With a Halloween theme of
"Witches and Wizards," I certainly have to include a blog on the notorious
Salem, Massachusetts witch trials. My husband and I have several ancestors who
lived in Massachusetts during the witch hunts and though none of them lived in
Essex County, they lived near enough to know about them. I wonder what they
thought. Did they believe the accused were actually witches and warlocks, or did
they think the whole thing utter nonsense? I suppose I'll never know, but I'm
hoping they kept a level head during the months of mass hysteria.
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| "Examination of a witch" by Thompkins H. Matteson 1853 |
Between February of 1692 and May
of 1693, nineteen people were hanged, one man met his death under a heavy load
of rocks, and five died in jail. Over
a hundred more were accused and imprisoned. Some were condemned, but not executed,
and some even confessed to the charges of witchcraft. However, many of them,
such as, Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Sarah Wildes, Elizabeth Howe, Sarah
Good, and Bridget Bishop, stood before their accusers and vehemently proclaimed
their innocence.
