University of Miskolc
English Language and Literature Department
Institution of Modern Philology
Thesis
The Salem Witch Trials
Written by: Németh Melinda
Consultant: Láng Viktória
English Studies BA
Senior Lecturer
Miskolc
2014
1
“Once you have replaced negative thoughts with
positive ones, you will have positive results.”
Willie Nelson
2
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................ 4
1.
Background of The Salem Witch Trials .................................................... 6
1.1 Historical background of the existence of withces ........................................ 6
1.2 Biblical background of witch trials ............................................................... 6
1.3 Forming the Massachussetts Bay Colony...................................................... 7
2.
The case of Goody Glover ........................................................................... 9
3.
The Salem Witch Trials .............................................................................. 11
3.1 Tituba, the black slave ................................................................................... 12
3.2 More accused ................................................................................................. 13
3.3 The government of Salem.............................................................................. 14
3.4 The end of the trials ....................................................................................... 16
4.
Possible reasons of the Salem Witch Trials ............................................... 17
4.1 Salem Village and Salem Town .................................................................... 17
4.2 Salem Village’s church .................................................................................. 18
4.3 Purintan life ................................................................................................... 19
4.4 Mass hysteria ................................................................................................. 20
4.5 Ergot poisioning ........................................................................................... 21
4.6 The Indian Wars ........................................................................................... 21
5.
Mercy Short’s case....................................................................................... 24
5.1 Cotton Marther .............................................................................................. 25
6.
The events in Northampton ........................................................................ 26
6.1 The First Great Awakening ........................................................................... 26
Conclusion ................................................................................................... 28
Bibliography ................................................................................................ 30
Summary (Hungarian) .............................................................................. 32
Appendix .................................................................................................... 33
3
Introduction
The witch trials took place between the
15th and 18th century across Europe and
in North America. Toward the end of the
seventeenth
century
in
European
countries thousands of witches were
executed. In 1641, The English law made
witchcraft a capital crime and many
people were sent to prison and put on a
Picture 1
trial. Their punishment was death.
(Witches www.hauntedamericatours.com)
www.hauntedamericat
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 is a well-known witch trial of the history which
caused that twenty people were hung, fifty-five people confessed that they were
witches, and a hundred and fifty were in jail. Unfortunately, not The Salem trials were
the only witch cases in the history.
The roots of the belief in witches go back three hundred years when people began noticing
strange things occurring in their lives. They became ill, started strange behaviour without
any physical evidence. They soon find out the reason of the occurrences: the existence of
witches who have made a pact with the Devil and served him in exchange for their power.
To save themselves, people began campaigns to stop the witches from doing their evil
work.
These
campaigns
have
taken
extreme
actions
against
witches.
Mary Parson had the first witch trial in the British colonies in 1645 and the witch trials in
the colonies soon continued.
In my dissertation, I’ll write briefly about three witch cases which can be linked.
Although, they happened in different times and different places, we can find some
connections between them. The main topic is The Salem witch trials, but one other event
can be seen as a kind of precedent of it, the other two cases show example when two
similar events had really different outcomes.
The first case happened in 1688. Ann Glover’s case should be seen as a prior
event of the Salem witch trials, because her final words which preceded her execution
were enigmatic and served as a fuel on the fire of Salem events which started in the
4
house of Reverend Samuel Parris in 1692, when his daughter Betty Parris and the
Reverend’s niece, the 11-year-old Abigail Williams started to behave strangely. The girls
screamed, threw things in the room, uttered strange sounds and contorted themselves into
peculiar positions. They also complained of being pinched and pricked with pins. These
syndromes led to one of the best-known witchcraft hysteria in history.
However, during the Salem events in the winter of 1692-93, in Boston, the 17-year-old
servant girl, Mercy Short with the same syndromes was quite close to that religious revival
which was achieved in Northamptonshire in 1735. In both cases, the syndromes of the
suffering girls’ were the same, but the outcomes of the events were absolutely different.
There were four witchcraft cases which can be connect to each other:
1688:
Ann Glover, Boston area
1692:
The Salem Witch Trials
1692-93 winter:
Mercy Short, Boston
1735:
Abigail Hutchinson, Phebe Barlet, Northampton
How is it possible that the same events had quite different outcomes?
The answer can be found in Willie Nelson’s words:
“Once you have replaced negatives thoughts with positive ones, you will have positive
results.”
In the first part of my thesis, I write about the origin of withes, the historical and
biblical background of these creatures and the forming of Massachusetts Bay Colony
where the events took place.
After this introduction, in the main part of my thesis, I enumerate the three
previously mentioned witch cases, but I focus on The Salem Witch Trials and its possible
causes.
In the last part of my thesis, I write about the fourth case, the events that happened
in Northampton and led to a religious revival instead of witch craft hysteria. I try to find
an explanation for the different outcomes of the four cases.
I close my thesis with a conclusion.
5
1. Background of The Salem Witch Trials
1.1. Historical background of the existence of witches
The witch trials took place between the 15th and 18th centuries across Europe and in
North America where many witches were executed. Being a witch was a crime and also a
sin. In 1641, The English law made witchcraft a capital crime, and this crime was
strengthened by the Bible’s words.
Many people were sent to prison and put on a trial. Their punishment was death. The peak
of these trials was about 1580 and 1630 and the end was marked by the Witchcraft Act of
1735 in Great Britain.
The witch crafts started in the 15th century in Europe when the peasants and
farmers used magic for farming and in order to have better harvest. This concept spread
through Europe to North America in the 17th century and made a belief in supernatural
powers. The „white magic” soon turned into „black magic” and became associated with
witches and the evil. Puritans believed in the existence of God and also in the existence of
the Devil whose servants were the witches. According to the Puritan’s belief, the Devil was
an angel who had rebelled against God and fell from his grace. He worked in continual
opposition to God, tempted men and women to sin, invite them to join and serve him. In
most of his actions the Devil was invisible and only the results of his work could be seen.
In other cases, he was seen in the form of a dog or other animals.
From 1560 to 1670, witchcraft persecutions spread quickly and became generally
recognized phenomena both in Europe and in the Puritan New England. Those who were
bewitched behaved strangely, experienced paralysis and rigidity, animal imitation, odd
contortion and the sensation of pricking, pinching or burning of the skin.
1. 2. Biblical background of witch trials
In the witch cases, all the accused people were the victims of an old Biblical
statement which could be responsible for the insanity of the Salem Witch Trials and the
death of innocent people.
In Salem, the church and the state connected together which resulted that the laws
were the mixture of biblical passages and colonial statutes. According to Mark Podvia, the
6
General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony adopted the following statute in 1641: “If
any man or woman be a witch, that is, hath or consulteth with a familiar spirit, they shall
be put to death”. In addition, other Biblical passages were used as a law in witchcraft
cases, as the Holy Bible, King James version where Exodus (22:18) stated: “Thou shall
not suffer a witch to live.” Leviticus (20:27) prescribed the punishment: witches and
wizards” shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall
be upon them.”
According to the Bible, the British Common Law and the Laws of Massachusetts being a
witch was the most frustrating sin, because the crime was not committed by the accused
person, but by those spirits who appeared in his or her shape. The sin of those accused was
only that they let the Devil to take on his or her shape, or they entrusted the Devil to do the
vile action which was done only in theory and not in a concrete action. It was quite
difficult to find evidence. (Boyer, Nissenbaum, 2002. p. 31.)
It frustrated the magisters because the courts relied on just three ridiculous types of
evidences: Confessions, Testimony of two eyewitnesses to acts of witchcraft and Spectral
evidence. (Louis, 2012.)
The use of Spectral evidence was criticised by Cotton Marther who was a key figure in
Salem events, and also in the Boston witch case, as it can be seen later in my thesis.
