THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS
The term ‘witch’ most likely conjures up a specific image in your mind, one of female figures with suspicious bubbling cauldrons and bulging warts. The term carried the same connotations in the 17th century, a witch being someone who obeyed Satan and had what was thought to be unusual powers. In these dark times, spell-casting and acts of evil were seen everywhere.
Many of us accept that our lives will come with elements of greatness and events of misfortune. When unfortunate things happen, we may feel the need to find a reason, or a cause to blame. But how far would you go to place this blame? Would you make up a story that you knew would get someone killed? This was the reality for victims of the Salem witch trials. They were either in the wrong place at the wrong time, or they didn’t fit in with the ideals of their society.
In the 1600s Salem, Massachusetts, abided by Puritan values, which included believing in demons and the devil in everyday life. The large majority of the population followed the Bible rigidly. If anyone was perceived as a threat to this way of life, there was a conveniently simple solution used to banish them: declare them to be a witch. This played on the idea that anything outside what was believed to be the correct way to live must be the work of the devil. Many couldn’t understand other ways of living. Rifts between people made it easy
