Salem Witch Hunt

Background to The Crucible

By Arthur Miller

Monty PythonMonty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1975 film about King Arthur and his knights who embark on a low-budget search for the Grail, encountering many very silly obstacles.Bedevere: Why do you think that she is a witch? Peasant: Well, she turned me into a newt. [Bedevere gives him a disbelieving look] Bedevere: A newt? [Silence] Peasant: Well, I got better. Peasant Crowd: Burn her anyway!

Witch Scene

Definition of a Witch

• One who serves the devil by performing evil acts in the world

• Form contract with Satan by signing his book (with blood)

• Amazing powers to fly through the air, perform great feats of strength, change appearance, and cause misfortune or death to their victims

Robert Johnson, 1935

Definition of a Witch

• Work alone or with “familiar” animal companion

• Witches congregate by night in groups or covens to hold a witches’ Sabbath

• Witchcraft considered an evil form of religion practiced by heretics (anyone who did not practice the state-approved religion)

Three Macbeth Witcheswww.madametalbot.com

Superstitions• Saying “God Bless

You” following a sneeze

• An eclipse was seen as an omen of evil

• It was unlucky for a black cat to cross your path

Cast A Stonewww.castastone.com

Superstitions• The ‘seventh son of a seventh son’ was

believed to possess supernatural powers• It was unlucky to keep the feather of a

peacock

• Pin bay leaves to your pillow on the Eve of St Valentine, one at each corner and one in the middle and you will then dream of your future husband

Superstitions• Knock wood to guard

against bad luck.

• Do not walk under ladders

Cris Fuhrmanhttp://pages.infinit.net/filmore/trip/

Superstitions• Shoes on a table

• Spilling salt or pepper

Methods of Testing for

GuiltCrossbinding – tied right thumb to left big toe and left thumb to right big toe and placed face down in water. The innocent sank and the guilty floated. Walking the Berkshires

http://greensleeves.typepad.com

Methods of Testing for

GuiltSpiritual Attributes – “Witchmark” is any physical abnormality of the suspect was considered a sign of the devil’s influence

Methods of Testing for

Guilt• Superhuman Feats – Mind-reading or some physical phenomenon such as lifting an impossibly heavy object

• Empirical Evidence – Injury, illness, or property damage was considered proof that the mischief was caused by a person with satanic powers

Methods of Testing for

GuiltPublic Tests – Observing the hysterical reactions of the afflicted girls as the judges questioned the “witches”

Witchcraft at Salem Villagehttp://gardenofpraise.com/ibdmath.htm

Methods of Testing for

GuiltSpectral Evidence – Either an “apparition” of the accused person attempting to cause some injury to the victim or the “specter” of a dead person who appeared in a vision and attributed his or her death to the accused (highly controversial)

Salem Witch Trialswww.magicalcat.com/H_salem_witch_trials.htm

Spectral Evidence

Michael P. Clark www.humanities.uci.edu

Methods of Testing for

GuiltPeine Forte et Dure – Old outdated English common law that permitted placing stone weights upon the body of the accused until he died

Pressing to Deathhttp://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/

Witch Executions

• Switzerland – more than 500 condemned witches were burned to death in Geneva

• Italy – In Como, 975 were put to death in 1524

• France – In Toulouse, 40 witches were burned to death in 1557

Witch Executions

• Spain – No attempt made at gaining an official tally of deaths because of horrendous numbers

• Germany – During two centuries of terror, 100,000 persons accused of witchcraft were executed. (In 1589, 1333 were burned in one day.)

Iron Maiden of Nurenbergwww.the-night.net/torture

Witch Executions

• England – During England’s “Long Parliament” (1640-1660), 30,000 persons were executed as witches

• Scotland – Between 1640 and 1660, 4,000 people lost their lives as witches

• America – The total number of “witches” executed was only 36, but 20 of them were put to death in 1692

Witch Executions

Unofficial estimates of the European total number killed range from one to nine million. The latter figure probably including those who died while waiting to be tried as well as those who were killed as they were being tested to determine their guilt or innocence.

Witchcraft Hysteria

Salem Witch Hunt… experience it!