publicly punish those who committed even minor church infractions, making matters worse.  At the time of the witch trials, the atmosphere was so hostile that some serious conflict seemingly could not be avoided. 

Political/Religious Effect:  Works by two writers in particular during the mid to late 1600’s, Joseph Glanvill and Cotton Mather, sought to prove the existence of witches and apparitions, by claiming that denying their existence was tantamount to denying the existence of God Almighty.  Glanvill sought to ensure that such a denial made the individual a heretic.  Puritans dominated Parliament during the late 1600’s and also the governments of New England.  Their general belief at the time was that women were more susceptible to the devil’s temptations than men were.  The aforementioned quarreling often brought about charges of witchcraft as a method of retaliation or escalation.   Those women who did not conform to Puritan mores were more likely to be charged. 

The Rise of Mass Hysteria:  In February, 1692, three girls, ages nine to seventeen           started having fits that were described as not being within the realm of epilepsy.  The fits were highly animated with the girls’ throwing objects around the room, making strange sounds, crawling around and under furniture, and contorting themselves into unusual positions.  They collectively accused three older women of afflicting them with a mysterious disease.  One of the accused, Sarah Osborne, may have been set up for the charges by members of a rival clan.  Another one was a slave.  Each of the accused women were painted as social outcasts, and bore the characteristics of what became the usual suspect in a witchcraft accusation.  In March the girls accused four more women of similar straits, however, two of the newly accused were upstanding church members causing some concern and anxiety in the community.  Within weeks other girls came forth exhibiting the same behaviors as the first group.

Appearance Before a Magistrate:  A local magistrate court was the first authority that investigated the witchcraft cases, and the focus of the proceeding was to examine evidence.  The first victims had a physical examination performed by a doctor, who noted that in spite of no physical evidence of disease or abuse, the victims were apparently possessed by demons.  One of the witnesses before the magistrate court was a four-year old child testifying against her accused mother.  In April, the arrests began to appear in droves; in May more arrests followed, and numerous defendants landed in jail to await formal prosecution.  Some of the accused suspects managed to evade apprehension as it became apparent that a lynching mentality was growing.  At this point the magistrate’s proceedings were primarily investigative without legally establishing guilt.  However, on May 27, William Phips, the governor, ordered a Special Court of Oyer and Terminer (hear and decide) to be established to hear the cases, as the jails were become overcrowded.  Thirty-six more arrest warrants were issued, and the total number of defendants awaiting trial came to sixty-two.  One of the first three original defendants died in jail on May 10.

Special Court of Oyer and Terminer:  The first defendant to be brought before the Special Court of Oyer and Terminer on June 2, was Bridget Bishop, arrested during the April/May frenzy.  The Crown’s Attorney prosecuting the case before a grand jury pointed out that she was not living a Puritan lifestyle, wore black clothing or odd costumes that were not permitted by Puritans, and was immoral in character.  The grand jury handed down an indictment that Bishop was indeed a witch.  Later the same day, she was formally tried and convicted.  A week later she was hanged.  Interestingly enough, the court adjourned after Bishop’s execution until the end of June seeking guidance from influential pastors in the colony.  The answers to their queries were provided by Cotton Mather, who in a letter to the court, endorsed the vigorous and speedy prosecution of those accused of witchcraft.  In July the court reconvened and the grand jury handed down another thirteen indictments.  Five of the defendants went to trial immediately, were convicted, and were hanged on July 19.  In August another four were indicted, another seven convicted, and another five were hanged.  In September the madness continued with eighteen more indictments.  Fifteen were either convicted or plead guilty.  On September 22, there were eight more hangings.  One defendant refused to enter a plea and was tortured by having heavy rocks piled upon his body lying flat in a procedure known as “pressing.”  He died from the torture on September 19.  On October 12, Governor Phips returned from a military expedition into Maine, and ordered the Court to discontinue its proceedings (the governor’s wife had also been accused).  At that point the executions ended.

Superior Court of Judicature:  In January, 1693, the Superior Court of Judicature was created in Salem (Essex County) to replace the Special Court of Oyer and Terminer.  The first cases for the new court came from indictments in September, 1692, that had not yet been adjudicated.  All were found to be not guilty.  The grand jury dismissed the charges for many of the remaining defendants, but still indicted sixteen, of which only three were convicted.  The court ordered those three to hang, but they were pardoned by the governor.  Throughout the six months of accusations, indictments, and trials, the most significant evidence presented in court was known as “spectral evidence” where the victim of affliction claimed to see a vision of the accused individual performing the affliction. The magistrates pointed to the 1662 Bury St. Edmonds witch trial in England for a precedent that used spectral evidence in court. 

Conclusions:  The last trial was in May, 1693, but the survivors and families of many of those convicted went about to establish their loved ones’ innocence.  After numerous petitions with the government and the courts the survivors or family members of twenty-two defendants finally in 1709, received reversals of their loved-ones’ convictions, and compensation for their losses.  Perhaps the greatest benefit for our country’s future came with the black eye that the religious governments of the time received for conducting the trials in the first place. 

Sources:         Wikipedia, Salem Witch Trials.