2. Began in February of 1692 1961 eight girls were afflicted with unknown distempers. First accused was a slave named Tituba. She later confessed of being a slave Afterward, they blamed Sarah Goode and Sarah Osborne In all 185 people were accused of being a witch In all 24 people died. 19 were hung, 4 died in prison awaiting their trial, and 1 was crushed by rocks History
3. One of the most infamous test was the touch test In this test the accused witch would have a blindfold bystander touch her or him to see if they were a witch If the blindfolded person began to freak out then the accused was in fact a witch Testing for Witches
4. People felt pressure from their congregation at Salem. Villagers began to fear attacks from Indians. The girls afflicted in the trials could have been hallucinating from convulsive ergotism, an infection caused by the fungus found in rye back in their time. The community was also suffering from other illnesses such as smallpox. Villagers were superstitious about witches due to prior witch hunts and trials in England. CAUSES OF SALEM WITCH TRIALS
5. Aftermath Even after the trials, most convicted witches were still in jail because they could not pay for the release those who were convicted of witchcraft had their property confiscated by the government. The trials took a toll on the surrounding land and structures as well Crop failures and epidemics continued to bother Salem for years after the trials ended. The Puritans felt that these events were happening because God was punishing them for the hangings of innocent people
6. In the book Lord of the Flies, they're afraid that there was something else on the island. In the Salem Witch Trials there was two girls that showed bizarre symptoms which made people scared because they didn't know what was causing the girls to act so strange. In Lord of the Flies, innocent children started to die on the island. In Salem , Massachusetts innocent people were dying because they were wrongly accused of using witchcraft. In the Salem Witch Trials Rebecca’s Nurse and many innocent people refused to admit that they were guilty and tried to be the voice of reason just like Piggy in the Lord of the Flies Connection to Lord of the Flies