Let’s meet the Salem Witches! In March 1962, the group of girls even accused honorable people in the Puritan congregation, one of whom.

The Salem Witch TrialsBy:Eileen Ma

7A1 ID4

Let me tell you the story of the

Salem Witch Trials.

Once upon a time, in the year of 1692,

the Salem Witch Trials took place in

Salem, Massachusetts…

The Salem Witch Trials…a time of wrongful death when many

people of importance were hanged.

In 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, Betty and Abigail Williams began

having seizures, screaming nonsense, and going into trances.People had no explanation for this behavior. This started accusations

of witchcraft.Eventually, these strange behaviors happened to more

people.

The accused people had trials during which they

had to confess about working with the Devil. Then, the town

had to decide whether or not there was enough proof to hang them. (Yay! They died! )

However, many people were wrongly

accused.

(*ahem*ALL)

Basically, a great number of people died because they were thought to be witches.

Overall, I’ll say, these

people were VERY

uneducated…

(They weren’t really witches

—or a least people

thought so.)

YAY!!(Hmm. I wonder if they have flying

brooms…or WANDS! AWESOME!)

Let’s meet the Salem Witches!

No. No brooms or wands…

That sucks. I was looking forward to

that. Wait…Witches are FAKE?!

(Harry Potter isn’t real EITHER?!)

T^T So sad…

In January of 1692, a group of girls began showing odd

behavior.

They began seeing things and screaming but the doctor could not find

anything physically

wrong with them.

(No, that is an understatement.)

(They believed that an adult would be controlling

of the children since children could not make plots by themselves.) Afraid, they fasted, prayed,

and did everything they could to keep the Devil

away.

The town people begged them to reveal who was controlling them but they did not budge.

In March 1962, the group of girls even accused honorable people in the Puritan congregation, one of whom was Martha Corey. (Goodbye Martha! ) No. That would be sad…

Salem Witch

Eventually, the girls accused Tituba, a slave, and 2 others commoners named Sarah but the 2 Sarah’s denied committing witchcraft. Tituba, however, confessed that the Devil had appeared to her “sometimes as a hog and sometimes like a great dog.”

Martha was thrown into jail to await for her trial. The people of Salem attended her trial. She was then asked to confess working for the Devil.

(I feel bad for her. Her husband Giles was pressed under stones to death not long before.)

(But of course an honorable woman like her would tell the truth at all times.)

Many people were shocked at this. This made them think that anyone could be working for the Devil, even the most respected people in Salem.

She denied ever committing witchcraft or even contacting the Devil. She was

thrown in jail again as the people of the town decided what to do with her. Still,

she was asked to confess her partnership with the Devil.

Then…

SHE WAS HANGED

The respected Goodwife Corey

died.

DIE

Just like many others who were

accused of witchcraft…

*sigh* Someone put a stop to all this nonsense. Just please!

The SALEM WITCH TRIALS did not end until the May of 1693. Governor Phillips released all the “witches” from jail. (About time! But you still killed about 25 and accused

about 200 people)

Shame on you! But good job, Phillips, you saved many

more lives.

And they lived happily ever

after.The End!

Now, what really happened?

There are many theories about what made the “witches” act

oddly.

Others say that it was because of a combination of stress, asthma, guilt, boredom, child abuse, epilepsy, and

delusional psychosis. No one really knows what the cause is. These are only theories—and to think this tiny “sickness” caused

so many deaths…

Some people say that the “witches” experienced “convulsive ergotism”. This is when you ingest ergot (a fungi) and

experience symptoms like those that the “witches” experienced. This is believed because the people of

Salem regularly ate rye, a type of wheat that was harvested during the time of year when it was warm and damp for

ergot to develop into rye.

And…DONE!

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URLs:http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ElyvYUMGink/TV11C1T_dBI/AAAAAAAABMk/rFF8Oj8NnoM/s1600/witch.gif

http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/salem/images/noblemartyr1.jpghttp://

law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_ACCT.HTM http://

www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/salem.htmpublic.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/witch.htm

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/brief-salem.htmlhttp://

www.nationalgeographic.com/salem/newintroframe.htmlhttp://farm2.static.flickr.com/1247/1171689430_b38cd5ddbf.jpg http://media.katu.com/images/101108_n

oose.jpghttp://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/images/skull-crossbones-pirate-fla.jpg

http://caitlinscharacters.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/lollipop1.jpg

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URLs (cont.)http://www.sonofthesouth.net/revolutionary-war/colonies/salem-witch-trial.jpg

http://coryfamsoc.com/resources/articles/images/Sal_hang.jpghttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_mRCDnv-0tIs/SlBuZzOSJGI/AAAAAAAABis/

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The Salem Witchcraft Trials By: Karen Zeinert