History of Witch Trials

By Ethan Barton, Jordan Manu, David Kichiro

What is the Witch Trials?
People were killed when accused of being a witch.

Started when a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil.

Several women were accused to be witches.

Witch trials brought up to a special court.

168 men, women and children were accused of witchcraft.

Salem Witch Trials
The Salem witch trials happened from 1692 through 1693. Where numerous
witch trials took place.

Most people who got trialed and sentenced to death from the witch trials didnt
actually have much if any evidence on them to actually be considered
witches.

During the one year of the witch trials, 20 people died, 14 being women and all
but one all died from hangings.
The First Witch Trial in America
The very first witch trial in America happened roughly 20 years before the
infamous Salem witch trials that took place in 1692

It happened when the parents of Elizabeth Kelly noticed when she started to act
differently after coming home from the neighbors house.

She started to yell at night saying Father, father, help me! Goodwife Ayres is
upon me! She chokes me! She kneels on my belly! She will break my bowels!
She pinches! She will make me black and blue!

After the death of Elizabeth Kelly, the townspeople start to point fingers and
finally all came to the conclusion that Alice Young of Windsor was guilty and
sentenced her to hang on May 26, 1647.
The Last Witch Trial in America
The very last witch trial in America was on September 22, 1692.

It was done on a lady named Martha Corey

Martha Corey was a hearty matron who didn't believe in witches.

She was put on trial after a church meeting when a girl accused Corey of eating
a little yellow bird.

Corey tried to convince the jury that she was innocent and the child was
distracted.

That did not work and she was killed.

How where the witch trials done?
Witch trials were used to determine if a woman was possessed by the devil

The swimming test

Witches were known to reject the sacrament of baptism and at the time priests believed that the
waters would reject them. So an innocent person would sink and a witch would float. Many
people died of accidental drowning.

The prayer test

People that were accused of being a witch would be brought in by the priest and had read
different parts of scripture and if they were to mess up they would be hung.

The witches mark

The witches mark was a test the commonly killed people being accused of being possessed.
Witch hunters would strip you down in front of the village and would look for any marks, extra
nipples, birthmarks, scars, moles, and sores were considered marks of the devil.
Sources
http://time.com/3398176/salem-witch-trials/

http://www.history.com/news/before-salem-the-first-american-witch-hunt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials

http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/7-bizarre-witch-trial-tests