Witches The Devil´s Mark - 548 Words

In the town of Salem, things were becoming strange. People thought their town had been invaded by â€Å"witches†, It sounds pretty unreal and there is no way people really believed that there were witches, but at this time of confused religion and the new world, people would think twice. They said people were showing signs of the Devil, but there were real explanations to these strange happenings. The Puritans set sail for Salem Town, Massachusetts in 1629 setting the stage for the first of the accused to be a witch (Schanzer 13). The fear of witchcraft most likely stemmed from King James. From April 1661- autumn 1662, 600 witches were found and 100 were executed (Witchcraft in the 16-17 Century). Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live (Exodus 22:18) is the Bible verse the Puritans were very confident of, and this lead to a very wicked and nasty time of death and witchcraft. Although, the blaming of witchcraft comes from signs that the Puritans had thought was witchcraft. These signs usually included things that are completely ridiculous, but they were very convinced. Moles, scars, birthmarks, and even an extra nipple were said to be sure signs of the devil. They called them: â€Å"the devil’s marks† (The Quick 10). In the house of Samuel Parris, things were happening with his daughter, Susannah, and his niece, Abigail. They would have strange fits and speak using words that don’t make sense. They would also hide under their beds, couches, and tables. (Schanzer, 18-19). There areShow MoreRelatedSalem Witchcraft Trials : The Salem Witch Trials1723 Words   |  7 Pagesfrom the thirteen hundreds to the sixteen hundreds and was caused by many religious reasons. More than two hundred people were accused of witchcraft, the â€Å"devil’s magic,† and twenty were executed in Salem Town. Overall tens of thousands of accused witches and warlocks were executed. The colony admitted the trials were a mistake and were a combination of paranoia and injustice. In sixteen eighty-nine, what is now known as the King William’s War destroyed Upstate New York, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. RefugeesRead MoreThe Myth Of Witchcraft : The Belief Of Magic And Its Powers1347 Words   |  6 Pagesand its powers. It is a form of sorcery, â€Å"the magical manipulation of supernormal forces through the casting of spells and the conjuring or invoking of spirits, for either good or bad purposes† (Guiley 378). Witchcraft is usually associated with the devil and considered harmful. However, in the ancient world, witch doctors used spells and chanting to cure illness or misfortune. The concept of witchcraft evolves from Assyrian, Babylonian, Akkadian, Hebrew, Greek, and Roman ancient beliefs. They wereRead MorePuritanism And Salem Witch Trials1332 Words   |  6 Pagesthe 17th century, witches were found to be in both male and female human beings young and old. In the Salem cases, accused witches could be anybody. The ages ranged from four yerars old up to human beings in their eighties and nineties (Grenander). The most effected ages were girls between the ages of nine and eighteen. They were joined by some older women and by at least two adolescent boys. These witches were known to have made a promise to serve the devil. In return, the devil was known to giveRead MoreElite and Popular Conceptions of Witchcraft1038 Words   |  5 Pages(p. 4 Levack). Diabolism is worshipping the devil: when a witch acquires his or her powers from making a pact with the devil and often then pays some sort of homage (p. 8 Levack). The church wanted to recruit people to the Christian religion and so they used features of the gods of other religions in their depiction of the devil (p. 30 Levack). When a witch said that they worshipped a horned beast, they may not have specifically meant the devil, referring to Satan, but a Pagan fertility godRead MoreEuropean History Research Project : The Witch Trials1077 Words   |  5 Pagesin continental Europe, which lasted from the late 1300s until around 1650, resulted in an execution of between 200,000 and 500,000 witches, 85% or more of whom were women.1 There is wide debate between historians arguing about whether or not this is a mass act of sexism—some stating that large groups of men gathered together to blame women for all of their village s misfortunes, while others state that there were still a high number of males executed for witchcraft, and that anybody could be consideredRead MoreThe Salem Witch Trial During The Spring Of 16921533 Words   |  7 Pa gesAustin walls mrs barker salem witch trial the infomous salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in salem village massachusetts claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. as a wave of hysteria spread throughout colonial massachusetts, a spread court convened in salem to hear the cases; the first convened witch birdget bishop , was hanged that some more men,women and chileren were accused over the next several monthsRead MoreWitches : Evil And Dark Beings1409 Words   |  6 Pagestrying and killing of witches. The wrongful persecution of witches was a disastrous occurrence in time. However, a direct reason for why they were hunted was never officially given. Why did the Europeans hunt witches? Perhaps the witches really were just evil beings that deserved the painful deaths they received. A more likely reason for their hunting would be they were just female outcasts that did not fit in with society. During the times of these brutal killings of witches, however, the churchRead MoreWitches And The Salem Witch Trials1676 Words   |  7 PagesBetty Parris, Ann Putnam, Jr., Susannah Sheldon, Abigail Williams, Mary Walcott, and Mary Warren are very important people in the Salem Witch Trials. There are conflicting opinions on whether or not witches exist. However, when taking a more in-depth look at the trials, it is very evident that witches in 17th century Salem did not exist; children were accusing people out of boredom, parents were using this as a type of revenge, and the witch tests were unjust. The 17th century Salem witch trials allRead MoreSalem Witch Trials Paranoia Essay1629 Words   |  7 PagesIn the 1680’s and 1690’s there was mass hysteria in New England over supposed witchcraft. The most famous outbreak was in Salem, Massachusetts, hence the name Salem Witch Trials. In Salem, there were young girls who started acting strangely, and they leveled accusations of witchcraft against some of the West Indian servants who were immersed in voodoo tradition. Most of the accusations were against women, and soon the accusations started to shift to the substantial and prominent women. NeighborsRead MoreThe Salem Witch Trial Hysteria1196 Words   |  5 Pagesword, every idea, every thought--was true. The Puritans also had minimal understanding of science, which led them to believe that phenomenon was an act of the Devil. Thus, when three young girls admitted to seeing demons and started behaving strangely, the Puritans grew progressively hysterical because they b ecame more convinced that witches existed within Salem as they had little scientific knowledge. In a nutshell, the cause of the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria were Puritan fundamentalism, misogyny