1.3. Forming the Massachusetts Bay Colony
In 1620, a group of Pilgrims left England and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to
find religious freedom in New England. On December 21, 1620, they formed a settlement
called Plymouth. The movement continued and not only Pilgrims left England. The Great
Migration lasted from 1629 to 1640 and during this time many thousands of English people
went to New England because of political, religious and economic problems. They wanted
to find there religious freedom and purify the church.
In 1629, King Charles granted a group of Puritans and merchants a charter to settle
in New England and one year later a group of Puritans left England.
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Picture 2 (A group of puritans left England, www.epicworldhistory.blogspot.com)
They believed to have a convent and with the help of God they could build an ideal
community. One of their first leaders was John Winthrop, who had an idea about an ideal
community, ”a city upon a hill.” (O'Callaghan, 1990. pp. 16-18.)
These Puritans arrived well-prepared with a large amount of livestock and tools. They
traded with Plymouth colony and faced only a little resistance from the inhabitants, the
American Indians.
In 1691, Boston area and Plymouth combined under the name of Massachusetts where the
politics and religion was close to each other. The leaders of the governments were also the
leaders of the church. This caused many troubles and could be seen as one possible reason
for the outbreak of Salem witch trials.
It is difficult to say what exactly caused the Salem tragedy because scientists had many
possible different ideas. According to one idea, Goody Glover’s case in Boston strongly
connected to the outbreak of Salem events in the sense of her final words which stated:
there were other witches next to her in Salem during that period. This statement was a fuel
on the fire of Salem witch craft hysteria.
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2. The case of Goody Glover
Ann Glover or known as Goody Glover came from Ireland. When she was a young
child, she was captured by Oliver Cromwell and sold with her husband as slaves. They
were sent to Barbados where her husband was allegedly executed, because he would not
renounce the Catholic Faith. Glover escaped with her child, settled in Boston area and they
became the servants of John Godwin. In 1688, the 13-year-old Martha Goodwin accused
the daughter of Ann Glover of stealing fabric and sent her out of the house in tears. It was
said that Ann wanted to protect her daughter but the words became loud shouts, and Ann
shouted at Martha so vehemently that she was taken ill. In the following days the other
Goodwin children began to fall ill. The father, John Godwin, asked a doctor to diagnose
them, but the doctor could not find any medical evidence for the illness, so he told the
father that evil spirits were at work. Immediately, Ann Glover was accused of being a
witch and it was said that she caused the illness. People didn’t know what to do, so Cotton
Marther prayed for the Goodwin children, but their illness continued. Ann Glover was
summoned before the Magistrates and ordered to repeat the Lord's Prayer in order to
decide if she is a witch or not, because according to puritan belief those who could say the
Lord’s Prayer would not be a witch. Ann Glover was not a native speaker so she wanted to
say it in Gaelic, which was the Irish people’s language. She said most of the prayer but she
could not complete it, so the Magistrates were convinced of her guilt and sent her to jail
where she was waiting for trial. Soon the Goodwin children were getting better, but the
investigation continued against Ann. The investigations found out the fact that Ann Glover
was Roman Catholic. The Protestant end of the pray is: "For the kingdom, the power and
the glory is yours, now and forever", but in the case of the Catholics this ending was
missing so this was the reason why she could not complete the prayer. She said it in a
Catholic form so her punishment was unnecessary.
The events were written by Cotton Marther in his book as follows:
“About Midsummer, in the year 1688, the Eldest of these Children, who is a Daughter,
saw cause to examine their Washerwoman, upon their missing of some Linnen ' which
twas fear'd she had stollen from them; and of what use this linen might be to serve the
Witchcraft intended, the Theef's Tempter knows! This Laundress was the Daughter of an
ignorant and a scandalous old Woman in the Neighbourhood; whose miserable Husband
before he died, had sometimes complained of her, that she was undoubtedly a Witch, and
that whenever his Head was laid, she would quickly arrive unto the punishments due to
9
such an one. This Woman in her daughters Defence bestow'd very bad Language upon
the Girl that put her to the Question; immediately upon which, the poor child became
variously indisposed in her health, an visited with strange Fits, beyond those that attend
an Epilepsy or a Catalepsy, or those that they call The Diseases of Astonishment.”
(Marther, 1692. p. 23.)
When Glover was taken out to be hanged her final words were enigmatic. According to
some, she said that the children would continue to suffer because there were other
witches besides her who had been involved in their affliction. When asked to name these
others, she refused to give an answer.
Another account says that Glover said that killing her would be useless because it must
have been someone else, not her, who was responsible. When asked who, she said she did
not know. These words were really important in Salem events, because these words stated
that there were other witches in Salem area. (Anti-Catholicism in the Salem Witch Trials;
retrieved from http://www.unamsanctamcatholicam.com)
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3. The Salem Witch Trials
The mania which led to a series of denotations, trials and fear started at the house of
Reverend Samuel Parris, when his daughter Betty Parris and the Reverend’s niece, the 11year-old Abigail Williams, were spending time with Parris’ two Caribbean servants, Tituba
and John Indian. In the evenings, Tituba entertained Betty and her cousin Abigail Williams
by the kitchen fire.
This
evening
entertainment
secretly
spread among the neighbourhood girls,
and soon a small group of girls—known
as the “circle girls”—were joining Tituba
around the fire. The servants told voodoo
stories to Betty, Abigail and 3 or 4 other
9-17-year-old girls and they played
fortune telling games, which activities
were strictly forbidden by Puritan code.
Picture3 (Tituba and the girls,
www.bu.digication.com)
The girls soon started writhing in pain, insensate with convulsive twitching, occasionally
accusing fellow townsfolk of being witches who tormented them. They screamed, threw
things in the room, uttered strange sounds and contorted themselves into peculiar positions.
They also complained of being pinched and pricked with pins. (Woolf, 2000. pp. 457-460.)
These symptoms soon made people to see a parallel between the Boston and Salem events,
because these girls behaved as the Goodwin children in Boston in 1688.
In the case of the Goodwin children, the doctor did not find any medical evidence
and the same happened in Salem, too when Reverend Samuel Parris also asked a doctor,
William Griggs, come to Salem Village, but he once again could not find any physical
evidence of any aliment so he stated that the girls’ problem might be of supernatural origin.
Moving cautiously, Parris called in some fellow ministers and asked for their advice. They
suggested fasting and praying, the method Cotton Mather had used in curing the Goodwin
children four years earlier. They planned a meeting at the Parris house for a fast day and
11
suggested keeping the matter in quiet, but soon other girls in the village started to behave
the same way. When Denoat Lawson, a former minister of the town, preached in the Salem
Village meetinghouse, he was interrupted several times by outbursts of the afflicted girls.
Not knowing what to do, the neighbour suggested baking a „witch cake” to find out who
afflicted them. The Salem Witch Trials Glossary explained, the witch cake was made of
rye and the urine of the afflicted girls then fed to a dog. The dog will show who is a witch.
It was believed the dog was a “familiar,” or witch’s helper, and by eating the cake, the
spell would be broken and the identities of the witches would be revealed.
According to the Bostoniano, Boston’s Italian-American Voice, Cotton Mather saw the
same events in Boston and because having experiences, he claimed that the children be
oserved by him and other misisters but this request was refused. Later he wrote a letter to
the Salem judges to raise attention for caution, but encourage them to pursue the witches.
He urged the judges to consider spectral evidence and to consider the confessions of
witches the best evidence of all.
The refusing of his advice caused the news spread
quickly in Salem Village.
The girls accused three women in the village of being witches. They all were from lower
social groups: Tituba, a slave, Sarah Good, a homeless beggar and Sarah Osborn, who
married a servant.
3.1. Tituba, the black slave
The black slave, Tituba, was a centre figure in Salem witch trials. “Tituba was a
17th-century slave, belonging to Samuel Parris of Danvers, Massachusetts. She was one of
the
first
to
be
accused
of
practicing
witchcraft.”
