Salem Witch Trials

Have you ever wondered about the Salem Witch Trials? Who decided that someone was a witch anyway? I know I am glad that I did not live back then because many of the things we have fun doing today would be a reason to accuse us of being a witch. The year is 1692 and the people were becoming suspicious of some of the events in Salem. Several teen-aged girls were seen dancing in the woods and barking like dogs. Word of their behavior spread, and soon the girls were being examined by the town doctor. His diagnosis? The girls were bewitched of course! Can you imagine? The town’s church people demanded to know who put a spell on the girls; they insisted that the three girls give them a name of someone who taught them their witchy behavior. It turns out that there was a Reverend Samuel Parris that had a slave named Tituda. She had worked for the Reverend for many years and began spending a lot of time with his daughters. The girls told the townspeople that she was the one who had been teaching them spells. That was the beginning of the many fingers pointed at over 200 people that year. It was not only women that were accused; men, children, and even two dogs were accused of participating in witchcraft. Birthmarks and moles were believed to be a way for evil to enter a person’s body and take over their actions; strange last names, odd behavior, and being poor were reasons for people to be arrested and put on trial. At the end of 1692, 14 women, 6 men, and 2 dogs were killed by hanging for being witches. Like I said, I am so glad I did not live back then because I would have definitely been called a witch; would you?