Dr. William Griggs examines Betty Parris and declares
her possessed by the Devil.
In January of 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of
Salem Village became ill. When they failed to improve, the village doctor,
William Griggs, was called in. His diagnosis of bewitchment put into
motion the forces that would ultimately result in the death by hanging
of nineteen men and women. In addition, one man was crushed to death;
seven others died in prison, and the lives of many were irrevocably
changed.
To understand the events of the Salem witch trials, it is necessary to examine
the times in which accusations of witchcraft occurred. There were the
ordinary stresses of 17th-century life in Massachusetts Bay Colony. A
strong belief in the devil, factions among Salem Village fanatics and
rivalry with nearby Salem Town, a recent small pox epidemic and the threat
of attack by warring tribes created a fertile ground for fear and suspicion.
Soon prisons were filled with more than 150 men and women from towns surrounding
Salem. Their names had been "cried out" by tormented young girls
as the cause of their pain. All would await trial for a crime punishable
by death in 17th-century New England, the practice of witchcraft.
Trial of Rebecca Nurse
In June of 1692, the special Court of Oyer (to hear) and Terminer (to decide)
sat in Salem to hear the cases of witchcraft. Presided over by Chief Justice
William Stoughton, the court was made up of magistrates and jurors. The
first to be tried was Bridget Bishop of Salem who was found guilty and
was hanged on June 10. Thirteen women and five men from all stations of
life followed her to the gallows on three successive hanging days before
the court was disbanded by Governor William Phipps in October of that
year. The Superior Court of Judicature, formed to replace the "witchcraft"
court, did not allow spectral evidence. This belief in the power of the
accused to use their invisible shapes or spectres to torture their victims
had sealed the fates of those tried by the Court of Oyer and Terminer.
The new court released those awaiting trial and pardoned those awaiting
execution. In effect, the Salem witch trials were over.
As years passed, apologies were offered, and restitution was made to the
victims' families. Historians and sociologists have examined this most
complex episode in our history so that we may understand the issues of
that time and apply our understanding to our own society. The parallels
between the Salem witch trials and more modern examples of "witch hunting"
like the McCarthy hearings of the 1950's, are remarkable.
Education Department -
faq@salemwitchmuseum.com