(Tituba,
retrieved
from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tituba).
She was an Indian woman, originally from an Arawak village in South America. She was
captured in that village in her childhood and was taken to Barbados as a captive, sold into
slavery
and
became
the
slave
of
Reverend
Samuel
Parris.
Her black skin caused many problems in her life because she was as black skinned as the
Wabanaky Indians, the enemies of the new colonies. “Tituba was associated with them,
often called various names by the Villagers, such as "Tituba Indian," "the Indyen woman,"
and "titbe an Indian Woman," (Norton, 2003. p.21).
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Tituba was accused of being a witch and was taken in a trial. At first she denied being a
witch but Samuel Parris beat her until she confessed herself a witch. As I have seen in a
YouTube documentary film, she was telling a story: She said that she saw a man who told
her to serve him, but she said no. According to her words, it was a tall man with dark hair,
wearing black clothes. Sometimes he appeared in a form of a hog, sometimes as a great
black dog. When she said these words, the afflicted girls started to repeat: “Sometimes as a
hog, sometimes as a big black dog.” (Salem Witch Trials Documentary, 2013. retrieved
from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGDOANWfaac ) In that time, many dogs were
killed, too. Then Tituba continued that she saw a yellow bird. The afflicted girls repeated
her sentences again. “Tituba, though, was not completely stupid. She went from being an
accused, to being an accuser, and it probably saved her life. She named Sarah Goods and
Sarah Osborne as her cohorts.” (Miller, 1988. p.14.) She was taken into jail with the two
others whom she accused and then she mentioned other names like Marha Corey, which
was very amazing because Martha was a church member.
“On February 29th of 1692, Tituba, alongside other women, was sent to Ipswich Prison to
await her destiny. Although Tituba was one of the accused to stay in prison the longest, on
May 9, 1963 she was set free from prison, and to be sold to an unidentified person, because
her slave owner, Parris, refused to pay the costs of her imprisonment” (Norton, 2003. p.
292).
According to Jason C.’s work, titled Confession vs. Denial: Judged as a Witch
during the Salem Witch Trials the accused people were in a bad situation. They had an
opportunity to decide their own fate as Tituba. The accused had an opportunity to choose
to confess or deny practicing witchcraft. None of them was a good choice. They would
lose
their
property,
get
thrown
in
jail
or
even
get
hanged.
When someone was accused of being a witch, he or she had a chance to confess. If that
person confessed, he or she would be released from jail. One such “witch” who confessed
was Mary Toothaker. She claimed that she had made a pact with the Devil to protect her
from Indian attacks. Mary was released from jail after her confession.
3.2. More accused
Besides Tituba, one other accused was Sarah Good, who often begged for food
and shelter from neighbours. People did not like her appalling reputation. She was accused
13
of rejecting self-control, which was puritan expectation. Sarah Osborn also did not care
about the strict Puritan rules and she rarely attended church meetings. One of her big
mistakes was her marriage with a servant. The other was that she wanted to control her
son’s inheritance from her previous marriage. She died in jail on May 10, 1692.
The accusations continued and in March the girls accused Martha Corey and Rebecca
Nurse who differed from the previously accused women. Before the accusations, they were
respected in Salem. Martha Corey was a full covenanted church member of Salem Village.
Her accusation stated that if such a religious woman could be a witch, then anybody could
be. After it there was no more protection for church members. Martha Corey’s case was a
turning point, because after her case the accusation did not prevent the members of the
upper social classes.
The accused women’s number grew rapidly. In March, other
accusations followed against Dorothy Good in Salem and against Racher Clinton near
Ispwich. Abigail Hobbs, Mary Warren, Deliverance Hobbs and Sarah Wildes were all
accused of being witches and they were not the last. More arrests followed and not only
women: William Hobbs was the husband of Deliverance Hobbs then came Nehemiah
Abbott Jr., Mary Eastey, Edward Bishop Jr. and his wife Sarah Bishop, Mary English and
finally Reverend George Borrouths, Lydia Dustin, Susannah Martin, Dorcas Hoar, Sarah
Morey and Philip English who was Mary English’s husband. Nemiah Abbott Jr. and Mary
Eastey were released.
As the trials progressed, and growing numbers of people confessed to being witches,
Mather became firmly convinced that "…an Army of Devils is horribly broke in upon the
place which is our center" (Silverman, 1970. p. 96).
3.3. The government of Salem
The main problem was that in the time of the witchcraft cases, Salem did not have a
governor who could act in the cases of those who were in prison. On May 14, the new
governor Sir William Phips arrived from London. William Phips was a professional sailor,
merchant, courtier and warrior. He arrived in Salem from England as the newly appointed
governor and quickly took control over the events. By this time jails were crowded.
Governor Phips had to act fast and he could not wait for the General Court to pass a law
providing for judges to try the cases. So on May 27, 1692, William Phips ordered the
establishment of a Special Court of Oyer and Terminer for Suffolk, Essex and Middlesex
countries, specifically for the witch craft cases. The name "Oyer and Terminer," was
14
derived from French and Latin roots, meaning to "hear and determine." The Court of Oyer
and Terminer convened in Salem Town on June 2, 1692. In this time the total number of
people in custody was 62. He appointed nine judges under Chief Judge and Lieutenant
Governor William Stoughton: Jonathan Corwin of Salem, Thomas Danforth of Boston,
Bartholomew Gedney of Salem, John Hathorne of Salem, John Richards of Boston,
Nathaniel Saltonstall of Haverhill, Peter Sargent of Boston, Samuel Sewall of Salem, and
Wait Winthrop of Boston.
The horrible events continued, the witchcraft hysteria was on. Warrants were issued
for 36 more people. Examinations continued in Salem Village: Sarah Dustin, Ann Sears,
Bethiah Carter Sr. and her daughter Bethiah Carter Jr., George Jacobs, Sr. and his
granddaughter Margaret Jacobs, John Willard, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Abigail
Soames, George Jacobs, Jr., Daniel Andrew, Rebecca Jacobs, Sarah Buckley and her
daughter Mary Witheridge, Elizabeth Colson, Elizabeth Hart, Thomas Farrar, Sr., Roger
Toothaker, Sarah Proctor, Sarah Bassett, Susannah Roots, Mary DeRich, Sarah Pease,
Elizabeth Cary, Martha Carrier, Elizabeth Fosdick, Wilmot Redd, Sarah Rice, Elizabeth
Howe, Capt. John Alden, William Proctor, John Flood, Mary Toothaker and her daughter
Margaret Toothaker, and Arthur Abbott.
The Court of Oyer and Terminer’s first case was that of Bridget Bishop’s. It was said that
Bishop did not live a Purtan life because of wearing black clothing and odd costumes
which were against the puritan code. She was accused of being a witch because of her
immoral lifestyle. She went on trial and she was found guilty. Later, more people were
accused, arrested and examined by former local magistrates John Hathorne, Jonathan
Corwin and Bartholomew Gedney who became judges of the Court of Oyer and Terminer.
Sarah Good, Elizabeth Howe, Susannah Martin, Sarah Wildes and Rebecca Nurse went on
trial and all five were hanged on July 19, 1692.
In August, grand juries indicted George Burroughs, Mary Eastey, Martha Corey and
George Jacobs, Sr., and trial juries convicted Martha Carrier, George Jacobs, Sr., George
Burroughs, John Willard, Elizabeth Proctor and John Proctor. Elizabeth Proctor was given
a temporary stay of execution because she was pregnant.
15
On August 4, 1692, Cotton Marther delivered a sermon warning that the Last Judgement
was near at one hand. On August 19, 1692, Martha Carrier, George Jacobs Sr., George
Burroughs, John Willard and John Proctor were executed.
