Salem Witchcraft
At an early date in the year 1692 a strange delusion came over the citizens of Salem.
From: 1692 C.E. To: 1693 C.E.
Location: Salem, Massachusetts
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
“Salem Witchcraft” from From the Atlantic to the Pacific by Aaron Lee, 1915.
At an early date in the year 1692 a strange delusion came over the citizens of Salem. There was a minister by the name of Parris that had several children that seemed to be ungovernable. Their parents or any one beside could not seem to manage them. While at church they would talk or scream during the services disturbing the congregation, and as they could not be quieted it was believed they were bewitched. Committees of examination were held to ascertain the cause and who it was that bewitched them. During this time the terrible mania spread to other children. Courts, committees, judges seemed to foster no other belief than that they were laboring under the influence of this terrible scourge. They would ask them to tell who the person was that bewitched them. When a person was named they were placed under arrest and drawn before the court for trial. They were almost unanimously found guilty and committed to prison.
The people believed in witchcraft, even those of the highest rank and respectability. Clergymen, lawyers, judges, and the best talented people of the town were in full sympathy with that belief. Courts were held, the accused were found guilty, after more than fifty arrests had been made, many of them from the most pious and respected people in their midst. One, an old lady, who doubtless got in a hurry to get her apple dumplings boiling, did not stop to peal or core the apples but put them in whole; this new way before unheard of was considered proof enough to cause her arrest; accordingly she was brought before the court, pronounced guilty and thrown into prison, as one who was under the influence of Satan.
After twenty persons had been publicly hanged on the gallows that was erected on the hill nearby, and many of the best citizens had been tortured and hanged, the people awoke to their superstitious belief and greatly regretted and mourned that they were so foolish as to listen to the pranks of a few unruly children. One judge, who had taken an active part in the prosecution of these people, afterward so deeply regretted it, that on the day of their annual Past he would arise in his seat and make an acknowledgment of the error he had committed and prayerfully asked that he might be forgiven.
Lee, Aaron. From the Atlantic to the Pacific; Reminiscences of Pioneer Life and Travels Across the Continent, From New England to the Pacific Ocean, by an Old Soldier. Also a Graphic Account of His Army Experiences in the Civil War. Metropolitan Press, 1915.
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