Salem+Witch+Trials

=The Salem Witchcraft Trials= by Karen Zeinert New York; Franklin Watts; 1989



**__Call Number:__ 345.744 ZEI**

**__Summary/Description__:** The Salem Witch Trials are an important part of American history. Back in the 1600's people thought that witches were people that agreed to do the Devil's bidding. The villagers believed witches attended moonlit meetings where they ate black bread and said their prayers backward. Witches were said to own a special lotion that when rubbed on their skin allowed them to fly to their moonlit meeting. Soon people began witch hunting. Suspects of witchcraft were either searched for suspicious marks which were then poked with a needle to see if the suspect bled and felt pain, or they had their hands and feet tied up before being thrown in the river to see if they floated. After the villagers deemed a person to be a witch they were given an unfair trial. Almost all convicted witches were hanged.

In 1692 many girls in the village of Salem began to suffer from mysterious fits that the villagers could not explain at that period in time. Many villagers thought the girls were bewitched because no doctors could explain their symptoms. The villagers began to arrest the people the girls accused and held unfair trials for them. The judges at these trials looked for three types of "evidence". The suspects were searched for the Devils mark. The villagers gave testimonies of past incidents and the victims gave testimony that the suspects ghostlike spirit(shape) harmed them. The suspects were convicted with this evidence and later hanged. When the governor of Salem came back from his journey to Canada he was outraged. He decided to have fair trials for all the suspects that had not been hanged and were still in jail. All charges against almost all of over 150 suspects were eventually dropped. Even though around 150 suspects had their charges dropped, 19 people were hanged, one was pressed to death, and two or more died in prison. The Salem Witch Trials are an important part of history that should be remembered.

__**Beyond the Book**__: Go beyond the book by exploring these recommended web resources:
 * [|The Salem Witch Trials of 1692] This web link gives you additional information on the Salem Witch Trials that is not covered in the book //The Salem Witchcraft Trials.// It gives you biographies of important people involved in the the Salem Witch Trials. It also shows a map of Salem in 1692. You also have the oppurtunity to read about the examenations of some accused witches. This website goes into more detail to give you all the informnation you need to understand the Salem Witch Trials.
 * [|Tituba Biography] Tituba was the first woman to be accused of witchcraft. She was a slave to the Parris family. The girls had gone to Tituba to get their fortunes read and later accused her fortune telling of causing their fits. At her trial she confessed to bewitching the girls to try and save her life. Out of the three women to first be accused of witchcraft she was the only one to survive. This biography of Tituba goes into more depth than //The Salem Witchcraft Trials.//
 * [|People Involved in the Salem Witch Trials] There were many people discussed in //The Salem Witchcraft Trials// and this weblink describes the people. It talks about the victims along with the suspects. It gives information about the suspects trials and examenations as well as their life. It lists all the afflicted children and who they are related to. This link adds more detail to the information given in //The Salem Witchcraft Trials//.
 * [|Timeline of the Salem Witch Trials] This timeline shows the entire history of Salem that has to do with the witch trials in an organized format. It states each event and the date it happened. //The Salem Witchcraft Trials// doesn't provide you with specific dates while this website does. It even tells how in more present times Massachusetts is taking actions to fix the problems caused in 1692. If you want specific dates you should not only read the book for an outline you should also visit this website.
 * [|Salem Witch Trials] This link take you to a video. The video offers an alternative from the book's theory of the girls suffering from hysteria. It talks about the theory of a simple poisoning of wheat by a fungus that can cause the symptoms the girls suffered from. Historians are not sure on why the girls suffered from the symptoms so it is important to know more than one theory which is all the book offers. //The Salem Witchcraft Trials// offers just one theory so checking out this link offers an easy way to understand another theory historians have.
 * [|List of Related Resources] This link takes you to amazon.com. It is a list of movies and books that have to do with the Salem Witch Trials. If //The Salem Witchcraft Trials// did not have enough information you could check out some of these books or movies for more. //The Salem Witchcraft Trials// is a very informative book but if you would like to know more check out this link for a list of books on the topic.