In September, grand juries indicted eighteen more people. The grand jury failed to indict
William Proctor, who was re-arrested on new charges. Giles Corey, an 80-year-old farmer,
was not hanged as the other accused. He lived in the Southeast end of Salem and he
refused to enter plea when he came to trial in September. The judges used an archaic form
of punishment called ‘peine forte et dure’. This means that stones were piled on his chest
until he could no longer breath. He died after two days without entering a plea, because he
wanted to prevent his estate from being confistated by the Crown.
September 22, 1692, eight more people were executed. One of the convicted, Dorcas Hoar,
was given a temporary reprieve, with the support of several ministers, to make a confession
of being a witch. Mary Bradbury escaped. Abigail Faulkner Sr. was pregnant and given a
temporary reprieve. (See the table of the events in the Appendix.)
3.4. The end of the trials
The trials ended in September. 19 men were hanged and one was crushed with
stones. The deaths did not grant peace and respect. Rebecca Nurse and Marha Corey had
no proper burials. As soon as the bodies of the accused were cut down from the trees, they
were thrown into a shallow grave and the crowd dispersed. Oral history claims that the
families of the dead reclaimed their bodies after dark and buried them in unmarked graves
on family property. The record books of the time do not mention the deaths of any of those
executed.
Picture 4 (The hangings, www.rootsofmyroots.blogspot.com)
16
4. Possible reasons of the Salem Witch Trials
-
Tension between Salem Village and Salem Town
-
Lack of a church in Salem Village
-
Strict Puritan moral codes
-
Mass hysteria, mental illness
-
Indian Wars
-
Take control over more land
-
Ergot poisoning
4. 1. Salem Village and Salem town
Salem was divided into two parts, Salem Village and Salem Town. Salem Village
was the place of the witch trials. It was a farming area on the north edge of Salem Town.
Salem Town was a trading and urban area with fishing, shipbuilding and other similar
activities. According to Davidson and Lytle’s work, there were political and economic
struggles within Salem Village. The Village could be divided into eastern and western
sectors where the dividing line was the Ispwich Road. The eastern sector was deeply
mercantile oriented. Some of the most influential families from this sector made
themselves involved in politics, because Salem Village did not have its own government.
The members of these families became candidates for Town Selectmen. The western sector
was not interested in commerce. This part of Salem Village was much more agricultural. In
Salem witch trials, most of the accusers of witches came from the western sector of the
village, and most of the accused witches came from the eastern sector as the map shows.
Picture 5( Salem Village and Salem Town, www. school.discoveryeducation.com)
17
4.2. Salem Village Church
Salem Village did not have its own church, but the Putham family wanted one.
Thomas Putham Junior supported the idea that Salem Village have its own church. Others
in the village opposed this idea and preferred to go 5 miles to Salem Town’s church. The
first three ministers of Salem Village church were not ordained. This caused that they
could not admit candidates to formal church membership. Its congregants remained
formally attached to the Salem Town church. These ministers were unable to satisfy
church members so they stepped down. The second minister was George Borroughs who
was later accused being a witch. The next minister Deodat Lawson started his service from
1684, but he stepped down three years later because he was frustrated by the village’s
squabbling. On November 19, 1689 Samuel Parris became the first ordained minister in
Salem Village.
Rev Samuel Parris was born in 1653. He had a double carrier as a merchant and planter in
both London and Barbados. In the early 1670s, he attended the Harvard for a few years,
but after his father’s death, he returned to Barbados without having graduated and
continued his merchant activities with no success. He married Elizabeth Eldridge and they
had three children: Thomas, Betty and Susahanna. He was dissatisfied with a merchant life,
so he decided to make a new career in the ministry, therefore he completed his schooling
and in 1688, he began negotiations with Salem Village. After the step down of Deodat
Dawson he accepted the post. He finished his business in Boston, settled in Salem Village's
ministry house with his family and also brought Tituba with himself from Barbados and
was ordained with no success, because two years later dissatisfaction with Parris grown.
One reason for this dissatisfaction was that Parris continued traditional strict standards for
church members. This behaviour divided the population of Salem Village. Most village
church members were happy with Parris's orthodoxy but a minority dissented.
By the fall of 1691, another crisis was created for Salem Village's church. The
village officers refused to provide firewood to warm the church of Parris’s house because
his strict traditional morals, the attendance in his service was down. A new committee was
chosen in October 1691. This committee refused to impose a tax to support his salary and
fire wood through the winter.
The committee let the villagers pay by "voluntary
contributions." For his part, Parris called upon church members to make a formal
complaint to the County Court against the committee's neglect of the church. His sermons
18
began to focus on the conspiracy against him and the church and he started to talk about
the Satan. These events caused turmoil on its minister. Many problematic events
forestalled the Salem witch trials which could behave as a straw in the wind. These events
could be the village's controversies over firewood, ownership of the ministry house, taxes,
church doctrine, and Parris's ministry itself. All of them had a great influence on the
outbreak of witchcraft. The strict puritan moral codes made the situation worse.
4.3. Puritan’s life
Life was governed by strict Puritan rules. According to these rules, many kinds of
entertainment, such as music and dance, was forbidden, just singing of hymns was
allowed. Celebration of holidays, such as Christmas and Easter, was also absolutely
forbidden. The Puritans of Massachusetts passed laws which forced people to go regularly
to the Meeting House which served as a church. In the Meeting House, women and men
were sitting opposite sides through the long services which often took two or three hours. It
was expected to take part in a sermon every Wednesday and Sunday. During sermons, the
members wanted to strengthen their relationship with God, because religion was very
dominant. The Puritan religious habits were different from the Calvinists. For example,
Puritans did not have priestly vestments or they did not kneel during services as the
Calvinist did. Puritans opposed many of the traditions of the Protestant Church of England,
also the Book of Common Prayer and the Holy Cross during baptism.
The laws punished adultery, drinking alcohol and many other things. People with long hair
were in a big trouble. The Puritan’s dressing was also regulated by the church. They had to
wear simple, dark coloured clothes. It was also expected to work hard and it was forbidden
to express emotions or feelings.
Puritan life for children was also hard. They received a limited education that
focused on religion. Moreover, they had to act as an adult at a very young age. They also
had to go to church and sit straight on hard, wooden benches and pay attention during the
long sermons. Children barely had opportunity to play games. Toys, especially dolls were
forbidden because it was thought that they were a waste of time. According to Puritan
beliefs, dolls were the small copies of people. Whatever happened to the doll, the same
happened its owner, too.
It’s important to point out that there were not too many things to do for children and
young women in Salem. They had not married yet so they did not have to do a lot of works
19
around the house. They had no company, because young men were busy with their work,
so these young girls on one hand became bored. Furthermore, in Puritan societies to
express feelings and emotions was not allowed for women. This possibly caused that they
could not make control over themselves and they expressed their emotions through this
hysteria. “What [these young ladies of Salem Village] were going through fulfilled long
unsatisfied cravings to express and assert themselves. Unconsciously they willed
themselves on”. (Hill 1995. p.26.)
Puritans lived by rigid moral codes. According to these moral codes, they believed
that all sins should be punished. They thought that if something bad happened to them that
was their punishment. For example, if someone’s house burned down they thought that it
was God's plan for them. The Puritans’ strict Protestant life and their fear of the Devil
made their New England society an easy target for the witchcraft hysteria. They believed
that the Devil’s servants were the weakest members of the society and they were chosen to
carry out his work. According to this idea, the first victims of the witch trials were from the
lower classes of the society, but later many people from the upper class were accused. The
witch charges moved upwards on the social ladder. From this point of view, the Salem
Witch Trials may not be seen as an act for community cleaning from the poor, deviants or
the outcast ones. (Boyer-Nissenbaum, 2002. p. 55.)
