How did the Salem Witch Trials happen?

Answer 1

The Salem Witch Trials occured because a group of girls, who were bored of their regular daily basis, wanted to entertain themselves. They decided that they would start naming random people, who seemed a bit different from regular Puritans, as witches. Many people who were accused of being witches were sent to Salem Prison or even executed! The girls would not stop until a brave girl named Susanna English, whom knew the circle was lying, spoke out and told that the circle was lying. Soon, this witchcraft madness slowed down and ended permanently.

Answer 2

The salem witch panic began in the winter of 1692. Girls in Salem began acting bewitched for reasons we cannot explain today. The father of one of the girls, who was also the uncle of another and the reverand of the town, Samuel Parris, asked one Dr. Griggs what was wrong. Griggs was a pre-Enlightenment doctor, so he was basically a quack and when he had absolutly no idea what could possibly be wrong so he decided to say witches. With that diagnosis, the clergy from the surrounding area gathered to ask the four girls who the witches that were hurting them were. They got three names: Sarah Goode, Sarah Osbourne and Tituba. Those women went to examinations, which are comparable to Grand Jury trials or public interrogations. When Tituba gave a false confession and hinted that there were more than three witches, the hunt began. More girls joined in the accusations and when the trials began in June, 1692, over a hundred and fifty people were in jail in Boston on witchcraft charges. The trials progressed and convicted and hanged nineteen people. Another, Giles Corey, was pressed to death for refusing to make his plea in court. The girls' testimony about seeing the witches' spectors was all the convictions were based on. In early October, the accusations took a turn for the bolder when the next witch was the wife of the Governor. That convicned the Massachusetts governor the accusations were false and he outlawed the use of the spectral evidence. The conviction ceased and in May, 1693, the letter from London that gave the governor the authority to declare everyone remaining in prison innocent.