Strange Things Begin Happening
Who To Blame
Hunts and Hysteria
The Trials
An Ending to the Madness
In January 1692, young Betty Parris and her cousin Abigail began acting strangely. They spoke words that didn't make sense, and twisted their bodies into weird shapes. Betty's father called the doctor, and the girls were diagnosed as being bewitched!
The young girls said that three women in town had cast a spell on them. The women were already not well liked by the community; one was a Native American who played fortune telling games, one was homeless, and one rarely went to church.
Soon, Salem and villages around Salem were in complete panic. People were blaming anything odd on witchcraft, and hundreds of people were being accused of being witches.
The local Puritan pastors began trials to determine who was and wasn't a witch. There were a number of tests that were done on the accused, and if they failed, they were put in jail or even killed.
The public finally began to realize that innocent people were being brought to trial, and the governor stopped the trials in May of 1693. Those in jail were set free.
What is happening?
I have no idea!
It's them!
You're a witch!
Guilty!
You are one of them!
You are found guilty!
No!
You are free to go.