The Puritans believed in their faith and the power of God, who punish sinful behaviour,
besides they also believed in the tremendous power of the Devil. The Puritan ministers
used the fear of the Devil to scare the believers into following the church covenants. Those
who didn’t follow these laws were seen as the souls of the Devil, or witches. The
witchcraft hysteria was not a new phenomenon in New England.
4.4. Mass hysteria
Ernest Caulfield submitted a new idea based on that the afflicted girls were
mentally unbalanced, because it was forbidden to express emotions and feelings, as it was
previously mentioned. Ernest Caulfield used the term hysteria for the girls’ behaviour. The
word “hysteria” is a psychological term that means, “Behaviour exhibiting overwhelming
or unmanageable fear of emotional excess.” (Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary,
1993.) Caulfield claimed the girls were hysterical because of the repressive nature of their
Puritan upbringing. However, critics point out that similar afflictions did not arise in other
Puritan New England towns. In addition, in non-Puritan areas, where child-rearing
20
practices supposedly were very different, violent episodes of witch-hunting also erupted.
This theory said that mental illness, a mass hysteria or delusion caused the outburst of
emotions of fear and caused the same symptoms that occurred in the girls’ cases.
According to Segen's Medical Dictionary, mass hysteria is “The synchronous appearance
in a group of individuals of signs and nonspecific physical symptoms of hysteria, for which
no organic cause can be determined. It is transmitted among members of a group by “line
of sight” and is more common in young females.” Mass hysteria occurs when an individual
shows symptoms of an illness and then the people around him or her begin to show similar
symptoms out of belief that they have caught the cause of the first person’s symptoms.
There are many examples from the history and the most famous example for mass hysteria
is the Salem events.
Another term related to mass or crowd hysteria is the term “mob mentality” which
is used to refer to unique behavioural characteristics which emerge when people are in
groups as the young girls spent their nights together around the kitchen fire. The mob
mentality was not the reason for the outbreak of the witch trials but for the quick
escalating. The main idea was if you did not want to be accused, you had to accuse others.
People who "scoffed at accusations risked becoming targets themselves." Mob mentality
made the Salem witch trials very powerful. It forced everybody that wanted to live to be
active accusers and strongly support the fight to rid Salem of witches.
4. 5. Ergot poisoning
One other theory states that physical illnesses were the result of ergot poisoning.
Ergot poisoning is caused by a fungus that grows on rye and other grains that would be
grown in the Salem settlement. Ergot poisoning caused the same symptoms as the accused
had, such as convulsive fits, muscle spasms, nausea, vomiting, and hallucinations.
4.6. The Indian Wars
According to a scientist, the Indian War could be seen as one cause of the Salem
witch craft hysteria. King Philip's War, or as it was also called the First Indian War, took
place 1675-78 between the Native American inhabitants and English colonists when more
than half of New England's towns were attacked by Native American warriors. During the
period of the Great Migration, New England’s population grew rapidly. The increase of the
colonial population caused that the Indians were being pushed out from New England. The
21
disease carried by Europeans caused a huge population loss among the Indians. There were
many reasons which caused the war, but the sequence of events leading to the outbreak of
war is unclear. In addition, the Indians had become increasingly dependent on English
goods, food, and weapons. On top of these problems, the Indian’s fur trade dried up, tribal
lands were sold. Some of the Indians took up arms and the First Indian War started.
English colonists had to be afraid of the Indian attacks all the time till the war ended in
August 1676.
During the time of the accusations, the Indian War was going on. The Second Indian War,
called King William’s War, was named after the new English king and lasted from 1688 to
1699. The war caused a huge massacre of Indians in Maine settlements at York, Wells and
Falmouth, which drove Europeans from Maine again. Many colonists went to Salem,
Massachusetts.
“In Salem the Indian attack was just beyond the edge of the woods. When survivors of the
attacks in Maine arrived in Salem with their war trauma, they walked into another
traumatized population. In Salem there were also people whose family members were sent
to fight in the Indian War, some never returned and some returned deeply wounded. People
feared of being attacked by Indians. Fear lead to psychological problems such as the
convulsions among other related illnesses, which were, coincidentally, symptoms the girls
of
Salem
underwent.”
(Fishermen’s
Voice,
2004.
retrieved
from
http://www.fishermensvoice.com/archives/witchindians.html)
From this point of view, we can see that the Indian Wars and the events in Salem were not
too far from each other. The events of Salem could be related to the events in Maine. Some
characters of the witch trials, like Mercy Lewis, Susannah Sheldon, Abigail Hobbs and
Reverend George Burroughs had lived in Maine.
Reverend George Borroughs was accused by the family members of those who
were killed in the Indian War and he was also accused by Mercy Lewis. According to a
Documentary Film about Salem witch Trials (Salem Witch Trials Documentary, 2013.
retrieved from www.youtube.com), a 3-year-old girl, Mercy Lewis, had a central role in
Salem Witch Trials. In the attack of the 5th February in York Marcy’s family was also
among the victims, so the little girl became an orphan at her young age. She was sent to the
house of Reverend George Borroughs and later to the Thomas Putnam Jr’s family in Salem
Village. She played a central role, because she could give information about Reverend
George Borroughs who was later suspected in a crime being a witch. Among the thirty
22
accusers of Burroughs was Mercy Lewis, too. According to The Witchcraft Trials in
Salem: A Commentary by Douglas Linder: “Lewis told the court that Burroughs flew her
to the top of a mountain and, pointing toward the surrounding land, promised her all the
kingdoms if only she would sign in his book (a story very similar to that found in Matthew
4:8). Lewis said, ‘I would not writ if he had thrown me down on one hundred pitchforks’".
George Borroughs was a refugee and a minister. “He was driven out of Falmouth when it
was burned in the first Indian War in 1675. He went to Salem where he became a minister
until he was driven out by the squabbling. Burroughs went back to Falmouth and was a
minister until the Second Indian War in 1688, fled to Wells which was soon burned and
finally
back
to
Salem.”
(Crowe,
2004.
March,
Vol.9.)
There were many charges against Burroughs. It was said that he had killed his first two
wives and he did not baptize one of his children. This could mean that his religious beliefs
were not strong enough. People said that he could run faster than a horse. In the Indian
war, Burroughs escaped from the Indians, people said that he used magic to get away. This
led to the impression that the men’s death in the Indian War was Burroughs' fault. It was
said that he bewitched the Indians to killing his men, not the Indians killed the men
themselves.
Borroughs was seized, taken from the table while eating, and hauled back to Salem on May
4 to stand trial. (George Borroughs, retrieved from Salem Trials Hompage
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_BBUR.HTM)
There were people who believed that Borroughs is innocent and signed a petition on
Borroughs innocence. Some of them were the most respected people in Salem. Despite the
petition, George Borroughs was hanged. On Gallows Hill he said the Lord’s Prayer
without mistake, perfectly. Witches could not do this. The crowd of people started to
protest against Borrough’s hanging, but Cotton Marther arrived from Boston and reminded
the crowd that Borroughs had had his day in court and lost. (George Borroughs, retrieved
from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/sal_acct.htm)
“After the hanging, his body was cut down, dragged by the halter, thus becoming partially
disrobed, thrown in a hole between the rocks, and left, partially buried with two others who
had been hanged”. (George Borroughs, retrieved from Salem Trials Hompage
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_BBUR.HTM)
23
5. Mercy Short’s case
Besides the reasons of the outbreak of the hysteria, the outcome is also very
important and interesting. According to Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Samuel
Parris had an opportunity to make a different outcome for Salem witch trials. Actually,
almost the same happened in some miles away from Salem Village in the case of Mercy
Short. Mercy was a 17-year-old servant girl in Boston. In 1692, she was sent to the Boston
jail, where many of the accused witches were waiting for trial. When one of them, Sarah
Good, asked tobacco from Mercy, she threw a fistful sliver to her and said: “This tobacco
will be good enough for you.” Not much later, Mercy started to behave strangely. She
showed the same syndromes as the afflicted girls did in Salem. Cotton Mather started to
be interested in the girl’s case. During the winter of 1692-92, he was spending many hours
with her, gave her advice and wrote notes about her behaviour. These notes showed that
Mercy’s syndromes were far from real suffering. Her suffering sometimes was child’s
play. Cotton Marther used the time that they spent together as occasions for services and
moral sermons.
