10. Salem Trial

The Massachusetts witch trials of the late 17th century which reached an infamous climax in the town of Salem, in 1692, remain some of the most fascinating cases of mass hysteria known to history.



At first glance, the notoriety peculiar to the Salem trials seems a little unwarranted of the estimated tens-of-thousands of people who were put to death as witches during the early modern period, only nineteen were inhabitants of Salem (five more died awaiting execution).

But the probable reason for Salem's continued place in the world's collective memory, is the unusual extent of documentation related to the trials, which – such as by the case of elderly farmer Giles Cory – survives to horrify anybody who cares to read about the proceedings.

The atmosphere in Salem, long characterized by family feuds, property disputes, and skirmishes with Native Americans, made the inhabitants ripe to be afflicted by herd frenzy.

Only a slight provocation was therefore needed to induce madness, and this provocation came soon enough when two local girls – Betty Parris and Abigail Williams – began to exhibit the strange symptoms of an ailment, whose cause could not be found by the doctors. It was decided that the source of their erratic behaviour must be witchcraft.

Three women – a homeless beggar, a slave, and a lady who had failed to attend church meetings – were quickly apprehended, charged with witchcraft, and imprisoned. A respectable, church-going woman by the name of Martha Corey protested their innocence – clear evidence, apparently, that she herself was guilty of witchcraft.

As more and more accusations were flung between the townspeople, the court sought advice on how to proceed from some of the most influential church ministers in New England.

The ministers ensured many further executions by advising that the trials should continue, since it was deplorable, in their opinion, that the inhabitants of Massachusetts should go on ‘suffering molestations from the invisible world.'