The Salem witch trials were a series of investigations and persecutions that caused 19 convicted “witches” to be hanged and many other suspects to be imprisoned in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

The events in Salem in 1692 were but one chapter in a long story of witch hunts that began in Europe 1600’s and ended in the late 18th century. The “hunts” were efforts to identify witches rather than pursuits of individuals who were already known witches. Witches were considered to be “followers of Satan” who had traded their souls for his assistance. It was believed that they employed demons to accomplish magical deeds, that they changed from human to animal form or from one human form to another. It was also commonly thought that animals acted as their “familiar spirits,” and that they rode through the air at night to secret meetings. This was all conspiracy, and everyone chose to believe the claims.

The process of identifying witches began with suspicions or rumors. Accusations followed, often escalating to convictions and eventually executions. The Salem witch trials and executions came about as the result of a combination of church politics, family feuds, and hysterical children, all of which unfolded in a vacuum of political authority. The accusations were based off of “spectral evidence”—that is, claims by the victims that they had seen and been attacked (pinched, bitten, contorted). Those who confessed—or who confessed and named other witches—were spared the court’s vengeance. Those who insisted upon their innocence met harsher fates. The “symptoms” of being a witch included making strange noises, twitching, blindness, uneven skin, and hallucinations. Even children and animals were accused and killed.

In the years to come, there would be individual and institutional acts of repentance by many of those involved in the trials. Now, The Salem Witch trials are a reminder of how fear can ruin lives of innocent people, but also as the birth of the first official witches in history.