The fact that Mercy was afflicted was generally accepted, but Mather made a
different interpretation of the events. He saw the opportunity for the religious edification
instead of accusing her being a witch as it happened in the other people’s case. When the
news spread about Mercy, her room soon became the place for young girls. They made
sermons there. With the help of Mather, about 50 people came together in Mercy’s room.
They were praying and singing psalms and sometimes they showed unusual physical
syndromes. During the winter of 1693 they got together for a month every evening. These
young people soon joined the church, after they realized people are suffering in the Hell as
Mercy was suffering sometimes. From this sense, the Mercy Short case was the forerunner
of the new phenomenon: the religious revival. Those people had the common religious
experience, which was almost unknown in England. These events showed that people in
Boston were very close to the entirely revival in the winter of 1692-93.
The key figure and the leader of these meetings was Cotton Marther.
24
5.1. Cotton Marther
Cotton Marther was the son of Increase Marter, a puritan minister. At the beginning
of the witchcraft hysteria, Cotton Marther wrote a letter known as "The Return of Several
Ministers Consulted". This letter failed to denounce the use of "spectral evidence" which
based on dreams and visions and stated that the accused witch’s spirit appeared to the
witness in a dream or vision in a form of a black cat or a wolf.
On 3 October, at the clergymen’s official assembly he made a sermon where he said open
and virgous words to the judges and the use of spectral evidence: "It were better that Ten
Suspected Witches should escape, than that one Innocent Person should be Condemned."
This sermon was published in book in 1692 September called Cases of Conscience
Concerning Evil Spirits Personating Men, Witchcrafts, infallible Proofs of Guilt. He
argued against the use of spectral evidence in legal proceedings and he also argued that
convictions should not be based on spectral evidence alone because it makes it possible for
the Devil to take the shape of an innocent person. He became an opponent of spectral
evidence.
(Increase
Marther,
2014.
retrieved
from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Increase_Mather)
After his speech, the clergymen withdrew into full hush during August and September, but
the trials were on. After these months, they acted in October with the help of Increase
Marther.
Cotton Marther was the leader of Boston’s Second Church in North Square and wrote the
incident in his work title Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions,
published in 1689. According to Silverman Significantly this book also contributed to
instigating the events (Silverman, 1970.). In his work Mather vowed to "…never use but
one grain of patience with any man that shall go to impose upon me a Denial of Devils, or
of Witches". (Silverman, 1970. p. 69.)
25
6. The events in Northampton
The same events happened in Northampton as in Salem when people there started
to behave strangely. They were very agitated, felt fear and anxiety which soon led them to
the edge of desperation. The 19-year-old Abigail Hutchinson felt an extraordinary fear and
all her body was shaking. The four-year-old Phebe Barlet was crying and whimpering in
the cellar for long hours. On 1st July, in 1735 Joseph Harley cut his own throat after two
months fear.
In Northampton, also as many years earlier in Salem, young girls played a central role who
were spending long hours together and practising voodoo to make predictions about their
future, but their play soon took a frightening turning when they started to behave in a
strange way. Hovewer in Northamtpon instead of witch craft, something else happened
because the town’s young minister used the girls’ meeting as an opportunity for service
and praying as Cotton Marther did in Boston, too. Soon these girls and others attended to
the church and took part in the sermons of Jonathan Edwards who led them to a religious
revival and helped the sufferers get to the peace of mind. The little girl, Phebe Barlet came
out from the cellar and became the spiritual adviser of her family and mates, and before her
death Abigail Hutchinson felt the God’s presence in her life. From this point of view, these
people in Northampton were not the victims of spoiling but converted, which was the
beginning of the religious revival, the First Great Awakening.
6.1. The First Great Awakening
The First Great Awakening was a Christian revitalization movement that swept
through the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s and led to changes in Americans'
understanding of God, themselves, the world around them, and religion. It focused on
people who were already church members. It changed their rituals, their piety and their
self-awareness.
The key figure was Johathan Edwards when he emphasized the importance and power of
immediate, personal religious experience. His sermons were powerful and attracted a large
following. His work was continued by the Anglican preacher George Whitefield, who was
travelling across the colonies and preaching in a more dramatic and emotional style,
accepting everyone into his audiences.
26
This new style brought a new light into the religious life. Participants had been involved in
their religion, rather than passively listening to intellectual discourse as it happened in
Massathussetts Bay Colony during the long sermons.
Those ministers who used this new style of preaching were generally called "new lights",
while the preachers who remained unemotional were referred to as "old lights".
The Awakening’s Bigest significance was that it prepared America for its War of
Independence. Through the Awakening, the Colonists realized that religious power resided
in their own hands, rather than in the hands of the Church of England, or any other
religious authority.
Not only the young people’s social status changed by these events, but also the ministers’
social status, too. In 1692, in Salem, Reverend Samuel Parrish was not able to fill the
meeting house with church members and persuaded them to pay the taxes to support his
salary for buying firewood. People did not attend his long and boring services. In
Northampton, Johanthan Edwards had the same problem, but there soon the church
attendance prospered after the changing in the way of preaching. All of the church
members were interested in his sermons, and he was in the focus of people’s attention in
the private life, too. The most often visited place was not the pub anymore, but the church.
Picture 6 (Jonathan Edwards was able to fill the meeting house with people,
www.faculty.polytechnic.org)
27
Conclusion
Both two ministers, Parrish and Edwards, used the developed situation to
strengthen their positions, but with two different outcomes. In Salem, witch craft hysteria
happened, but in Northampton a religious revival.
Why?
Because Edwards decided to make a religious revival and he used the support of
his congregation to achieve his main goal. He decided to interpret the girls’ suffering as
the God’s presence in their lives instead of the Demon’s presence as it was done by
Parrish. In Boston, Cotton Marther wanted to achieve the same, but with less success.
According to Deodat Lawson, Mercy Lewis in Boston saw a white man in her visions. She
was in a beautiful place with him, where there were not any candles, the sun was not
shining but the place was full of shine and the people were in marvellous white gowns,
which was a celestial vision and the evil’s work. Her incomprehensible speech would be
the rough form of the Whitsuntide’s pray and her painful physical behaviour would show
the sinful people’s behaviour during the conversion. It was only the viewpoint’s question.
It could have ended the same way as it happened in Northampton.
The main difference between the events in Salem, Boston and Northampton is that
the leaders interpreted the physical syndromes different ways. They saw the syndromes in
Northampton as divine and hopeful events, but in Salem they were talking about disastrous
and demonic events. Although the girls in Salem were speaking about angelic messenger
and glorious visions, the adult leaders did not care about it, so the girls soon were falling
back to their previous conditions. The adults saw their own requirements and expectations
in the children’s behaviour. (Boyer- Nissenaum, 2002. pp. 48-52.)
The case of Mercy Short under the leadership of Cotton Marther almost became a
religious revival, because Marher’s main goal was not to unveil and kill witches, but to try
to raise attention to the social and religious problems in New England. In one of his
speeches, Marher stated that the appearing of witch crafts is only the sing of the social
problems of a society where people prostest against God because they are dissatisfied with
their social status, their poor life and their own misery. Cotton Marther tried to turn the
events. The main difference between the Godwin children’s, Mercy Shor’s and The Salem
28
events was the size of the accusations. In Salem the witch craft hysteria had an enormous
size, which related to the whole society and the whole government besides the accused
people. This was the reason for the tear in social belonging.
