| A witch hunt is the persecution of human beings who were suspected of engaging in witchcraft. In general, the suspects were women, but men were also executed on charges of witchcraft.
For over 200 years one of the strangest and stormiest chapters in the annals of mankind took place, which led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands, old people, men and mainly women, who were burned at the stake after being accused of witchcraft.
The belief that there are people who possess the power to heal, work miracles and kill existed in every culture and in every period in history. In the Middle Ages, the Catholic church feared that its status would be harmed by influential individuals who mediate with the supernatural world, and therefore it was opposed to this belief.
The witch hunts began in Germany and Italy, and spread like an epidemic throughout Western Europe and in other continents as well.
Various descriptions were attributed to witches, such as the ability to fly on a broomstick at night. The ability to fly enables witches to cover great distances and hold mass gatherings. At these gatherings they worship the Devil, defame Jesus and Christian traditions and hold wild orgies with the participation of the Devil.
Anti-witch propaganda instilled a terrible fear among the populace. A fear that the Devil would take over the world.
The punishment for witchcraft was execution.
Witch Tests
People suspected of witchcraft underwent witch tests. Many of the tests were fatal, i.e. if the suspect wasn’t a witch, and was supposed to be found innocent, she would die during the test.
Examples of the Tests:
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The suspect was thrown off a high cliff into deep water with her hands and feet bound. If she drowned, she was found innocent. If she survived, she was convicted as a witch and executed by being hanged or burned at the stake.
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A witch can escape if she is in danger, even when her hands and feet are bound, therefore they would bind witches’ feet and burn them. If she ran away, she was a witch, and if she did not, she would be found innocent. Stones were rolled on some witches.
Why Women and not Men?
Many people perceived woman as frivolous, lustful, evil and defective by nature.
A high percentage of women who were accused of witchcraft were members of the “weak group” in society. Old women, spinsters or widows. Midwives were a large group that was accused of witchcraft. At that time infant and maternal mortality during childbirth was high. An without proper medical knowledge, it is very easy to accuse the midwife of evil intent and service to the Devil.
Beliefs in various Countries:
Each and every country had its own special beliefs and signs of witchcraft.
In England – it was customary to think that demons were the mediators between the Devil and the witch. They would assume the form of a small and hairy animal that sucked from a special nipple on the witch’s body.
In France – accusing nuns of witchcraft was popular.
The Salem Witches
The witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts took place in the year 1692 and became the most famous trial in the history of witch hunts.
In Salem, like anywhere else, there were social disputes. Society in Salem was divided into two groups. One group was on the eastern side of the village and was composed of businessmen, and the other group lived on the western side and was composed mainly of farmers.
The Putnam family, which was the leader of the eastern group, owned a large plot of land in the village. In 1689, a group that used to meet regularly at the church was established under the leadership of Samuel Parish. The group consisted entirely of the most distinguished members of society. Paris received a handsome salary for his services, as well as additional bonuses. The members of the second group in Salem protested the taxes and refused to participate in the regular meetings. The Putnam family was afraid that it would lose Paris. In October 1691 a large number villagers who were opposed to Paris began to question his functioning, and the political situation began to change.
Samuel Putnam had a small family. He was married with a nine year old daughter. Abigail Williams, his 12 year old orphaned niece, lived with them. Samuel didn’t allow the girls to play children’s games because he believed that this was a sign of indolence and that they could spend this time in a more useful manner. When winter came, everybody was confined to their homes and would generally spend the cold winter days reading books. The most popular books in those days were books of fairy tales and various books abut the future. The girls, together with two of their girlfriends, set up a circle for reading books about the future, and would meet every evening. Occasionally they were joined by Tituba, a servant who was brought from Barbados as a maidservant. Sometimes she would join their circle and entertain them with her stories about demons, spirits and witchcraft. In time, their circle grew and other women joined. Usually they tried to discover the future, the way it was written in their books. The girls began to be disappointed about their failure, and this caused them to suffer depression, with physical and mental symptoms. In mid-March, Samuel Paris believed that their unnatural behavior was an indication of illness, but an examination by the village doctor revealed that the girls were under a spell, since it no physical cause for their problem could be found. In those days witches were considered to be people who had made an agreement with the Devil and received supernatural powers in return. The girls were asked to bake
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