Essay On The Salem Witch Trial

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The Salem Witch trials was a series of hearings and prosecutions of people that were being accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts during 1692-1693. During the prosecution's 20 people were killed by being hang’d and most of them were women. Women and some times children were the most targeted people for being accused for witchcraft.

This all had started during the spring of 1692. A group of women had claimed that the devil had possessed them and started to take over them. Eventually the court decided to hear the people's stories, the first women to tell her story was Bridget Bishop, later that June she was hanged. Because of her story other stories were starting to be heard and believed, eighteen people’s deaths had followed Bridget’s. One …show more content…

She had lived in Salem Town during this time. One of the reasons why she was accused of being a witch was because she would play shuffleboard, dressed in very provocative clothing, was outspoken, and owned more than one tavern. She was accused of bewitching five different girls, which were: Abigail Williams, Ann Putman, Jr. Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and Elizabeth Hubbard. Many different people stated that Bishop would look upon one of the people that were supposed to be tortured and they would immediately be struck down and only her touch could save them. During her sentencing another woman had said that Bridget had a third nipple (which was a major sign of witchcraft) but it was actually not true. Bridget was later sentenced to death and hanged. Later on, the courts later found out the Bridget looked like Sarah Bishop and she might have actually been accused of something she didn’t do, it might have been Sarah. “Bridget Bishop.”

During 1692, being accused of being a witch was very common. Many lives were taken for no reason because of false accusation. No one really even knows if someone was actually bewitched or if it was just people's imagination or just a story, or if someone just wanted to get attention but it went farther than they actually thought it would go. Who knows what things would be like today if the Salem Witch Trials never had

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