the accusers would strip the man or woman and observe their body, looking for any unusual mole or freckle. This could be enough to make you a witch. Also, they would strip the man or woman, tie them up, and throw them in a body of water. If you sank, you weren't a witch, if you floated you were a witch. Either way, you were doomed.
EDIT:
Great explanation. It would be perfect if the question was about European witch hunts and witch tests.
During the Salem Witch Trials, the convicted "witches" were hanged.
First of all, a legal lynching is called hanging or an execution. And you might be referring to the Salem witch trials, during with 19 were convicted of witchcraft and hanged.
They didn't. Most people who were accused of witchcrafter were wrongly accused & convicted.
They believed that the trials were caused by the fact that there were witches and those witches had to be condemned. They thought that the witches were a sign that Massachusetts wasn't religious enough anymore.
Combined, twenty-four people died via execution or died while in prison. Two dogs were killed by townsfolk that believed they were witches' familiars.
They usually hung, burnt, drowned, or cut them to death. EDIT: At Salem, they only hung the convicted witches. Burning was a Continental European punishment. Drowning was part of the water test and if you drowned you were innocent. And "cut" I can only explain as beheading. The only person accused of witchcraft to be beheaded was Anne Bolynn, and that was because she was convicted of treason.
First of all, a legal lynching is called hanging or an execution. And you might be referring to the Salem witch trials, during with 19 were convicted of witchcraft and hanged.
No. She was convicted but given a stay of execution because she was pregnant. Before that ran out, the Trials ended.
They didn't. Most people who were accused of witchcrafter were wrongly accused & convicted.
They gave a false confession. The court promised anyone who confessed a stay of execution in return for testimony against other accused witches.
Witches who were convicted (either by townspeople or by a Church authority) were usually burned at the stake. Many of the "trials", however, were heavily biased against the defendants. Tests included throwing the witch into a river or pond; if she floated she was guilty.
Witch trials were notoriously unfair.
They believed that the trials were caused by the fact that there were witches and those witches had to be condemned. They thought that the witches were a sign that Massachusetts wasn't religious enough anymore.
Combined, twenty-four people died via execution or died while in prison. Two dogs were killed by townsfolk that believed they were witches' familiars.
They usually hung, burnt, drowned, or cut them to death. EDIT: At Salem, they only hung the convicted witches. Burning was a Continental European punishment. Drowning was part of the water test and if you drowned you were innocent. And "cut" I can only explain as beheading. The only person accused of witchcraft to be beheaded was Anne Bolynn, and that was because she was convicted of treason.
Bridget Bishop
The Pendle witches were a group of twelve people from the area around Pendle Hill in Lancashire, England, who were accused of witchcraft in 1612. They were implicated in various crimes, including the murder of a boy through witchcraft and causing harm to others. The most notable figures among them were Alizon Device and her grandmother, Elizabeth Southerns, who were both tried and convicted. The trials resulted in the execution of ten of the accused by hanging, making it one of the most famous witchcraft cases in English history.
None. Minnesota wasn't settled by people who believed that witches were a threat and government was more separated so legal trials for witches wouldn't happen.