If Reverend Parris had been able to see the God’s presence instead of the Devil, the
outcome of the events should have been changed. There was a possibility for a religious
revival in Salem, but in Boston, too. It depended on the minister’s and townleader’s
negative thinking. “Once you have replaced negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll
have positive results.”- this would have been the key.
29
Bibliography
Alan Woolf; Witchcraft or Mycotoxin? The Salem Witch Trials, Clinical Toxicology,
2000. 38(4), pp.457-460
Anti-Catholicism in the Salem Witch Trials;
http://www.unamsanctamcatholicam.com/component/content/article/79-history/279-anticatholicism-in-the-salem-witch-trials.html)
Arthur Miller, The Crucible, Penguin Books. 1988,
Cotton Marther: Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits Personating Men, 1692.
George Borroughs, http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/sal_acct.htm
Hill, Frances. A delusion of Satan: The full story of the Salem witch trials. New York:
Doubleday, 1995.
“Another Play on Salem Witch Trials”: Lion Feuchtwanger, Communists, and Nazis
From: Comparative Drama
Volume 43, Number 3, Fall 2009. pg. 355-378|
10.1353/cdr.0.0068)
James West Davidson; Mark H Lytle. After the fact: The art of historical detection. New
York: Knopf, 1982.
Lyonette Louis-Jacques at D'Angelo Law. Law News from the D'Angelo Law Library.
http://news.lib.uchicago.edu/blog/2012/10/29/the-salem-witch-trials-a-legal-bibliographyfor-halloween/ The Salem Witch Trials: A legal bibliography, October 29, 2012
Mary Beth Norton: In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692, Vintage
Books, 2003.
Mather, Cotton, “Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions” (1689)
Merriam
Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 1993) , Tenth Edition, (Springfield, MA:
Merriam- Webster, Inc., 1993
O'Callaghan, Bryn. An Illustrated history of the USA: Longman Group, 1990.
30
Paul Boyer- Stephen Nissenbaum, Boszorkányok Salemben, Osiris, 2002.
Robert Calef, More Wonders of the Invisible World (1700), in George Lincoln Burr,
Narratives of the Witchcraft Cases 1648-1706 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1914),
p. 343
Salem Witch Trials Documentary, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-dA4LIqifc;),
Salem Witch Trials Documentary, www.youtube.com
Salem Witch Trials Glossary: Witch Cake or Witch's Cake, Salem Witch Trials Glossary;
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/Salem-Witch-Trials-Glossary/a/Witch-Cake-OrWitchs-Cake.htm
Silverman, Kenneth, The Life and Times of Cotton Mather, 1970
The Salem Times, 1693. “Salem Times, Every Time “ http://people.ucls.uchicago.edu/
snekros/The%20Salem%20Times/The_Salem_Times_of_1693/Culture_%26_Beliefs.html
Witch
Indians
Pray
by
Mike
Crowe,
Fishermen’s
Voice
Vol. 9, No. 3 March 2004 ; News & Comment for and by the Fishermen of Maine
www.wikipedia.com
31
Summary (Hungarian)
Szakdolgozatom fő témája a Salem-i boszorkányperek. A téma rendkívül izgalmas, hiszen
az emberek többsége nem tudja, hogy valójában mi történt Salem-ben 1692-ben. Sokan
hallottak már a boszorkányperekről, de az okok, melyek 20 ember halálához vezettek a mai
napig nem tisztázottak. Sok feltételezés létezik mi okozhatta ezt a tömeghisztériát, de a
tudósok a mai napig nem állapították meg, mely lehet a valódi ok. A boszorkányperek húsz
áldozata közül 19-et akasztottak fel, ám a 20. áldozat nem akasztófán lelte halálát. A 80
éves földműves, Giles Corey nem volt hajlandó sem beismerni bűneit, sem megnevezni
másokat bűnösként. A törvény ilyen esetekre lehetővé tette azt a kínzásos vallatást, amikor
a vallatott személyt egy nyújtópadra vonva, a mellkasán felhalmozott súlyos kövek által
lassan, fokozatosan agyonnyomták.
Azonban nem a Salem-i volt az egyetlen nagy boszorkányper abban az időben.
Dolgozatomban három másik boszorkánypert is feldolgozok, melyek kapcsolódnak a fő
témámhoz.
Az első boszorkányper, melyet bemutatok Ann Glover esete 1688-ból. A dátumból
látszik, hogy ez a Salem-i események előtt történt, de összefüggésbe hozható azzal.
Az itt megvádolt és kivégzett Ann Glover utolsó szavai rendkívül fontosak voltak,
hiszen kivégzése előtt azt állította, hogy az ő halála felesleges, mert rajta kívül más
boszorkányok is élnek Salem-ben. Ez a kijelentés csak olaj volt a tűzön.
A salem-i események 1692-ben kezdőtek Samul Parris tiszteletes házában, ahol lánya
és unokahúga sok időt töltött a tiszteletes szolgájának, Titubának a társaságában.
Sokszor foglalatoskodtak varázslattal azért, hogy lássák jövendőbeli férjüket.
Azonban ami játéknak indult az hamar tragédiába csapott át, amikor a lányok furcsán
kezdtek viselkedni. Fájdalmukban a földön vonaglottak, testrészeik furcsa módon
kicsavarodtak, állathangokat utánoztak. Parris tiszteletes orvost hívott, aki nem tudott
semmiféle
orvosi
magyarázattal
szolgálni
a
lányok
viselkedésére
ezért
természetfeletti erők munkájára gyanakodott. Mivel 1688-ban a már említett Ann
Glover is hasonlóan viselkedett, hamar összefüggésbe hozták a két esetet és
boszorkányságról kezdtek beszélni. A „megbabonázott” lányok Parris tiszteletes
unszolásra elkezdték a rájuk rontást tevők neveit sorolni. Ezzel kezdetét vették a
vádaskodások, melyek hamar hatalmas méreteket öltöttk. A fő elv az volt, hogy „ha
nem akarod, hogy megvádoljanak, akkor vádolj meg te valakit”.
32
A boszorkányperek 1693 januárjában értek véget, habár a boszorkányság vádjával
bebörtönzött embereket egészen a következő év tavaszáig nem engedték szabadon. A
bírósági eljárásoknak végül a kormányzó vetett véget egy, a Boston környéki tiszteletesek
által írt kérelem hatására.
A Salem-i boszorkányperekkel párhuzamosan egy másik eset is történt. Ez a harmadik eset
melyet dolgozatomben kifejtek, egy Boston-i szolgálólány, Mercy Short esete, akit
elküldték abba a börtönbe, ahol a vádlottakat tartották fogva. Amikor Sarah Good, az egyik
vádlott dohányt kért Mercy-től, Mercy egy marék forgácsot dobott oda neki, és azt mondta:
„Ez a dohány épp elég jó lesz neked.” Nemsokára Mercy is furcsán kezdett viselkedni. Az
eset felkeltette Cotton Marther figyelmét, aki sok időt töltött a lánnyal, feljegyzéseket írt a
viselkedéséről. Az együtt töltött időt Marther Istentisztelekké formálta, imádságokkal
töltötte meg. Hamar híre ment ezeknek az alkalmaknak és sok fiatal gyűlt össze Mercy
szobájában, olykor akár ötvenen is. 1692-93 telén ezek a fiatalok nagyon közel álltak egy
vallási megújuláshoz, ami néhány évvel később 1735-ben be is következett
Northamptonban.
