McKenzie Shea Essays - Witchcraft, Religion, Culture,

McKenzie Shea April 10, 2013 English 9 3rd Hour The Mystery of the Salem Witch Trials In 1692 the puritan town of Salem, located in present day Danvers, Massachusetts, was the place were two hundred people were accused of witchcraft and twenty were executed in the Salem witch trials. The Salem witch trials began with a group of young girls who started to exhibit strange behaviors such as, shouting out in church ,having fits, making strange sounds, feeling like they were being pinched or pocked, and experiencing hallucinations (Annika L. pg. 1) . the girls were later told by a doctor that there strange behavior was the result of bewitchment. Then in February,two of the young girls that had supposedly been bewitched ,began to name off some women that they believed were the withes that had done that to them. Some of these witches included a slave from the Caribbean named Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osburn. These accusations were the start of the Salem witch trials. There are many theories to what made the young girls act the way that they had other than being victims of bewitchment. There are many things that could have played a role into this behavior such as, mental illness, physical illness, greed, or the puritan way of life. One such thing that could have played a role in the young girl's behavior was mental illness. The group of young girls was thought to have developed a violent case of hysteria. Hysteria causes strange uncontrollable symptoms which might have come across as bewitchment. Some of these symptoms include uncontrollable outbursts of emotion, irrationality, laughter, or weeping. This could explain the girl's strange actions and accusations. It is also thought that the girls of the Salem Witch Trials could have been developed or have been born with a physical illness. It was common back then to get ergot poisoning which is caused by fungus that grows on rye and other grains that would have been grown in Salem. Ergot poisoning can get passed down from mother to child or can be caused by eating the fungus covered grains. Like hysteria, ergot poisoning causes symptoms similar to t the girl's behaviors. Symptoms of ergot poisoning can cause convulsive fits, muscle spasms, nausea, and hallucinations. In Salem during this time ,they had a list on how to tell if someone is bewitched one of the signs was that the victim would see visions of the alleged witch, this could easily be explained if the girls in fact had ergot poising. Another theory that is thought to have caused the abnormal behavior was that it was done out of greed. Thus would have given the girls a motive to accuse all those people of witchcraft. Some say that the parents of the group of girls were extremely greedy and the only reason that they accused so many of witchcraft was so they could take over more land. The girls also accused the poor .This could have been so no one would notice that they were trying to take over lager amounts of land. One of the most believable theory of the Salem Witch Trials that would explain why the girls act in such strange ways was that it was caused by the pressures of the puritan lifestyle. Puritans live a strict and harsh lifestyle; daily life consisted mainly of work. Children were rarely allowed to play games or with toys because puritans believed that it was a sinful distraction. Puritan life was the hardest on girls. They were not allowed to show any emotions and could only act a certain way and if they did not they were severely punished. Many girls in Salem would fake illness to get attention and be rewarded. This extremely strict life style could be the reason for the girls of the Salem Witch Trials to act the way they had. Many historians have tried to find a reasonable explanation for these peculiar actions. But many people still like to believe that the Salem Witch Trials were the result of real witches. There of stories in Salem of young girls that would follow women around, and to some one of that day and age who seen that it would expect something supernatural was going on. The theory of the Salem witches has yet to be dis-proven .Although story's very on what really caused the Salem witch trials ,there are mainly logical explanations to what really cause the strange behavior. There could have been many things that could have played into the girls