Chapter 2

The Salem Witchcraft Trials

Summary
      This next historian begins by discussing some myths surrounding the Salem Witch trials of 1692, and explaining their backstories. For example, she stated that there was simply no evidence to back up the accusation that witchcraft trials were simply an "attempt by some people to steal other people's land" (19). She gives a kind of timeline, beginning with early 1692, when the daughter and niece of the Salem Village Revered first began acting strangely. These girls soon accused three women of being witches, including the Reverend's slave Tituba. Suddenly, a 14 year-old also confessed to being a witch, a strange occurrence. The number of accused exploded, says the author, and many were executed. She concludes these facts by explaining how Salem Village finally realized their terrible mistake and apologized, many years too late.
      She goes on to further question some of the murky details and gray areas of that time, then imagines what the scenes would have been like in order to provide some answers. The first scene depicts a Reverend delivering a sermon about the recent outbreaks of witchcraft. The second is the trial of Rebecca Nurse, strange because of her age, popularity, and reputation in the church, and the final scene talks about a village pastor's execution.

Reflection
      Something I thought was interesting about this chapter was the reference to how the term "witch hunt" has become such a negative term today, and that it is simply "an example of hysterical fear blown out of all proportion to reality" (19). Americans, including me, have mistaken impressions of the trials, and this chapter really helped me make sense of this time in history. One of the things that most caught my eye was the fact that, when the girls were questioned by lots of people, they "eventually" named three women, including Tituba. If I was being interrogated day after day, I might just name some women I know, just to get everyone off my case. Couldn't that be what happened in 1692? The author questioned this as well, saying that the adults could have put names into the mouths of the children (24).
      I am shocked as to how it took Salem Village so long to realize that they had made a mistake. It took nineteen years for them to right their wrong? It could have taken them such a long time to figure out that the devil might "create specters in the shapes of innocent people" because no one wanted to listen to those critics in the very beginning due to the fact that everyone was accusing their neighbors of being witches.