Religion Induced Fear And Its Effect On The Salem Witch...

Religion induced fear and its effect on the Salem witch trials During the Salem Witch Trials over a six month period over one hundred people were accused of witchcraft and nineteen people were hanged with no hard evidence (Louis-Jacques). Through the witchcraft craze, which lasted hundreds of years, many different methods were employed to prove a witch’s guilt. Salem used a very odd type of evidence, spectral evidence, which required no eyewitnesses and could be easily made up. Contrasted to many witch trials, which had a least some standard of evidence that attempted to prevent an innocent person from being executed. In Puritan Salem religion was important and present in every aspect of their lives, which contributed to the fear that the people felt during the trials. In most witch trials physical evidence was used to prove guilt, however the Salem witch trials used spectral evidence due to increased hysteria in the community. The Salem Witch trials began in January 1692 and lasted for about six months, during that time over one hundred people were imprisoned for being accused of witchcraft (Louis-Jacques). It began when two girls started screaming uncontrollably and having fits; soon a doctor came and diagnosed them with witchcraft (History.com). The family accused an enslaved person named Tituba who was taken to court and then accused other women in the town (History.com). During the trials, denial of witchcraft was seen as a sign of guilt (Louis-Jacques), but confessionShow MoreRelatedWitch Hunt : The Bloody Release Of The Fear2047 Words   |  9 PagesJialin Zhang English A4 Mr. Dennis 5/14/16 Witch-hunt: the Bloody Release of the Fear Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth, Christianity, and tea, all those things are closely related to Scotland and England. However, like all the other things in the world, England and Scotland are not perfect nor ideal. They also have their own dark and bloody history, and one of the most important part of that history is the origin of witch-hunt, or in other words, the execution of witches. Witchcraft was treated as the