Between early 1692 and mid-1693, the Salem Witch Trials In colonial Massachusetts, more than 200 people were accused of witchcraft and 20 were hanged.
While colonial authorities offered pardons and restitution to some of the accused as early as 1711, it wasn’t until July 2022 that Elizabeth Johnson Jr.—the last of the convicted Salem “witches” whose name was not cleared—was finally exonerated. A long-awaited closure to one of the darkest chapters in history.
Let’s reimagine the dark past using AI:
Spark:
Events began in Salem Village (now Danvers, Massachusetts) in January 1692, when a group of young girls, including Betty Paris (daughter of the local minister), began exhibiting strange behavior—fits, convulsions, and violent outbursts.
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Influenced by Puritan beliefs, the girls claimed they were being tormented by witches. Local doctors attributed their condition to supernatural causes, which caused more fear.
Accusations and hysteria:
As panic spread, accusations of witchcraft began to mount. The girls accused several local women, including a slave named Tituba, of practicing witchcraft and causing them trouble. Tituba, after questioning and pressure, confessed, which only fueled the frenzy.
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Once accusations began, they spread quickly, and many people, often women, were named as witches. The belief was that these witches made pacts with the devil, and their evil deeds were said to be responsible for various misfortunes, from crop failure to illness.
‘Touch Test Trial’
The trial began in the spring of 1692, with Judge Samuel Sewell, Reverend Cotton Mather and others instrumental in the prosecution. The accused were often subjected to intense and brutal interrogation methods, including “touch tests” (where the accused were forced to touch victims to see if their symptoms went away) and the infamous “swimming test” (where the accused was thrown). was being done. into the water to see if they were floating – believed to indicate guilt).
Evidence at trial was largely “based on .Spectral evidence“—testimony that the spirit or ghost of the accused was seen practicing witchcraft. This form of evidence was highly controversial and unreliable, yet played an important role in convictions.
Growing Anxiety:
As more and more people were charged, the trials took on a frenzied atmosphere. The authorities, believing they were fighting a wider conspiracy of witches, allowed the trials to continue unchecked. Neighbor turned against neighbor, and personal feuds and rivalries often fueled accusations.
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curve:
By the end of 1692, the intensity of the tests began to decrease. Public opinion began to change, especially when prominent figures such as the Reverend Increase Mather expressed concern about the trial’s legitimacy. The governor of Massachusetts, William Phipps, intervened, stopping the trial and later declaring that spectral evidence would no longer be admissible in court.
The trial officially ended in May 1693. 20 people were executed, many others were imprisoned, and the whole community was scarred by the experience.
In the years that followed, many key figures in the trial, including the judges, expressed regret for their roles and many of the accused were acquitted.
In 1711, colonial authorities issued a formal pardon and offered restitution to the families of the accused, although it would take until 2022 to posthumously exonerate Elizabeth Johnson Jr., the last person convicted during the trial.