Itt is, akárcsak Salem-ben, fiatal lányok egy csoportja játszotta a döntő szerepet,
akik összejövetelei szintén jövendő mondó szeánszként kezdődtek, ám az események más
fordulatot vettek. A város fiatal lelkésze, Jonathan Edwards hatására ezek az alkalmak
hamarosan az istentisztelet is imádság alkalmává alakultak át. A találkozók hamarosan
mindkét helyen, Salemben és Northamptonban is, kiterjedtek a közösség egészére és
beszédtémává lettek. Ám amíg Salemben boszorkányságról szóltak a hírek, addig
Northamptonban vallási újjászületésről. Míg Salemben a boszorkánypereket zavarta meg
sokszor a lányok kitörő zokogása, addig Northamptonban az istentiszteleteket.
A szakdolgozatom fő kérdése is e két eseményhez kapcsolódik: Hogyan lehet, hogy
hasonló események ennyire eltérő eredményre vezetnek? A választ egy idézetben találtam
meg. Willie Nelson: „Ha egyszer a negatív gondolatokat pozitívval helyettesíted, az
eredmény is pozitív lesz.”
Mindkét esetben a város vezetőin múlt a döntés, ők alakították az eseményeket. Ha
Samuel Parris más irányba tereli az eseményeket, a végkimenet is más lett volna. Ahogyan
Jonathan Edwards azt mondta, hogy a lányok azért szenvednek, mert megtisztulnak és ez
vallási megújuláshoz vezetett, Samuel Parris a szenvedés okaként az ördög munkálkodását
nevezte meg- ahogyan ezt a dolgozatom végén, a konlúzióban megfogalmaztam.
33
Appendix1.
VII.6. The table of the events on Salem Witch Trials
According to Salem trials home page;
(http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASAL_CH.HTM)
Date
January 20, 1692.
February, 1692.
February 25, 1692.
February 29, 1692.
March 1, 1692:
March 11, 1692:
Events
Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Parris begin behaving in a curious
way. Soon Ann Putnam Jr. and other girls, too.
Doctor Griggs diagnosed witchcraft
Elizabeth identifies Tituba as a witch. The girls later accuse Sarah
Good and Sarah Osborne of witchcraft.
Arrest warrants are issued for Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah
Osborne.
Magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin examine Tituba,
Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne.
Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and Mary Warren
allege affliction as well.
March 12, 1692
Ann Putnam Jr. accuses Martha Cory of witchcraft.
March 19, 1692.
Abigail Williams denounces Rebecca Nurse as a witch.
March 21, 1692
Magistrates Hathorne and Corwin examine Martha Cory.
March 23, 1692.
Salem Marshal Deputy Samuel Brabrook arrests four-year-old
Dorcas Good.
March 24, 1692.
Hathorne and Corwin examine Rebecca Nurse.
March 26, 1692.
Hathorne and Corwin interrogate Dorcas.
March 28, 1692.
Elizabeth Proctor is accused of witchcraft.
April 3, 1692.
Sarah Cloyce is accused of witchcraft.
Hathorne and Corwin examine Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor
April 11, 1692.
and Elizabeth's husband, John becomes the first man accused of
witchcraft and is incarcerated.
Early April, 1692.
April 13, 1692.
The Proctors' servant and accuser, Mary Warren, admits lying and
accuses the other accusing girls of lying.
Ann Putnam Jr. accuses Giles Cory of witchcraft.
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April 19, 1692.
Abigail Hobbs, Bridget Bishop, Giles Cory and Mary Warren are
examined. Deliverance Hobbs confesses to practicing witchcraft.
Hathorne and Corwin examine Mary Easty, Nehemiah Abbott,
April 22, 1692.
William and Deliverance Hobbs, Edward and Sarah Bishop, Mary
Black, Sarah Wildes, and Mary English.
April 30, 1692.
May 2, 1692.
Several girls accuse former Salem minister George Burroughs of
witchcraft.
Hathorne and Corwin examine Sarah Morey, Lyndia Dustin,
Susannah Martin and Dorcas Hoar.
May 4, 1692.
George Burroughs is arrested in Maine.
May 7, 1692.
George Burroughs is returned to Salem and placed in jail.
May 9, 1692.
May 10, 1692.
Corwin and Hathorne examine Burroughs and Sarah Churchill.
Burroughs is moved to a Boston jail.
George Burroughs is returned to Salem and placed in jail.
Corwin and Hathorne examine Burroughs and Sarah Churchill.
May 14, 1692.
Burroughs is moved to a Boston jail. Increase Mather and Sir
William Phipps, the newly elected governor of the colony, arrive in
Boston.
Mary Easty is released from prison. Following protest by her
May 18, 1692.
accusers, she is again arrested. Roger Toothaker is also arrested on
charges of witchcraft.
Phipps issues a commission for a Court of Oyer and Terminer and
May 27, 1692.
appoints John Hathorne, Nathaniel Saltonstall, Bartholomew
Gedney, Peter Sergeant, Samuel Sewall, Wait Still Winthrop, and
Lieutenant Governor William Stoughton as judges.
Hathorne, Corwin and Gednew examine Martha Carrier, John Alden,
May 31, 1692.
Wilmott Redd, Elizabeth Howe and Phillip English. English and
Alden later escape prison and do not return to Salem until after the
trials end.
June 2, 1692.
June8, 1692.
Bridget Bishop is the first to be tried and convicted of witchcraft.
She is sentenced to death.
Eighteen-year-old Elizabeth Booth shows symptoms of affliction by
witchcraft.
35
Bridget Bishop is hanged at Gallows Hill. Following the hanging
June 10, 1692.
Nathaniel Saltonstall resigns from the court and is replaced by
Corwin.
Bridget Bishop is hanged at Gallows Hill. Following the hanging
June 15, 1692.
Nathaniel Saltonstall resigns from the court and is replaced by
Corwin.
June 16, 1692.
Roger Toothaker dies in prison.
Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Sarah Wildes, Sarah Good, and
June 29-30, 1692.
Elizabeth Howe are tried, pronounced guilty and sentenced to be
hanged.
July 19, 1692.
Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe, Sarah Good and
Sarah Wildes are hanged at Gallows Hill.
George Jacobs Sr., Martha Carrier, George Burroughs, John Willard
August 5, 1692.
and John and Elizabeth Proctor are pronounced guilty and sentenced
to be hanged.
George Jacobs Sr., Martha Carrier, George Burroughs, John Willard
August 19, 1692.
and John Proctor are hanged on Gallows Hill. Elizabeth Proctor is
not hanged because she is pregnant.
August 20, 1692.
Margaret Jacobs recants the testimony that led to the execution of
her grandfather George Jacobs Sr. and Burroughs.
Martha Corey, Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Dorcas
September 9, 1692.
Hoar and Mary Bradbury are pronounced guilty and sentenced to be
hanged.
Mid- September , 1692.
Giles Cory is indicted
Margaret Scott, Wilmott Redd, Samuel Wardwell, Mary Parker,
September 17, 1692.
Abigail Faulkner, Rebecca Earnes, Mary Lacy, Ann Foster and
Abigail Hobbs are tried and sentenced to be hanged.
September 19, 1692.
Sheriffs administer Peine Forte Et Dure (pressing) to Giles Cory.
After two days under the weight, Cory dies.
Martha Cory, Margaret Scott, Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Ann
September 22, 1692.
Pudeator, Willmott Redd, Samuel Wardwell, and Mary Parker are
hanged.
36
October 3, 1692.
October 8, 1692.
October 29, 1692.
November 25, 1692.
The Reverend Increase Mather, President of Harvard College and
father to Cotton Mather, denounces the use of spectral evidence.
Governor Phipps orders that spectral evidence no longer be admitted
in witchcraft trials.
Phipps prohibits further arrests, releases many accused witches, and
dissolves the Court of Oyer and Terminer.
The General Court establishes a Superior Court to try remaining
witches.
37