What and when were Salem witchcraft trails?

Answer 1

The Salem Witch Trials took place in the year 1692 in Salem, Massachussetts. The city had been colonized by the Puritans, a sect which, to make a long story short, believed that almost anything that brought pleasure was sinful. Into this tinderbox came a small group of bored teenage girls, who decided they would start throwing around false accusations of witchcraft. They would roll on the ground screaming, or go into fits of laughter, etc., claiming that their target had "bewitched" them. Twenty-four people were hanged, and as may as thirteen others may have died in prison as a result of the girls' antics. They were only found out when they accused the wife of a judge. The girls were never punished, no apologies were made, and Salem went on as if it had never happened.