How did the Salem witch trials end?

Answer 1

By the end of the Salem witch trials, 20 people were dead. 19 by hanging and one, Giles Corey, was pressed to death. Another 4 are known to have died in prison though there may have been as many as 13. Around 150 people were imprisoned.

Many factors contributed to the ending of the trials. John Proctor, while in prison, wrote to the magistrates in Boston, asking them to move the trials there with different judges. This led to a meeting between 8 officials from surrounding areas including Increase Mather, in which spectral evidence was banned. By the time this decision was reached, John and many others were already dead. Spectral evidence was most of the evidence used against the accused "witches" and so without it, there was no real reason to convict them.

Also, doubt spread among the people when good people such as Rebecca Nurse were hanged, and also when George Burroughs perfectly recited the Lord's Prayer before he was hanged. Considering witches were not supposed to be able to hear let alone say the Lord's name, this caused people to seriously question everything they believed in.

Giles Corey being pressed to death for refusing to stand to trial also affected people greatly.

Eventually it wasn't just the skeptics and rebels, but also the powerful and well-connected who were being accused. This made people change their minds pretty quickly too. Increase Mather pointed out that the devil could take the form of an innocent person, so how can you really tell who was guilty and who was not? He said, "It were better that 10 suspected witches should escape than one innocent person should be condemned."

Answer 2

The Salem witch hunt and trials finally ended when people began to notice that people were being accused of witchcraft even when the had no evidence. Not to mention the people that accused others of witchcraft, was usually an enemy.