1. Salem Witch Trials

2. Where did they Happen? Took place in Salem Village, Massachusetts
Families in the town were fighting over land - and losing crops and livestock.
It was the “Wrath of God”
Under British rule, no Governor

3. How did it start?
In Feb. of 1692, Betty Parris (9) and Abigail Williams (11), were described as being “Bewitched”.
The girls screamed, threw things about the room, uttered strange sounds, crawled under furniture, and contorted themselves into peculiar positions.
They complained of being pricked with pins or cut with knives, and when Reverend Samuel Parris would preach, the girls would cover their ears, as if dreading to hear the sermons.

4. The First To be Accused Tituba, Rev. Parris’s slave
Sarah Good: Old Beggar Woman
Sarah Osborne: Engaged to servant
None attended Church, not well-liked by the town. No one would stand up for them.
Put on Trial

6. During the Trial
Betty and Abigail were put on the stand to convict these women.
They went into violent convulsions, saying these women were practicing witchcraft.
The women were asked several questions while on trial:
How long have you been a Witch?
When have you spoken with the Devil?
Who else is a Witch?

8. Tituba Confesses:
Tituba says she is a Witch, and that Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne are Witches as well.
Tituba says she has seen them riding on poles through the air, and talking to the Devil.
The 3 women were put in jail.

10. While in jail… Sarah Osborne died in jail due to the harsh conditions.
More people were put on trial and accused of being Witches in Salem.
People that were put on trial accused other people of being witches in order to try and save themselves.

12. So they are Convicted, NOW WHAT??
After hundreds of citizens were put on trial, they began to hang people that were convicted of being witches.
19 people (men and women) were hung for being witches.
3 people died in Jail.
1 man was pressed to death by stones while his wife was in Jail - Refused to go on Trial.

14. Hung at Gallows Hill Accused witches were hung at Gallows Hill.
The witches were not allowed to be buried, so family members would take their bodies down in the middle of the night.
No one knows for sure what happened to the bodies, but many believe their families burned the bodies.

16. Let’s Watch a Clip: